#Blood Ties|Avengers Verse

[brooklynislandgirl]

💋

Out of the Bearded Barley || Accepting

"...mean it, Apps..." Beth has no idea what it is that he means. He could have offered to drive her home, because of course he would. He wouldn't leave her stranded outside of the city with no obvious way to get home, because he's a gentleman and doesn't always remember that she can be any living thing she wants. He could be threatening to pull her apart one molecule at a time, and that might actually work toward destroying her. She's never been deconstructed down to the atomic level before and she doesn't know if her body would insist on knitting itself back together. And while that's utterly gruesome a mental image, horrific in ways other people would be shocked by, it only leaves her a little curious, and she chalks it into her mental dry erase board as Future Date Ideas. Starting small. With like a finger or a toe, something that could easily be grown back. But most likely it has something to do with the worry stone he'd been idly rubbing between his fingers while not really conversing with her. They'd gotten here, to their field, entirely too early. The dying daylight will still glow purple-gold for a while yet, which means it will take at least that long to see the first few flickers of the fireflies. And as so often happens with their various difficulties, they don't really talk much, which means neither has to strain to understand the other. She half wonders if maybe they should come up with their own language. Though that's hard too, because Baz doesn't make a lot of eye-contact either. She doesn't know what possessed her to do it, but she does. She takes it and she's hopping down from the tailgate, then is off and running. "Catch me if you can!" And she thinks she's almost gotten away with it, until the breath is somewhat gently knocked out of her when he presses her into the tree she was about to hide behind. He manages to do something that softens the blow but after the initial impact, she can feel the bark at her back. His knee between her own. One hand up near her hair, the other comes down on her hip. They stand practically nose to nose, but only because the ground is uneven. She's sure a time or two of running it through her head, that he demands her to give it back. She grins gently. "Wha' ya gimmie in return?" His knuckles graze her jaw, and orange-tinged blue seems focused on her lips. "Ba-" He lifts her jaw and presses his lips to hers. She doesn't even notice as he slips the stone into his back pocket.

[vampireshaman]

HOTD VERSE: THE DRAGON'S ORACLE

Name: Lady Hae-seol Kim

Titles: Lady of the Misty Isles, The Dragon's Oracle, The Spirit Weaver

Allegiance: Neutral (torn between Team Green and Team Black)

House Sigil: A black dragon intertwined with a crescent moon over misty waves

Dragon: Daeyoung, a silver-scaled dragon with black wings, known for her cold, icy breath and elemental powers. Daeyoung communicates in fragmented sentences.

BACKGROUND: THE ORACLE

Lady Hae-seol Kim hails from the Misty Isles, a region renowned not for isolation, but for its unique position in the realm's politics. The Isles are influential, maintaining robust political ties while standing as steadfast allies to House Targaryen. House Kim, one of the few remaining families with a genuine spiritual connection, commands respect for their mystical insights, though their specific practices are not widely known.

Raised under the guidance of her grandmother—a revered oracle who had served the Targaryens during the reigns of Jaehaerys I and Viserys I—Hae-seol was steeped in the traditions of her house. Her grandmother's wisdom established House Kim's crucial role as spiritual advisors, a role Hae-seol inherited.

Unbeknownst to many, Hae-seol is believed to be the reincarnation of the Radiant Moon, a figure of ancient legend said to embody the moon’s power. This reincarnation grants her significant but secretive supernatural abilities, including control over light and lunar magic. Hae-seol keeps these powers hidden, maintaining a facade of normalcy while secretly wielding the power to purify dark forces and use a green-enchanted bow with white lotus arrows.

BACKGROUND: THE MARRIAGE

Hae-seol’s arranged marriage to a powerful but treacherous lord was a strategic move fraught with hidden motives. Her new husband and his family had deceived her, intending to use her as a pawn in their schemes. The Misty Isles’ spiritual heritage, while respected, had not prepared her for the treachery she was about to face.

Finalizing their marriage with a blood pact that made Haeseol of royal blood-- Haeseol's trust and sense of comfort in her husband's arms was taken advantage of as he then threw her into the chasm below, her panicked cry fading into the darkness of the dragon's lair below.

Daeyoung’s Backstory:

Before her fateful encounter with Hae-seol, Daeyoung was a dragon of profound dignity and strength, living harmoniously with her kin. However, her life took a dark turn when she was captured by humans. Daeyoung was stolen from her family—her siblings and mother—by those who sought to exploit her for their own gain.

The captivity was brutal. Daeyoung endured cruel treatment and horrific experiments, resulting in numerous scars across her once-pristine scales. The humans, driven by greed and fear, inflicted unthinkable suffering upon her. This period of torment bred a deep-seated hatred for humans within Daeyoung. Her scars were not just physical but emotional, marking her soul with a profound disdain for the race that had wronged her so grievously.

The Tragic Misunderstanding:

The final blow to Daeyoung's sanity and sense of justice came when her young were murdered, and she was led to believe that these killings were the work of Hae-seol’s new family. Daeyoung’s grief and anger fueled her vengeance, leading her to believe that the only way to avenge her offspring was to target the sacrificial royal daughters whom she mistakenly thought were connected to her tormentors.

Hae-seol’s arrival in the chasm, where Daeyoung had taken refuge after the betrayal, was marked by a fierce and violent confrontation. Daeyoung’s rage and hatred for humans culminated in a devastating attack against Hae-seol, whom she saw as an agent of the same cruelty that had destroyed her family.

The Turning Point:

As Hae-seol and Daeyoung clashed, the brutality of the dragon’s assault left Daeyoung critically wounded. Despite the pain and anger, a pivotal moment of clarity struck Daeyoung as she lay on the brink of death. The realization dawned that her quest for vengeance had been misguided; she had been manipulated into exacting retribution on the wrong targets.

This moment of enlightenment came too late for many, but it was Hae-seol’s act of unexpected mercy that shifted the course of their intertwined fates. Rather than ending Daeyoung’s life, Hae-seol chose to heal her. This act of compassion bridged the chasm of hatred that had defined their encounter, transforming their relationship from one of animosity to one of mutual understanding and respect.

Dragon and Rider Bond:

The bond between Hae-seol and Daeyoung emerged from the ashes of their violent conflict. Despite Daeyoung’s enduring hatred for humans, Hae-seol’s act of healing and her compassionate nature forged a profound connection between them. Daeyoung’s acceptance of Hae-seol as her rider was not just a recognition of Hae-seol’s power but also a testament to the deep healing that had taken place between them.

Daeyoung, who had once been a symbol of rage and vengeance, became a loyal and powerful ally to Hae-seol. Their bond symbolizes a union of strength and empathy, transcending the hatred that had once defined Daeyoung’s existence. Together, they form a formidable duo, with Daeyoung’s icy breath and elemental prowess complementing Hae-seol’s mystical abilities and wisdom.

THE IRON THRONE: A HOUSE DIVIDED

The Targaryen court’s perception of Hae-seol’s bond with Daeyoung is marked by a complex interplay of fascination, skepticism, and intrigue.

Intrigue:

Hae-seol’s relationship with Daeyoung is a subject of great interest at court. The unique nature of their bond, especially given that Hae-seol is not of Targaryen blood, adds an element of mystery and allure. The court is captivated by the rare and powerful connection between a dragon and a non-Targaryen rider. Hae-seol’s ability to summon Daeyoung using an enchanted whistle, a secretive and mystical artifact she wears around her neck, enhances the enigma surrounding their alliance.

Skepticism:

Despite the fascination, there is an undercurrent of skepticism regarding Hae-seol’s claim to such a powerful dragon. Some members of the court question the authenticity of their bond and whether Hae-seol’s non-Targaryen status affects her connection with Daeyoung. The fact that Daeyoung’s hatred for humans was so deeply rooted in her captivity and subsequent trauma adds a layer of complexity that the court grapples with. The secrecy surrounding Daeyoung’s presence and the nature of their bond only fuel these doubts.

Admiration:

Many in the court admire Hae-seol for her strength, resilience, and the remarkable bond she shares with Daeyoung. Her ability to transform Daeyoung’s rage and suffering into a powerful alliance is seen as a testament to her character and capabilities. Hae-seol’s role as *The Dragon's Oracle* is recognized as a significant asset to House Targaryen, providing both mystical guidance and a formidable dragon companion.

PERCEPTION: BLACK V. GREEN

Hightowers (Team Green):

Hae-seol is more sympathetic toward Queen Regent and now Dowager Queen Alicent. She views the Hightowers with a degree of wariness, but she recognizes the complexity of their situation. The Hightowers, despite their own flaws and ambitions, have been subject to a series of unsettling events that have shaped their current stance. Hae-seol is aware of the political maneuvers and intrigue within the Hightower faction but appreciates their stability and perseverance amidst the chaos.

Targaryens (Team Black):

Hae-seol views Rhaenyra with significant suspicion. Her perceptions are shaped by several troubling events: the convenient death of Laenor, the rapid marriage of Rhaenyra to Daemon shortly after his wife’s death, the maiming of Aemond’s eye, and Rhaenyra’s insistence on "sharply questioning" a young boy over rumors of her bastard sons—who were easily identifiable by their dark hair color. Hae-seol also disapproves of Daemon’s brutal act of beheading Lord Corlys Velaryon for speaking out about these bastards, and the death of Prince Jaehaerys. Although Hae-seol was not present for all these events, her visions provided her with enough insight to recognize the troubling patterns and potential for manipulation within Rhaenyra’s faction. As a result, she maintains a cautious distance from the Targaryens, aware of the instability and strife that may accompany their rule.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

In the Targaryen court, Hae-seol occupies a unique and influential position. As *The Dragon's Oracle*, she offers valuable spiritual and mystical insights. Her bond with Daeyoung, though not widely known, is a critical aspect of her role. Hae-seol uses her enchanted whistle to summon Daeyoung discreetly, maintaining a level of secrecy about their connection while leveraging Daeyoung’s powers when necessary.

Her neutrality in the ongoing civil war is a delicate balancing act. Hae-seol must navigate the treacherous political landscape while preserving her house’s honor and spiritual heritage. Her bond with Daeyoung represents a rare and potent alliance, making her a key figure in the realm’s intricate power dynamics.

GOALS AND STRUGGLES

Hae-seol faces personal struggles as she reconciles her duties with her personal desires and the weight of her bond with Daeyoung. Her role requires her to balance her house’s spiritual heritage with the demands of the Targaryen court. The healing and redemption of Daeyoung reflect Hae-seol’s own journey of overcoming betrayal and forging a new path.

Her primary goal is to navigate the complex political landscape while upholding her house’s honor and contributing positively to House Targaryen. Hae-seol aims to use her unique position to influence the court and ensure a stable future for her realm, all while managing the delicate balance between secrecy and the profound power she wields.

CONCLUSION

Lady Hae-seol Kim’s story is one of deep personal transformation and mystical strength. Her bond with Daeyoung, forged from shared suffering and redemption, sets her apart as a unique and influential figure in the Targaryen court. Despite the complexities of their relationship and the challenges they face, Hae-seol’s resilience and wisdom make her a pivotal player in the realm’s intricate politics and mystical heritage.

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 18 – CREATURE FIC

SERIES: Blood And Other Drugs by WilmaKins

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 185,725 Tags: Human/Vampire Relationship, Porn With Feelings, Hurt/Comfort

Reasons why I love it: This is THE Vampire Stony 'verse for me. I love everything Wilma writes, but this one in particular is one of my favorites. The way she describes Tony and Steve's thoughts and feelings when they're together in the most intimate ways is just incredible to me, and the whole backstory and lore is super well thought out. Definitely check it out, I promise you'll love it!

This series consists of:

Blood and Other Drugs

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 175,010 Tags: Vampire Bites, Blood Kink, Past Abuse

Summary: Tony Stark disappeared from public life twenty years ago. He exists as a name without a face, the anonymous director of the Avengers and the inventor of the worlds best tech - all done from the workshop that he never leaves. Or so they say. Steve isn't interested in the rumours. He doesn't care why Stark hid himself away. He *only* wants to meet with Stark so that he can get Bucky's arm fixed. Well, until he meets Tony Stark. Then maybe he cares...

Reasons why I love it: The way canon ties into this verse is super interesting to me. I love the world building, and the whole slow burn of Tony and Steve's relationship. And of course, all that sweet, sweet sexual tension is absolutely delicious. The fantastic smut is just the icing on the cake. I love this fic so much, and if you're into vampires at all, you should definitely check it out, because it's amazing!

Tell Me I'm Good...

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 6,601 Tags: Vampire Sex, Blood Play, Dom Tony

Summary: Steve Rogers has bad days like no one else has bad days. But then, Steve Rogers is bonded to a vampire... So, Steve Rogers deals with bad days like no one else can deal with bad days... Soft-Dom Vampire Tony Stark AU.

Reasons why I love it: Yeees, give me all the angsty porn with feelings! Tony is so SOFT with Steve, oh my god, I love it so much. Steve's desperation is perfect, and I absolutely love all the blood play, which is surprisingly fluffy and sweet. I adore this fic, and you should definitely check it out!

Wants and Needs

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 4,114 Tags: PWP, Super Soldier Serum, Consort Steve

Summary: It was another one of those side effects that Erskine had apparently theorised about but neglected to mention. It had been left to Peggy to explain, with her unique brand of no-nonsense compassion, that the serum enhanced all of Steve’s bodily processes… That, as she put it, he may well experience arousal more intensely than other men. Thank God he has Tony to help him through it...

Reasons why I love it: The super soldier serum giving Steve a bit of a hair trigger when it comes to arousal is one of my favorite things, and Wilma explores it perfectly here. Steve's control snapping is fucking beautiful, and I love how Tony is so ready to give Steve everything he ever wanted. Also, Bucky being the best bro ever is always amazing. This fic is the perfect ending (at least for now) to this series, and I hope you go and experience it for yourself!

[gwydionmisha]

Sonatorrek - Egil Skallagrimsson, from Egil's Saga, by Snorri Sturluson

1. My tongue is sluggish For me to move My poem’s scales Ponderous to raise The god’s prize Is beyond my grasp Tough to drag out From my mind’s haunts 2. Since heavy sobbing Is the cause - How hard to pour forth From the mind’s root t He prize that Frigg’s Progeny found Borne of old From the world of giants 3. unflawed, which Bragi Inspired with life On the craft Of the watcher-dwarf Blood surges From the giant’s wounded neck Crashes on the death-dwarf’s Boathouse door

4. My stock Stands on the brink Pounded as planar-trees On the forest’s rim No man is glad Who carries the bones Of his dead kinsman Out of the bed 5. Yet I shall First recount My father’s death And mother’s loss Carry from my word-shrine The timber that I build My poem from Leafed with language 6. Harsh was the rift That the wave hewed In the wall Of my father’s kin; I know it stands Unfilled and open My son’s breach That the sea wrought 7. The sea-goddess Has ruffled me Stripped me bare Of my loved ones: The ocean severed My family’s bonds The tight knot That ties me down 8. If by sword I might Avenge that deed The brewer of waves Would meet his end; Smite the wind’s brother That dashes the bay Do battle against The sea-god’s wife 9. Yet I felt I lacked the might To seek justice against The killer of ships For it is clear To all eyes How an old man Lacks helpers 10. The sea has robbed Me of much My kinsmen’s deaths Are harsh to tell After the shield Of my family Retreated down The god’s joyful road 11. Myself I know That in my son Grew the makings Of a worthy man Had that shield-tree Reached manhood Then earned the claim Of war’s arms 12. Always he prized His father’s words Highest of all, though The world said different He shored me up Defended me Lent my strength The most support 13. My lack of brothers Often enters my thoughts Where the winds Of moon-bears rage I think of the other As the battle grows Scout around And wonder justification 14. which other valiant Warrior stands By my side In the peril; I often need him When facing foes When friends dwindle I am wary to soar 15. It is rare to find One to trust Amongst men who dwell Beneath Odin’s gallows For the dark-minded Destroyer of kin Swaps his brother’s Death for treasure 16. [Excluded. Missing, incomplete verse.] 17. It is also said That no one regains His son’s worth Without bearing Another offspring That other men Hold in esteem As his brother’s match 18. I do not relish The company of men Though each of them might Live in peace with me; My wife’s son Has come in search Of friendship To One-Eye’s hall 19. But the lord of the sea Brewer of storms Seems to oppose me His mind set I cannot hold My head upright The ground of my face My thoughts’ steed 20. ever since the raging Surf of heat Snatched from the world That son of mine Whom I knew To shun disgrace Avoid words Of ill repute 21. I remember still When the Gauts’ friend Raised high To the gods’ world The ash that grew From my stock The tree bearing My wife’s kin 22. I was in league With the lord of spears Pledged myself loyal To believe in him Before he broke off His friendship with me The guardian of chariots Architect of victory 23. I do not worship Vilir’s brother Guardian of the gods Through my own longing Though in good ways too The friend of wisdom Has granted me Redress for affliction 24. He who does battle And tackles the hell-wolf Gave me the craft That is beyond reproach And the nature That I could reveal Those who plotted against me As my true enemies 25. Now my course is tough: Death, close sister Of Odin’s enemy Stands on the ness: With resolution And without remorse I shall gladly Await my own

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, December 10th

CLEM: ...Not that I'm knocking the nacho cheese ones - I like the taste. It's just the texture I can't deal with. So gritty. Kinda hurts my tongue, so I'd give 'em... a seven. *Maybe* a seven-five and you think this is dumb, don't you? DAWN: No! No, as taste tests go, this is definitely one of the better ones I've been to. CLEM: I get it. No biggie. You wanna play cards? DAWN: Clem... CLEM: I can be a real boredom-buster, if you just give me half a chance.

~~Two To Go~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

First Time by shiny_glor_chan (Devon, Oz/Lindsey, G)

Buffy the Duvet Stealer by Rosa_Inglese (Buffy/Angel, T)

Crushing and Blushing by theultimatespoon (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Again by MillennialCryBaby (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Episode 143 – End of Days by The Slayer Verses (Buffy/Spike, poetry)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion, Chapter 365 by madimpossibledreamer (Ensemble, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure crossover, T)

You Can't Fight Fate - But You Can Probably Piss Him Off, Chapter 52 by Hermione2be (Faith, Batman crossover, T)

Thirty-ish Days (and Thirty-ish Years), Chapter 22 by Dynapink (Buffy/Giles, T)

Out of Time: 1942, Chapter 37 by Aynn_Ward (Buffy, Harry Potter crossover, M)

Dawn the Power Ranger 1: The Power of Keys, Chapter 11 by BrennaLynn (Dawn, Power Rangers crossover, T)

Charmed: The Faith Chronicles, Chapter 13 by BrennaLynn (Buffy/Faith, Charmed crossover, T) --- Author also archived several other stories

Sandy Places in Forever, Chapter 2 by Raihne (Xander/Spike, E)

Sleeping Loony, Chapter 5 by Meltha (Spike/Drusilla, T)

It really is like Juliette and Romeo, Chapter 3 by Littleskyfoxs (Angel & Spike, First Kill crossover, G)

Night skies and twinkling starlight, Chapter 1 by Popsy (Buffy/Spike, M)

Keeping Up With the Scoobies, Chapter 18 by Takara_Phoenix (Buffy/Spike, T)

LE TIEN, LE MIEN, Chapter 1 by calendiles (Anya/Jenny, T)

Fade Away Again, Chapter 18 by Willow25 (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Vacation with a vampire (Sequel to The Sphere) - Part 2, Chapter 15 by Coraline (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Hold My Hand Even Though I'm a Sinner! Chapter 7 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Out of Time: 1942, Chapter 37 by Jonayla (Buffy, Harry Potter crossover, FR18)

You Can't Fight Fate - But You Can Piss Him Off, Chapter 52 by Hermionetobe (Faith, Batman crossover, FR13)

Buffy 2.0, Chapter 11 by BlueZeroZeroOne (Buffy, FR18)

The Spider, The Slayer and The Key, Chapter 1 by AragornIIElessar (Dawn & Buffy, Spiderman & Avengers crossover, FR15)

Origins, Chapter 24 by Niamh (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Pomegranate Seeds, Chapter 2 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Buffy and Angel in Amends by Sofya Créations (worksafe)

Artwork: Oz by snakeliciousbaby (nudity, probably not worksafe)

Buffy “Every Outfit” “Blood Ties” by whatshisfaceblogs (worksafe)

Gifset: Buffy & Faith by andremichaux (worksafe)

Manip: Buffy/Spike by l0veisntbrains (worksafe)

Artwork/banners: You Make It Feel Like Christmas by mcgnagallsarmy (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Tattoo: So give me something to sing about by landboby (Buffy)

Fanvid: Buffy&Angel l Unspoken (YPIV) by pixiestickdreams

Fanvid: Such Small Hands || D̶a̶r̶k̶ Willow /̶/ ̶T̶a̶r̶a̶ by KichaaSDL

Fanvid: BTVS & Charmed "Bad Magick" Fan Edit/Video Treatment Concept by GENTLE MAN GOO GOO + THE WILSON HAUS

Fanvid: Баффи и Ангел / Ангелус (Buffy & Angel / Angelus) ► Прірва by Наталья Шупикова

Fanvid: Buffy and Faith - Wildside by juliaroxs241

Fandub: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2x22 Voiceover | Buffy "I'm a Slayer, not a postal worker" by A Pixie's Whisper

Music: Philip Glass plays the Buffy theme by Good-Looking Corpse

Music: Theme from Buffy but it's jazz by Good-Looking Corpse

Music: The Angel Theme (Catharsis of Sufferance by Darling Violetta) but it's jazz by Good-Looking Corpse

Music: Angel & Buffy Theme Song (Remake) by Greengo Plays

[Reviews & Recaps]

Video: Slayer Sunday-The Harsh Light of Day by Jane Talks Reel

Video: Hush Analysis by Becoming Buffy Podcast

[Fandom Discussions]

The way “Liam” was buried in a nameless grave by titsgirlbuffy

spike smoking is an extension of his personality. his personhood by silvermars

Buffy and Angel are more compatible by the end of the series by anonymous and we-pay-for-everything

Thinking about The Yoko Factor and Empty Places. And the way the tables are flipped between Spike and the Scoobies by takaraphoenix

Buffy’s male characters are fucking terrible by symbioticsimplicity

Buffy’s story is one of the very very few superhero narratives that doesn’t end by reasserting the status quo by comradesummers

Second most relatable moment in the whole buffyverse is Harmony getting turned into a vampire and ... by babygirlgiles

band candy is proof that ethan is the best character by all-seeing-ifer

Tara as a role model? continued by Angelic Slayer

Giles "Dealing" With Ben by Seeing Red

Connor's Best Season continued by Angelic Slayer and thrasherpix

One thing I’m surprised Angel has never tried doing by Lobothehobosexual

Season 7 was a real mess, wasn't it? by kedfrad

Buffy Season 10 by celticsonrain

I get so annoyed when people say the comics aren't canon by Almighty_Push91

Who do you think deserves the title of best partner/sidekick in the show? by george123890yang

Dark Willow by YogurtclosetOk3886

Riley is Buffy's perfect match by Forward_Barracuda_15

Thoughts on the end of the series by newraistlin613

Angel and the Process of Atonement by AndrewHeard

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

[kissofthemuses]

Freya's Verses

In her Father's Footsteps

After the death of her husband, Freya returns to her family home. While recovering and putting her life back together, Freya began to show an interest in the family business. Though her father tries to keep her from joining in, she's determined and ends up working for him. After some digging, she realized that the fire wasn't an accident. Fully believing that her husband was killed by someone outside her family, Freya is intent on using her position within the family to get revenge.

Star Wars

Freya's father is the leader of a smaller, but growing, crime syndicate. Born in the Underworld of Coruscant, Freya was brought up learning how to survive in a world and galaxy that largely didn't care about people.

As a child, she would stare up at the world of skyscrapers above and wish she could be up there. By the time she was a young woman, her family had moved up (literally) in the world and she began exploring more and more of it.

It was there that she met and fell in love with a young droid mechanic. They had a whirlwind romance and they eloped. But trying to keep ties with her family, he was eventually roped into the business. One day, things went wrong and he was killed during scuffle with some off-worlders who thought they could take them.

Freya was left torn between duty to her family and fleeing the violence she'd known all her life. In the end, it was decided that she would go off world to help "expand their reach", but she's really looking to avenge her late husband.

His Dark Materials

Freya is from a crime family in Muscovy. Her father was especially adept at smoothing things over when things pointed in his direction. She understood from a fairly young age that her father did things that other father's didn't, but, she was sheltered from the violence and truth of it for as long as possible.

Despite being kept in the dark, she learned things most young girls didn't learn: she learned how to fight and use firearms, the older men told her the best ways to break someone down. And it was her mother who taught her how to make a house look spotless, how to cook and bake, and how to clean blood out of any kind of fabric.

Eventually she did learn what her father and the people she grew up around did. Perhaps she'd always known, but had been willingly blind to it. But, when her eyes were finally opened to the realities of it all, it brought her whole world crashing down.

She had fallen head over heals in love with a scholar in the area. He was smart, funny, and the complete opposite of her family. He was a breath of fresh air. However, Freya’s parents were not impressed, as they saw Lucas as taking her away from them more and more. But, when Lucas proposed, she said yes and the two eloped.

They lived happily together for years until one day, tragedy struck. Someone showed up at their door that knew Lucas. But they didn't just know him, they knew who she was too. And who her father was. And they knew that the best way to get to both was to take Freya hostage. She would soon learn that Lucas was the son of one of her father's old rivals, but that he had run from his family and gotten out. She was not a very compliant hostage, though, and mouthed off a little too much, and got herself tortured for it.

When Lucas showed up, he gave himself up to try and save her. For his betrayal, he was killed. But, he served as a distraction for her father to get her out. She stayed with her family long enough to recover and then, one day, she ran as far as she could. But, just because she ran doesn't mean she didn't have a plan. She needed to bide her time, to get revenge.

Her daemon is a wolf with a tawny and black coat named Vedovok.

[tharros-auris-black-asimi]

Warmth

Pairing: Alpha Beefy Bucky x Female Mutant Reader

Summary: Being paired off with Bucky Barnes on a mission was hard enough. Hell, the two of you being a part of Hydra a long time ago was already hard enough. But when the two of you are forced to seek shelter in an Avengers safehouse, it gets even worse.

Because there's only one freaking bed.

Will you survive the night with the grumpy Alpha by your side? Or will you rip your hair out?

Who knows. The nights are unpredictable.

What you do know is, is that Bucky Barnes is too fucking hot for his damn good.

Maybe you just might pull your hair out.

Warnings: Heavy A/B/O dynamics. Mentions of past torture from Hydra for both Bucky and the Reader. This Bucky is sort of a mix between CW!Bucky, (hence the beefy!Bucky), but also TFATWS!Bucky bc I love grumpy old man, sassy Bucky. Some angst/hurt/comfort, because I'm a hoe for angst. No heats/ruts in this lil fic, just good ole rough smut. Some biting and some mild blood too. This sex would be considered unprotected irl, but in the a/b/o verse, I don't think you'd need protection??? Who knows. Italics are for when Bucky and the Reader are talking in Russian. The Reader also has a nightmare, which ties back in with the whole mention of past torture from Hydra. If I missed any other warnings in this, let me know and I'll make sure to add them!

Additional Notes: This was written for @agentofbarnes's writing challenge! Congrats on 7k, Zee! I'm sorry this took so long. I started writing this in July, and let it marinate for far too long. But it's here now. I hope you enjoy!

All writing mistakes in this fic are mine, as usual.

Word Count: 4,602

Hell.

This was absolute pure fucking hell.

As you and the former Winter Soldier, James "Bucky" Barnes himself stared at the front door of one of the safehouses for the Avengers in case of emergencies, you couldn't help make eye contact with him.

Great. This was just great.

No one, not even Clint had told you that it would be snowing in freaking January in rural Ohio, of all places.

Then again, you had faintly remembered doing gymnastics before you had been taken by Hydra with some arrogant Alpha guy named Lance. He had been a real pain in your ass and you remembered you had made him cry once. After you had escaped from Hydra, you had bumped into him again. Funnily enough, he was still just as scared of you as he was all those years ago. Which, you know, was nice.

But what was not nice was the Alpha that was currently looking back at you. James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky, Buck, White Panther, Jesus, Bionic Staring Machine- (the last three nicknames, all given to him by the Alpha Sam Wilson himself), scowled at you. His blue eyes even narrowed at you.

You wouldn't call what you and Bucky had a friendship. You two weren't even enemies. Heck, colleagues? Teammates? That was just putting it lightly, the relationship you had with the Alpha. Even when you had been captured and brainwashed into serving Hydra, the two of you had never crossed paths. It had been only after Hydra had fallen, did the two of you actually meet in person. Other than that, nothing. Nada. Nope. No with a capital N.O.

"Come on, let's go." Bucky all but grumbled. Realizing he didn't have the key to get inside, he looked at you. Like you had the key or something.

"James, I don't have the key." Bucky groaned. "Do you have a bobby pin, Omega? Something?" He asked in Russian. You plucked a bobby pin from your hair. A stray piece of hair fell. Putting the flat side in, you managed to unlock the door. You turned to look at him, giving him a toothy grin.

"Learned that from Pit Pocketing for Dummies, 101."

Bucky rolled his eyes at that. You just sniggered as you opened the door, greeted by cool air smacking against your face.

It made you shiver.

Because, unlike Bucky, you did not have any of that good ole supersoldier serum in your veins.

You were a mutant that could control water. Sometimes, you wished that you had the ability to control fire, because then, at least you could be warm in such dire situations such as these.

Taking your shoes off and putting them at the door, you surveyed the place.

It was a small house. Like a cozy little cottage. Probably only had at least two rooms at the max. It certainly gave off that vibe. There was a fireplace in the living room. A fully furnished kitchen, complete with a little wooden table with benches instead of individual chairs near the window.

Your grip on your bag of clothes became tighter as you realized that you needed to take a shower. Your stomach grumbled, alerting Bucky that you were hungry. Your comms had died. The two of you could contact no one until you charged them.

Which meant for at least tonight, or whenever the snowstorm outside stopped, you only had Bucky Barnes for company.

Well. That certainly would be pleasant.

"Go and shower first. I'll make dinner."

***

After your shower, you walked back into the kitchen, your sweet smell that reminded Bucky of deserts that his Ma used to make for him and his younger sisters back in Brooklyn drifted towards his nose. Thanks to the serum, he had already smelled it a mile away.

Cinamon rolls. Apple turnovers. Apple pies. Pumpkin pies. Bucky felt his Alpha rumble at the smell. Even Winter stirred at the familiar scent he loved so much.

When Bucky had gotten the trigger words wiped away from him due to Princess Shuri's genius, the Winter Soldier hadn't gone away from him. Rather, Winter had become a part of Bucky. Winter had been what Bucky became to survive Hydra. Winter was Bucky, only darker. More possessive. The deepest, darkest thing of him that the Wakandan Elders had helped him find again and reconcile with.

It was during times like this, making dinner in the kitchen that reminded him so much of his time back in Wakanda. Taking care of his farm and his pet goats, (that he sadly couldn't bring back with him when coming back to America), that he missed the most. It was domestic, in a way. He could almost feed into the fantasy, the thought that you were his Omega, his Bondmate, and that he was just making dinner for you.

From an outsider's perspective, it might've looked like Bucky didn't like you. That he just tolerated you. Treated you like how he treated everyone else in his life.

But it was the contrary.

He liked you.

He liked you very, very much. Other than Steve, Natalia, and heck, even the winged pigeon- you were one of the only people to truly understand him. You were probably even on the same playing field as Natalia, because you knew what it was like to be controlled by the Russian government. You held him at an arm's length at most, and you never treated him like he was some fragile, broken man. When you treated his wounds, you never fretted like other Omega's. Nor did you dottle. Ask him if he was okay every five seconds. It was disappointing in a way.

Bucky turned his head, just as you hopped yourself onto the counter, away from the conduction stove.

The smell of butter pasta was filling your nose. You watched with rapt attention as Bucky shut off the stove, grabbed the freshly grated cheese, and dumping it in. To hell with calories. Stirring quickly for a few seconds, he stopped. Turning his head to look at you, he gave you a low smirk. His scent of something sandalwood, oceany filling your nose. It made your Omega preen.

"Get some bowls, will ya doll? And forks too." Hopping off of the countertops, he heard a chirping, yet sarcastic reply.

"Yes, Sarge."

He felt his pants tighten at the thought. Hearing you grab all of the stuff, he swallowed.

Not that he would tell you that.

No.

Never.

***

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking with me."

So, as luck would have it. There weren't two bedrooms.

Nope.

There was only one.

Not only that, the entire room was fully furnished. A closet was on the left side of the door, against the wall. There was a window and just a bit to right, in the middle of the room, was a queen-sized bed, all made up with all the fluffiest blankets, comforters, and pillows imaginable.

"And you're sure this is the only room?" Bucky said. "Yeah! It's the only one, James. It's either this or the couch. And I'm not sleeping on the couch. It's too cold. Whoever built this safehouse didn't have any heaters built in either. Fuck, is this how I die? Freezing to death?" Your voice was getting higher with concern.

Bucky just rolled his eyes.

"No, doll. You're not to freeze to death. We're going to share that bed."

You turned your head towards him like he had just grown a second head. "What?" you exclaimed. "No. No, no, no. Noooo. James. Nu-uh. Uh-uh. I'm not going to sleep with you in my tank top and underwear. the least you've seen me in is a pair of short shorts and a tank top."

Bucky inhaled deeply through his nostrils.

Get yourself together Barnes.

Don't throw her over your shoulder.

Don't do that.

"You're a water mutant, doll. You're not a fire mutant. You aren't a supersoldier either. I'm not letting you freeze to death. I'll keep you warm all night. Better yet, don't sleep in your tank top and shorts. Our body heats will do just fine." Bucky snapped at you. You were still trying to collect your thoughts.

And then the realization, the reality of your situation, smacked you right across the face.

Bucky was asking you to sleep naked.

With him.

In the same frigging bed together.

Oh you were going to die. You were going to die and go up to wherever other spirits went to after they died. You weren't really all that religious nor spiritual.

But tonight though?

Yeah. Maybe you believed. Maybe a little.

Just the slightest bit.

"Okay, okay," you grumbled, "I won't wear any clothes. Better yet, I'll even give you a show. That'll even out the odds, James."

***

Warm.

He was just oh so warm.

Your back was flush against his front, feeling skin-on-skin.

You had stopped shivering about an hour ago.

Bucky had scouted the safehouse, to see if there was actually a heater, in case you had missed anything.

Nope.

There were no heaters in the safehouse.

Absolutely none.

Not to mention, all of the blankets weren't as thick. From what Bucky had observed a few hours ago after dinner while you had tackled the task of doing the dishes, was that the safe house had been abandoned for a while. It was either that, or nobody had stocked this place up for a while.

He had chosen the latter.

With his strong arms wrapped around your stomach, he pulled you close. You were asleep. Dead asleep. Bucky felt and saw your body rise up and down as you slept, your breaths all evened out.

It was nice, almost. Outside was quiet. Bucky could hear other than your breathing only the soft wind blowing due to the snowstorm outside.

For a moment, Bucky was lulled into a sense of calm. His mind was clear. His Alpha and Winter were quiet. He didn't have to fret. Or look over his shoulder. Didn't have to second guess himself or his actions anymore.

And then he heard it.

Soft whimpers coming from the sweet-smelling Omega that he was currently holding in his arms. You had begun to squirm, arms thrashing out. Your legs smacked on his knees, trying to desperately claw yourself free from his tightening grip on you.

"... I'll be good... just don't chuck me in the freezer again... please sir... I hate it there... please don't chuck me in the freezer, please..." you were sobbing in your sleep. You started to blubber, continually trying to claw yourself out of Bucky's grip. The metal plates of his Vibrainum arm shifted as his metal fingers tightened around your stomach. Bucky knew not to apply too much pressure on you- you weren't like him, Steve, or Natalia. You didn't have the serum in you.

"Doll? Hey, doll. C'mon, wake up. It's not real." Bucky tried shaking you awake to no avail. You had continued to thrash in his arms.

Sniffling loudly, your Omega was thrashing in her cage, in the confines of your mind. She was whispering, yelling at you to wake up.

"Omega. Wake up."

Bucky didn't mean to use his Tone. But you were being so hysterical, shaking, and crying to the point where it was beginning to worry him. Your sweet scent had begun to twist and turn into something more burnt. Singed. It made his eyes water.

You stopped thrashing in his grip. Your body froze up at his use of his Tone. Your Omega stopped throwing her temper tantrum too. She had paused for a second.

Her Alpha had given her a Command.

So why wouldn't she listen?

Peering from her cage in the confines of your mind, she sighed happily.

Alpha. Alpha cares about us. She whispered in your ear.

Slowly returning to consciousness, you struggled to know where you were for a second.

You had been having a nightmare.

A full-fledged nightmare.

You hadn't had one of those in a while.

"... Where am I?" Your voice was gentle but confused.

You still didn't know if you were still in that godforsaken Hydra facility or not. But you just wanted to make sure.

"Here, doll. You're here with me. We're in Ohio, remember? Sharin' one bed together cause I don't wanna be a bad Alpha and letcha freeze to death." Bucky said.

You couldn't help it. You snuggled into him, hearing a deep rumble coming from his chest. Bucky's Alpha was pleased. Very pleased. Winter was quiet. Which surprised Bucky. The little shit was usually more vocal about his own needs these days.

For a moment, it felt okay. You felt that weird fog lifting. Your brain slowly settling in your current surroundings. Your sweet, filling scent that had twisted and burnt into something smoky and burnt was slowly wearing off.

You were still a little shaken up. You could still hear your screaming echoing in your head. Your voice trembling, and because you didn't know if you were still stuck in the facility, "How long?"

"Not long."

Bucky watched as you lifted your head up, blinking once. And then twice. And then again, just to be sure.

Your body felt like it still wasn't physically here. Your body still felt like it was back in the cryo chamber, stuck in that damn freezer. Bucky watched your chest heave up and down. Taking in deep breaths.

Then you flopped right back into your previous spot, your back facing his front. Bucky pulled you back with his metal arm. You heard the metal plates in his arm readjust and move. You couldn't help it. Your vagina throbbed at the sound. Chewing on your bottom lip, you wiggled a little bit.

A deep rumble had come from Bucky.

The metal-armed Alpha had pushed a little bit of his weight down on you. Making you feel all warm and safe with the sandalwood and salty scent wrapped all around you like a cocoon.

You wiggled up against him again, trying to get comfortable. Your eyes closed.

A deep groan came from Bucky.

Was he asleep?

You stopped moving.

Another groan came from Bucky. His arms were wrapped around you. Not tightly, but still. It was kinda nice in a way. You could feel every muscle on his broad chest against your back.

Maybe Bucky had the right idea to sleep naked after all.

You shifted again. Trying to wiggle out a little out of the embrace.

A deep growl rumbled from Bucky. His grip on you tightened. You squirmed against him again.

Voice gravelly, "Stop moving."

Your eyes flew open.

He was awake.

And you had been-

Letting out a hiss, Bucky pushed his entire weight onto you and grinded his half-hard cock against your ass cheeks. Not even caring about if his entire weight would crush you, because of the serum.

He saw red.

Pure absolute red.

You choked. A needy little whimper filled the room.

Bucky's metal hand traveled down, all the way down to your pussy, his knee pushing your legs apart. You were panting in anticipation, eyes wide as saucers. His metal fingers were shoved deep, all the way to the knuckles. A pitiful whine left your lips. A needy whine too.

When he entered you, a choked sob escaped from your lips. Your hands curled into fists, eyes rolling into the back of your head as the formerly brainwashed assassin let out a growl.

"So sick and tired of you teasin' me," was what the former Winter Soldier growled under his breath, hissing at the way your cunt wrapped around him. Slick was smeared around your inner thighs, and you couldn't help but sob at the feeling of being so full.

Bucky was groaning above you, his hands nearing shaking.

Never had he ever thought he could ever get to do this again.

Because Bucky very much still liked sex. He very much so was a sexual creature. Being inside you gave him flashes of his life before Hydra. It made him remember a much skinner, smaller Steve. A much duller, war-stricken Brooklyn. It made him remember the giggles of Omegas. It made him remember his Ma's cooking growing up. Rebecca's giggles in his ears. Just like the old times.

Not for the first time in his life, he didn't feel trapped.

He felt free.

This was freeing to him.

And when he began to move, position his hips against your back, smacking roughly. Good enough to leave marks in the morning.

Wet, squishing noise echoed noisily every time he bottomed out of you. Every thrust in, filling you, completing you. It sent you gasping and crying out into the pillows. His hands- both metal and flesh, reached under you, to grab ahold of your breasts in a tight grip that only made you sob for more.

"More, more, more, please James, please-"

Something snapped in him.

Broke.

Bucky had never felt this feral before. The last time he felt this feral had been the hours when he first presented.

You whined loudly when he slid out of you, crying out at the empty feeling. Your Omega screeched in alarm.

Why had her Alpha stopped? Why?

Grabbing ahold of your legs, he lifted them up. Before he thrusted back in again, filling you up to the brim. It was deeper than last time, and his cock hit that spongy part. Hit your g-spot so good that you screamed into the pillows.

You were coming. You were coming so fast, that deep coil inside you snapping like a bomb wire being cut that you never got the chance to feel your programs. Your body jolted, spasmed. Your legs lifted off of the bed or at least tried to. Bucky's body weight was still keeping you down. So all you could do was grip the bedsheets when Bucky started to pound into you again, taking all he could.

You couldn't help yourself. You glanced back, just to take a glimpse of him.

James Buchanan Barnes looked downright feral and your pussy clenched around him deeper at the sight. as if she knew.

Every thrust made him go deeper, hitting your cervix every time. It made your second orgasm piggyback off of your first one, sobbing into the pillows. It was only when your second orgasm came, your walls clenching down onto his cock that Bucky's teeth sank into your shoulder, shattering, breaking the skin there. The taste of copper filling his mouth. Bucky let out a grunt as he came. Filling you up with so much of his jizz that he was sure it would drip from you tomorrow morning.

Bucky lifted his mouth from your shoulder.

Pants filled the room as the two of you tried to regain yourselves.

Bucky shifted, moving off of you and lying beside you. His eyes weren't black anymore. They were back to their normal blue. They reminded you of the sea in the morning on a peaceful day.

Your hand came to touch his face. Your hand faltered, trembled though. Because you were nervous.

"It's okay," his voice was deeper, huskier. It made your pussy throb. "You can touch me. It's okay."

Your hands came to touch, cup his jaw. You leaned in, pressing your lips against his. His lips were soft. Your lips moved together, his tongue slipping into your mouth. The kiss became deeper. You hadn't expected it to become deeper. You had been just going for an innocent kiss.

You swore.

Like- you really did.

You didn't expect to be fully making out with James Buchanan Barnes.

But it wasn't like you were complaining though.

Because you weren't.

Bucky was the first one to pull away. He could see how red, bruised your lips looked. He didn't recoil from your gentle touch on his face. He welcomed it. He truly did. Hands holding your hips, he looked at you.

His lips traveled down to your mating gland. He touched over it with his tongue, giving it a broad lick. His teeth sank in, piercing the skin.

Your ears popped. You cried out. His grip on your hips didn't falter.

"Yes, yes, yes," you gasped. Bucky lifted his mouth up from your gland, before sinking his teeth back in and biting again. Making his mark all that deeper.

It was only when he lifted his mouth from your gland, wiped your blood off of him with the blanket did you come at him, sinking your teeth into his gland. It made him grunt, even groan. His flesh hand came to your head, pushing your head down, making you sink your teeth even deeper into his gland.

"Yesss," hissed Bucky, his flesh hand sinking into your hair, gripping it. "Deeper, doll. Go deeper."

Winter and his Alpha completely agreed.

Theirs.

You were theirs.

After what seemed an eternity, you lifted your head up. Wiping your mouth on the blanket, you spoke.

"I missed you. What did you do to get us paired on this mission? I thought I was going with Sam," you said to your Alpha. A smirk stretched over Bucky's lips. "Ah," your Alpha said, still smirking, "I might've put something in his drink to make him vomit his guts out. He got sick."

A noise came from you.

"You gave him food poisoning? James!" You scolded him. Bucky leaned back against the headboard. "Don't worry doll, it'll wear off when we come back to the Compound. Bird Brain won't even know what hit him."

You shook your head in disbelief.

"You're unbelievable, Sasha. Did you teach Natalia that trick, too? Hmm? She and all of your Widow students?"

Bucky was still grinning ear to ear at you when he responded back.

"Well little bird, someone had to teach them. After all, I was their teacher. They all called me Yasha. Speaking of my Widow students..." he trailed off in Russian. You looked at him.

"You've contacted one of the KBG? About that leaked Russian tape with the orange man that is, unfortunately, our President?" He asked you. You nodded. "Yeah, Sasha. Everything's going as planned. Although, I think assassinating the orange man would've been a much better option. We would've gone in there and made it a done deal by now! Fuckin' Steve and his righteous self." You grumbled unhappily.

"Hmm. It would've been great as a date night. Don't you think, doll?" Bucky drawled. You gave a serious nod.

"Although... seeing him freak out on Twitter is much, much better. The tea is better when it's hot." You grinned. Bucky just let out a sigh.

"I'm restricting your phone privileges. And your TV privileges. You need to stop watching those drama channels, Mega."

A noise of deep discomfort came from you.

"Sasha!" you whined, "then what will I do while you're gone on missions?"

"Wait for me to come back?" Bucky suggested. You just sighed. Even shook your head in fondest. You happily snuggled up to your Alpha, your nose rubbing up against your Mate's gland. "I always wait for you to come back, Sasha. I wait and I worry. I love you, James."

A deep rumble came from your Mate.

"I love you too, Little Omega."

Your head peeked up.

"So, can we tell the rest of the team when I leak the tape?" You asked, your eyes glimmering with mischief.

Bucky burst out laughing.

"Yes, yes, yes. We can tell them once you've wreaked havoc, Omega."

"Good." You were nodding seriously, in complete agreement. "It'll be fun. And... also, I forgot to tell you."

The joyful expression on Bucky's face was suddenly replaced with one of worry.

"What? What is it?" He asked gently. "When you were gone for your last mission two months ago... I... I came off of my suppressants. I'm ready, James. I want a family with you."

Shock flickered over Bucky's face. And then he was shoving you back into the bed with a shriek coming from you.

"When's your pre-heat?" He demanded.

You felt it. A cramp. It made you whimper.

"N-Now, James. Now," you stammered. Your Alpha pulled your legs apart roughly before he thrusted back into you, making you gasp.

"Say it," he hissed. "Say you want it. Say you want my knot. Say you want my pups."

"I want it, James." Your voice was a low whisper, even staggering a little bit. "I want your knot. I want your pups. Please. Please, Sasha."

His hands, both metal, and flesh gripped your shoulder tight as that vein of his neck nearly popped. His eyes were black with want. Soon, his Rut would be upon him and he'd breed you. Put his pup in you. You'd carry his pup. He'd have the pack that Winter and his Alpha desperately wanted after all these years.

A whine came from you when he pulled out, only to let out a scream when he thrusted back in. Hitting that part of you that made your eyes roll into the back of your head. Your mouth fell open, but no words came out.

His pace was brutal, not even letting you hold onto him. Your hands were left to grip the bedsheets again. You gripped them so tight that your knuckles turned white and you thought that they were going to pop.

Bucky continued to push, continued to shove his ejaculate deeper and deeper inside of you. A mixture of your slick and his ejaculate smeared all over your thighs and trickled down your legs, and you just didn't know what was happening. Your hindbrain was telling you that this was what was needed. That your designation wanted, nay, demanded this. After all the shit you had gone through, your Omega had found her Alpha and now, now she was determined to have a family. Have the pack she desperately desired.

"Mine."

A harsh thrust made you sob.

"You're mine now. I waited for you for so long. Wanted you for so long. You're mine now. Got my Mark. Got my clothes in your nest. Gonna give you my name. Gonna give you my pups. You're mine. All mine. Say you're mine. Say it!"

You came screaming. Your orgasm making you see white. Bucky continued slamming into you, the wet, squishing noises coming from your pussy becoming louder and louder the more he pushed in. Your teeth sank into his flesh shoulder, shattering and piercing the skin there. You tasted copper in your mouth.

Bucky came with a shout. He shoved you back completely, making you shriek. And then he was leaning in again, sinking his teeth into your gland. Making another deep mark. It made you fall limp into the bed as his knot swelled, locking the two of you in place.

He lifted his head.

Being inside you... knotted inside of you... it was bliss. It was just as good as cockwarming. His cock all nestled deep inside of you whenever you two would sneak off to sleep together.

"Bite me again. Give me your mark, Omega." he panted. Slowly, your head went up, you slowly sat up, before taking in a deep breath and sinking your teeth back into his gland.

Home.

You had brought Bucky home. He held you tight, whispering in your ear how much he loved you and how much of a good Omega you were.

"I love you Omega." His voice was rough.

Lifting your head from his gland. Blood still trickling down the corners of your mouth. You offered him a smile. A genuine one. One that made his stomach all fluttery.

"I love you too, Alpha."

[jaina-chaosweaver-of-fate]

Tomix’s Lament

Twisting and turning, I run through the halls, The nightmare still chasing, Beyond classroom walls,

As I enter the After, Beyond living reach, I hear mocking laughter, From beyond walls’ reach,

I run from Edelia, Scars are still fresh, My one true friend with me, We truly do mesh,

My mistake must be fixed, My past must be mend, My one true friend helps me, Drives me ‘round the bend,

In the new lands I, Find friendships all new, Worth beyond fixing, What I once blew,

But my one true friend reminds, All of my crime, Leads my new companions, From me before time,

He says he will help me, But seems so reluctant, He sings with me softly, His verse is discordant,

My new friends will help me, But one is taken, Not again I breathe, As wrongs happen akin,

History repeats itself, I am left all alone, An enemy warns me, Chills me to the bone,

I call upon my friends, Help them out here and there, Then slowly I realise, My quarry is near,

As I go off to chase her, My friends are lost to me, Alone I go forward, Now there’s just us three,

I take down the second, Oh, second to last, She reveals to me, Betrayals of the past,

My true friend betrays me, My other friends gone, I need more companions, Can’t do this alone,

My call for aid answered, By a joy to see, But disappoint I must, Take from them, me,

Resignation settles, The truth I must tell, But first I must accept, It within this well,

A well of grief, So carefully filled, I turn it inside out, Leave it all spilled,

I will leave no regrets, No pains left behind, But as I walk this ship, Dark thoughts come to mind,

Farewell to my family, I said long ago, Farewell to my friends, I’ll say on the bough,

The closer we get, To that central place, The harder it becomes, To leave this maze,

I talk with everyone, They tell me the truth, Without extra talent, We would be stuck ‘tis sooth,

So we find all we need, Adventure together once more, We take our allies, From inlands to shore,

Now we approach the core, Face innocents turned foe, Then my once friend strikes a, Devastating blow,

They are not even, Foes fighting us now, We must open, A broken vow,

Innocents were hurt here, In my last quest’s step, But we cannot mourn them, Beyond the last prep,

I will avenge, And take on the blame, But the blood washes off, It is not my shame,

Now I must tell them, Yet no words come out, A companion captured, A truth kept hidden devout,

And here I stand, Facing once a friend, He crushes my last heart, Yet I’ll keep him ‘till the end,

My true friends stand with me, Let me keep my vow, As I stumble over, Peace within me now,

I fall one last time, No line more to keep, I will tell of those, Who watch and now weep,

Because in the After, Where I will reside, I will tell their tales, Share their names with pride,

But I will wonder, And cry for a friend, Who never had any, Except at the end,

Maybe he will now know, Wherever he is, I may not see him, But heart’s deep I’ll miss,

Forever my first friend, Aspar and Envy,

[wxldchxld]

Beck: 

I’m a peaceful person and I generally don’t believe violence is the best way to solve conflicts. I just want to explore and have fun and be happy and make everyone I love happy.

The People She Loves (All in separate verses):

Harper Byrns: Romantic

An extremely powerful and short tempered necromancer who sees casual body theft, manipulation, and intimidation are a-o-k. Who has tied her soul to one of the most dangerous magical creatures alive as a familiar, uses combat spells that literally let her rot the flesh off her enemies as they attack her, and is ever increasing her legion of undead warriors/devotees.

Lexa om Trikru @graunblida​ : Romantic

A literal war chief who is notorious for kicking people off buildings, and accepting pissing matches that are literally to the death, and instead of taking said matches seriously doing crazy shit like grabbing a sword so she could look cool. From a culture that believes firmly in blood for blood. The actual definition of “if looks could kill” but also if swords could kill and knives could kill.

Natasha Romanova @bokketo​: Romantic

SHIELD Spy and occasional assassin. Actual Avenger who has fought aliens, mutants, bad people, and anyone who has even looked @her gf wrong. Can make actual daggers of ice or even straight up encase ppl in an icy tomb if pressed.

Charmaine Diyoza @justicescreaming​: It’s real weird

Ex-con. Infamous terrorist known for being pragmatic and ruthless when need be. Perfectly willing to order her one of men to shoot the other if he even hesitates to do what she asked. Trying to high-key take over the world. Once nearly broke out of super-prison with just her teeth and a cheesy rock song by biting off someone’s ear.

Blair Sala @historiesandmemories​: Believe it or not it’s even weirder than the last one?????

 Very powerful vampire who has probably killed more people than Beck can count in her early days. Now she eats people’s dreams and occasionally their blood too and frequently gets those dreams confused with reality. Definitely strong enough to crush a fox with her thumb.

Ros Myers @stcriestcld​: Romantic

Extremely talented super agent in a division of SHIELD specifically devoted to super-powered and extra terrestrial terrorism. Once shot someone dead through another person. Isn’t necessarily opposed to some mild torture if it gets her what she needs.

Ontari kom Azgedakru @raisedheda​: Eventually romantic if Beck doesn’t die of embarrassment first.

Literally born and bred a warrior by a vicious war-mongering queen. Definitely sliced Lexa’s (not that Lexa up there but a different one’s) gf’s head off and gave her the mafia treatment. Completely willing to kill someone for insulting her even if it’s Not a good idea. Also high-key trying to take over the world. 

[koorinohebi]

Revamped Tags

So I remade my long-ass list of tags. They are under the cut because long. Anyway, I'm also going to remake my current shipping tags because I think they need to be revamped as well. So if you want a ship tag with Kiomi or any of the muses of this blog, feel free to like this post. Only requirement is that our muses have interacted.

=== Mun Tags ===

Beyond the Bounded Field || OOC Craft Essence || Commissioned Piece Limelight || Commission Drawing Board || My Art

=== General Purpose Tags ===

⩤ Throne of Heroes ⩥ Gallery ⩤ Unprompted ⩥ ⩤ Starter ⩥ ⩤ The Meme ⩥ ⩤ HQ Report : Dash Comm ⩥ ⩤ Simulation Room : Dash Games ⩥ ⩤ The Grind : Memes and Games ⩥ ⩤ Order Restored : Answered ⩥ ⩤ Dailies : Anon ⩥ ⩤ Attention : PSA ⩥ ⩤ Mystic eyes of .Crack. Perception ⩥ ⩤ tw : ⩥ ⩤ Inbox Call ⩥ ⩤ Preparing to Rayshift : Queue ⩥ ⩤ Take my Hand : Wishlist ⩥ ⩤ Drums of War : Music ⩥ ⩤ War Council : P . R . O . M . O. ⩥ ⩤ Loyalties : P.r.o.m.o ⩥ ⩤ Stashed ⩥ ⩥ Cont'd from x

=== Muse Tags ===

⩤ Blog Shenanigans ⩥ ⩤ Muse Commentaries ⩥ ⩤ Visage ⩥ ⩤ Saint Graph : Headcanons ⩥ ⩤ Battle Records : Aesthetics ⩥ ⩤ To each their own reveries : Musings ⩥ ⩤ Chaldea Lunchtime : Conversations ⩥ ⩤ Interlude : Drabbles ⩥

⩤ To each their own devices : Kiomi ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Kamo Serizawa ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Mitsuhide Akechi ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Takechi Zuizan ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Tanaka Shinbei ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Chen Gong ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Okuni ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Lanlan Fang ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Major Magatsu ⩥ ⩤ To each their own devices : Major Reiter ⩥ ⩤ Echoes : Guest Muse ⩥

=== Verse Tags ===

⩤ Singularities : Main ⩥ ⩤ Remnants : AU ⩥ ⩤ Event Horizon : Crossovers ⩥

=== Friend Tags (Ever growing) ===

Arai-chan ⩤ Sarutobi Arai : Sister-in-Arms ⩥

Assortedsnacks ⩤ Touken Danshi : Kikkou Sadamune ⩥

Aurivore ⩤ Gilgamesh : Majesty Defined ⩥ ⩤ Kogil : Decadent Exuberance ⩥

Caemthe ⩤ Demon King of the Sixth Heaven : Oda Nobunaga ⩥

Gemsofchaldea ⩤ Jack : A Child Beloved ⩥ ⩤ Da Vinci-Chan : The Universal Beauty ⩥

Getsuruito ⩤ Momochi Tanba : The Great Ninja Master ⩥ ⩤ Pang Tong : The Fledgling Phoenix ⩥

Historias-Multorum ⩤ Hinata Hyuuga : Delicate Breeze ⩥ ⩤ Tsunade : Densetsu no Hime ⩥ ⩤ Izuna ⩥ ⩤ Shizune ⩥

Homeport ⩤ Sakamoto Ryouma : The Miracle Worker ⩥ ⩤ The Evil Mastermind : Takasugi Shinsaku ⩥ ⩤ Hizen Tadahiro : The Sharpest Edge ⩥

Kiicho ⩤ Kicho : Enchanting Pearl of Mino ⩥ ⩤ Nohime : Ties Severed ⩥ (Mitsuhide)

Lovedloyalty ⩤ A Saber Among Shadows : Okada Izo ⩥ ⩤ Alter Ego : Okada Izo ⩥ ⩤ Mori Nagayoshi : Blood Soaked Loyalty ⩥ ⩤ Beowulf : The Grendel Buster ⩥ ⩤ Leonidas : The King of Sparta ⩥ ⩤ Phantom : Angel of Music ⩥ ⩤ Shuichi : Spiral Bound ⩥ ⩤ Mephistopheles : Deals with the Devil ⩥

⩤ Hitokiri Izo : Hound of the Kinnoto ⩥ (Tosa) ⩤ Okada Izo : The Ghost of Tosa ⩥ (Redline) ⩤ Mori Nagayoshi : Demon of the Battlefield ⩥ (Blog Servants, Redline) ⩤ Old Man Li : Old and Strong ⩥ (Blog Servants, Redline)

Moonlightmagus ⩤ Yuuki : Friends Forever ⩥ ⩤ Na'amah : A Demon Dancing through Emotions ⩥

Mysticallities ⩤ Tristan : A vicious fairy knight ⩥ ⩤ Strange Amalgamation : Rintsuka ⩥ ⩤ Liber : The Ancient Arbitrator ⩥

Nobuverse ⩤ Chacha : A Radiance of Warmth ⩥ ⩤ Nobunaga Oda : The Avenging Fool of Owari ⩥ ⩤ Summer Nobunaga : Blazing Rockstar! ⩥ ⩤ Nagao Kagetora : The Dragon of Echigo ⩥ ⩤ Lancer Class : Mei Fan ⩥

⩤ Nobunaga Oda : Enemy at Honnouji ⩥ (Mitsuhide)

Nulltune ⩤ Hakuno : Shards of Moonlight ⩥

Madamhatter ⩤ Sophie : A Dutiful Heart ⩥

Soulsbetrayed ⩤ Avenger Class : Izou the Manslayer ⩥ ⩤ Touken Danshi : Tensho Koshirae ⩥ ⩤ Hosokawa Gracia : Beloved ⩥

Spookums ⩤ Witching Hour : Gabriella ⩥

Summoned-Anima ⩤ Ashiya Douman : The Humble Priest? ⩥

Super-Kame-Love ⩤ Aina Kichida : The Turtle Sage ⩥

Tenkoseiensei ⩤ Assassin Class : Yan Qing the Wingman ⩥

[brooklynislandgirl]

@tangleweave   {{XX}}

As is her habit, Beth makes herself small and tries to stay out from underfoot. In this case she lets the chair swallow her as she tucks her legs in lotus pose fashion, and presses the backs of her fingers together before twisting them into some strange shape in her lap, a sign of internalised anxiety. It isn’t often that she even comes to the Compound, doesn’t consider herself in any relation to the Avengers as they are called. It’s true Sam is sort of her brother by now with their history, and of course there’s Uncle Phil but he’s not really an Avenger either, though she thinks he could be if he wanted.

Normally when people speak she finds it difficult to follow along. The words get twisted up until they no longer resemble anything that might even make sense. There is something about the AI’s diction that is smooth, quiet, and seems to access some different part of her mind. One that isn’t so befouled that she can parse what he says even without the crutch of micro-expressions and lip reading that she normally relies on. The other thing she deeply appreciates about him is the fact that he doesn’t mock her lack of experience, or discounts her question without consideration.

“An’ does dat help? Usin’ Google or wha’evah?” It is invaluable information.  “Like..do you have to, or mebbe..is it all in...” She lifts a birdlike hand to refer to his head. Could he process that without a device, or is he more human than he appears? She’s too often misinterpreted reactions and body language only to discover it a touch too late. It’s always awkward and often humiliating. But when he’s done? “Does dat evah...make you sad? Are ya capable of...da kine? Emotions? I...I don’ mean t’ hurt your feelings, Vision. I hope you know dat.”

Even if it doesn’t process for him the way she takes the way he’s spoken, it does hurt her heart that people abruptly change tack or abandons the conversation entirely. It has been done to her countless times. “Dat’s what I’d t’ink anyway. But I know what you mean. One time, a’ a get-t’geddah before ya... well, I suppose before ya born? Uhm, everybody was talkin’ an’ someone aks me if I was more a top or bottom. An’ every kine t’ought it so funny when I expounded on da virtues of da bottom bunk ‘cause it’s more room, an’ feels safer...an’...I dunno. By da time everyone stop laughin’, I’d already wander away. I nevah really got da joke.”

She twists her lips to one side and shrugs the slight span of her shoulders. “Issit okay wi’ you...if I aks a couple more questions? Dey might be like...real personal.”

[vampireshaman]

₊ ˚ ⊹ MEET THE MUSE 𓂃 ࣪ ˖ .ᐟ

(Important Side Note): Born in 1998, Hae-seol’s origin story reaches back to World War II, when her biological parents' DNA was used (without their knowledge or consent) to conceive her and her twin sister, Lenore, in a lab. Hae-seol was cryogenically preserved for 52 years, while Lenore became the first experimental prototype for the organization known as Red Shield. In 2014, Hae-seol is 16, a timeline set between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. By 2024, she has grown into a 26-year-old woman.

Legal Korean Name: Hae-seol Kim

Aliases: Divine Lady, Benevolent One, Victoria "Ann" Rogers

Personality Type: INFJ (Advocate) – Insightful, empathetic, morally driven, yet prone to internal conflict

Age: 16 (verse-dependent)

Ethnicity: Asian/American (biologically the daughter of Steve Rogers and Saya Otonashi)

Species: Human/Chiropteran Hybrid

Citizenship: Korean, with multiple international passports

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Date of Birth: August 15, 1998

Weight/Height: 135 lbs | 5'5"

Hair/Eye Color: Black/Burnt Sienna (Golden Brown)

Blood Type: O+

Birthmarks: Identical birthmark to Steve Rogers' on her abdomen

### Background

Hae-seol Kim, affectionately known simply as Hae-seol, is a 16-year-old high school student and the cornerstone of her community. Raised within a family held in high esteem, her upbringing is deeply rooted in Korean shamanistic practices. Her primary mentor and guiding figure was her grandmother, Ming-Ji Kim, who held the respected role of the last practicing shaman in the family. Unbeknownst to Hae-seol, her true origins are tied to experimental science rather than lineage alone—she is a chiropteran-human hybrid, a fact hidden even from her. She attributes her unique abilities and strengths to her shamanistic heritage, although she has lingering suspicions that her grandmother concealed other secrets. This aura of mystery surrounding her heritage not only complicates her self-identity but also draws her deeper into her shamanistic duties, connecting her even more to her grandmother’s legacy as she struggles to reconcile the unknown with the spiritual path she has inherited.

### Personality

Hae-seol’s natural kindness and grounded demeanor set her apart. Compassionate, perceptive, and remarkably humble given her family’s prominence, she embodies a warmth that makes her approachable. She stands against bullying and is a compassionate friend, consistently making others feel seen and understood. Her innate empathy and high emotional intelligence make her a trusted confidante, someone whom people feel safe around. Her authenticity, matched with her strength of character, positions her as both a protector and a friend among her peers. Despite the expectations placed on her, Hae-seol remains down-to-earth and sees her role as an extension of who she is rather than a burden, though it often weighs heavily on her inner self.

### Motivations and Goals

Deeply motivated by a calling to help others and uphold her family’s traditions, Hae-seol takes her spiritual duties seriously. As the last shaman of her family line, she feels an immense responsibility to perform rituals, offer spiritual guidance, and maintain the respect her community holds for her family. Guided by the principles instilled in her by her grandmother, Hae-seol aspires to use her gifts to benefit others, particularly the vulnerable. Her lack of knowledge about her true origins allows her to focus solely on this mission, even though the scope of her abilities remains partially hidden from her. This mixture of known and unknown drives her curiosity and subtly fuels a quiet search for understanding and self-discovery.

### Approach

Hae-seol’s approach to life is marked by optimism, warmth, and an open heart. She actively fosters a sense of community among her peers, whether by organizing study groups, supporting school events, or simply lending an empathetic ear to those in need. Her popularity and respected social position are byproducts of her genuine kindness, generosity, and selflessness. Her humility makes her accessible and approachable, earning her a natural leadership role even though she often downplays her influence. The balance she strikes between fulfilling her responsibilities and connecting with those around her makes her a unifying presence among her friends and a positive force in her community.

### Inner Conflict

Hae-seol’s unwavering empathy and strength coexist with an internal dissonance. Though confident in her skills, she sometimes feels disconnected from others due to her unique abilities, believing these differences stem from her shamanistic heritage rather than her hidden, scientific origins. This isolation often stirs a sense of being set apart, even as it strengthens her resolve to serve selflessly. Her humility prevents her from seeing her gifts as a means of superiority; instead, she treats them as tools entrusted to her for the betterment of others. This perspective deepens her humility and compassion, keeping her grounded even as she faces the mysteries surrounding her origins.

### Influence and Community Role

Hae-seol’s role extends beyond her friend circle to her entire school and neighborhood. Admired for her integrity, strength, and kindheartedness, she holds a position of reverence and influence within her community. Teachers, peers, and adults alike respect her character, viewing her as a natural leader. Despite her young age, Hae-seol is seen as a trusted individual capable of handling delicate matters. Among her close friends, including So-young Choi, Ji-eun Park, and Eun-bi Kim, she is valued for her loyalty and empathy, though she remains blissfully unaware of the layered motives and varying intentions of those attracted to her influence.

### Spiritual Role

As the designated shaman, Hae-seol is central to her community’s spiritual life, a role that carries deep significance. Her grandmother’s powerful legacy looms large, encouraging Hae-seol to pursue her path diligently and with great reverence. Local community members come to her seeking blessings, spiritual guidance, and, at times, exorcisms. Her home is often filled with visitors seeking her insight or her healing touch, and her youth only enhances the reverence with which she is treated. Her gradual growth in skill and reputation marks her increasing importance, and her role as a young spiritual leader is shaping her path and solidifying her commitment to tradition and community.

### Medical Knowledge

Alongside her spiritual duties, Hae-seol has acquired a foundational knowledge of traditional Korean medicine through her grandmother’s guidance. She is proficient in wound care, childbirth assistance, and pregnancy support, skills that have established her as a trusted caregiver within her community. This blend of spiritual and practical healing practices makes her indispensable, as her dual knowledge allows her to serve in various capacities, from spiritual healing to practical first aid. Her hands-on approach and dedication earn her trust, reinforcing her significance and reliability in the eyes of those around her.

### Public Recognition

Hae-seol’s influence transcends her immediate circle, drawing the attention of notable community leaders. Religious figures, business leaders, and government officials frequently invite her to prominent gatherings, acknowledging the importance and reach of her role. These appearances mark her as a respected public figure, a symbol of both traditional heritage and social impact. Her presence at these events further solidifies her reputation and influence, even as she remains modest and focused on her core mission.

### Shamanistic Duties

Managing both school and her spiritual responsibilities requires meticulous balance, which Hae-seol achieves with dedication. Her daily schedule includes rituals, prayers, and strict dietary practices aimed at maintaining her spiritual clarity and well-being. Her duties encompass ancestor worship, spiritual counseling, and cleansing ceremonies, reflecting the depth of her commitment to her role. Despite these extensive commitments, she remains dedicated to her studies and social life, embodying a harmonious blend of modernity and tradition. This balance, along with her dedication, makes her an embodiment of cultural continuity and progress within her community.

### Hae-seol’s Journey

Hae-seol Kim represents the delicate intersection of spiritual obligation, personal responsibility, and the pursuit of her own dreams. Empathetic, resilient, and perceptive, she navigates an internal conflict stemming from her dual identities as both a shaman and a regular young woman. Though her purpose is clear, the burden of her responsibilities often isolates her, igniting a yearning for freedom and autonomy. Nonetheless, her duty to her family and community holds her firmly to her path, pushing her to seek a delicate balance between her inherited calling and the life she dreams of beyond the weight of her role. Her journey is one of self-discovery, where tradition meets personal aspiration, challenging her to find harmony amid the complex dynamics of her identity.

[winterironbang]

Art Preview:

 Below you will find the art previews for this year, remember authors that its not quite time for claiming yet!Take a good look and pick 2-3 favourites and remember their Title for when claiming does begin.

If you’d rather see the art as a google doc click here

   Title: Kissing under the fireworks

Description/Prompt: what it says on the tin. Kissing under the fireworks.

This one is a pretty open universe, could be a first kiss, a regular kiss exchanged at New Year's Eve, the fireworks are celebrating that one of them have been crowned King or them finally getting married. Or maybe a romantic proposal at a holiday celebration. 

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar 

 Title: welcome back / welcome home 

Description/Prompt: Bucky pulls Tony into a bone crushing hug, extremely relieved that Tony is back home and alive. Bucky doesn't plan to let him go, ever again. 

Open verse, could be a no-power AU, or pre-Afghanistan, or maybe sometime when Tony is IronMan. It could be focusing on Bucky's anguish at not knowing where is Tony if he is alive. Or could be the celebration that Tony is home. Maybe how is their life is being affected after.

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar

   Title: 19th century AU

Prompt: 19th century-vibes AU (or can be Bridgerton AU), with behaving one way in private and another way in public to save face, love, and searching for one's freedom. (Can be ABO or not)

Limitations: dubcon/noncon between the OTP, eye gore, MCD, D/s verse (a normal universe with a D/s relationship is fine though), unhappy ending, pwp. I would prefer if it was not simple love at first sight.

 Title: Sweethearts

Description/Prompt:  Punk!Alpha!Bucky gets into a fight, not on purpose - this time - and while he does win, he gets beaten badly. 

He tries to walk it off, but he runs into his Omega classmate Tony who is heading home from a late night lab-session. 

Tony sees him and is very adamant to treat Bucky's injuries - he lets slip by accident a couple of details about Bucky, showcasing that he pays more attention to Bucky than a "proper" Omega should. 

Tony patches Bucky up, and they fall asleep on the couch, Bucky relaxing after a long while.

They end up becoming friends and Tony offers to tutor Bucky. 

They end up falling in love with Tony, and Bucky stops skipping class and getting into so many fights. Though Tony patches him up, every single time. 

In the end Bucky's grades improve enough that he finishes in the Top 10 of the class. 

Warnings: none

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar  

Title: Iron Man Noir AU

Prompt: Iron Man Noir AU with influences from Spider-Man Noir. It is 1939, Tony Stark is undercover in Berlin in his hidden Cabaret, to gather intel, and help where help is needed. 

Why is Bucky there? Is he sent for undercover work, ready to meet some secret contact? Is he a Russian spy sent to gather information about America's plans? Or is he just some normal guy who wandered into the wrong Cabaret at the wrong time? 

(These are just some ideas for Bucky, if you have others, let's talk! Bucky could be MCU-inspired or comic-inspired, or a mix or something else.)

Limitations: noncon between Bucky and Tony,  MCD, ABO, D/s verse (a normal universe with a D/s relationship is fine though), eye gore, eye things in general, unhappy ending, pwp, smoking except pipes.

  Title: BDSM AU

Description/Prompt: I was definitely thinking praise kink and rope play, but feel free to include others as well. Who is being tied up is the Author's choice, I will adjust the art accordingly (like including Bucky's metal arm) 

Warnings: BDSM, Rope play and I guess other kind of kinks if they get included. 

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar.

    Title: Sea AU 

Description/Prompt: Siren/Mermaid Tony and Sailor/Pirate/Privateer!Bucky - Tony visits his land bound lover, Bucky. 

This one is open verse, I have already listed couple of options for them, but feel free to change that. 

The world can be dark - Siren!Tony attracts unsuspecting ships (and sailors) to their death. Either by Bucky's sword or by shipwrecking them.

Could be angst - ala Little Mermaid style (original or Disney version) or a completely new one 

Could be hurt/comfort - Bucky is the only survivor of his ship, because Tony saved him. But Tony could only bring him to a lonely Island, where the only way out is for Bucky to build a raft, and Tony provides company whenever he can stay above water. 

Could be fluff - Tony and Bucky deeply in love, where in the end Bucky follows Prince Tony into the depths of the ocean, never to be seen again by human eyes.

Or any other combinations! Go wild! 

Warnings: None, I would say 

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar 

Title: Vampire Bucky

Prompt: Vampire Bucky AU with Bucky. How does Tony find him like this? Let’s brainstorm together.

Limitations: noncon between Bucky and Tony, unhappy ending, pwp, MCD, ABO, D/s verse (a normal universe with a D/s relationship is fine though), eye gore, eye things in general, smoking, evil Tony, evil Bucky

A/N: It's still very sketchy, total WIP.

   Title: Knight in shining armour

Description/Prompt: The Winter soldier is pulled from a burning HYDRA base by IronMan. 

Open verse, it could be that Bucky is slowly methodically taking his revenge on HYDRA, and everytime he is injured IronMan comes and rescues him, but Bucky never stays, all the way until the end. 

Or maybe Bucky was kidnapped and wiped, and IronMan wiped out the HYDRA base in revenge and now he is taking Bucky home.

Maybe IronMan finds HYDRA during Avengers one and decides to do some recon on his own and comes face to face with Bucky Barnes. 

There are sooo many possibilities! 

(While the IronMan armour is intended to be the Bleeding Edge armour, this can be changed) 

Warnings: Hurt/Comfort? Possibly darker themes 

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar 

Title: Dragon Shifter AU

Description/Prompt: Tony and Bucky are dragon shifters, Tony with fire magic, Bucky with ice magic. They can't stand each other, but they have to get along now... (Basically any enemies/ frenemies to lovers story you can thing of will make me happy, maybe with arranged marriage or a common goal/ enemy?)

Limitations: no A/B/O, no Civl War salt, no non-con between bucky/ tony, no mpreg

A/N: This art is purely self-indulgent. Anyone who wants to just have fun with the idea feel free to pick it up!

Title: Warlord Tony AU

Prompt: Everyone has heard of the warlord Iron Man, a cunning monster whose troops mercilessly slaughter his opponents on the battlefield and who has never lost a single battle. According to some he's not even a man at all: After all, he can cut through weapons and people alike, and survived direct hits that would kill a normal man. His army turns wins fights against superior numbers and his cannons never miss their target. Very few people know that he also hides quite a number of secrets in a calm little valley at the heart of his territory, in a town called Arc.

For Bucky, you can go wild - whether he's part of a tribute, an enemy soldier, an assassin or something else. We're looking forward to talking about plot ideas!

Warnings: implied violence, blood

Limitations: no non-con between Tony/Bucky, no fully evil Tony, no MCD, no ABO, no mrpeg, no team cap  bashing pls

  Title: Alpine 

Description/Prompt: Biker Bucky finds Alpine on the side of the road, abadoned and hungry. Bucky decides to take Alpine to the vet, unfortunately this being - your choice of holiday - there are not many vets are open and most of them is for emergency only. 

Bucky worried that the kitten won't survive the night, runs into vet!Tony who is about to head home. However seeing the kitten, Tony decides to help and nurture the kitten. Alpine survives the night and becomes a bike-riding cat, usually traveling on Bucky's shoulders or back pack. 

The story could be a falling in love at first sight, or Bucky bringing all kinds of animals to Tony, because Bucky trusts Tony to take care of them. (There maybe a cracky story hidden in there somewhere too *wink*) 

Warnings: no kittens were harmed in the making of this prompt - none 

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar  

    Title: Late night dance lessons 

Description/Prompt: Bucky is baking late into the night as a super soldier he doesn't need much sleep and baking is a relaxing hobby. It's 2am, the night is quiet no people around and his favourite music is playing from the stereo. 

This is the moment when Tony arrives (could be a long night at the 'shop, or maybe just coming in from an overnight flight, maybe this is the time they regularly meet), they get into a small talk which slowly evolves into Tony staying and talking and Bucky reminscens of old times and what he can remember. It's a soft and tender talking the one people only have at 3am. Then an old times music comes on, reminding Bucky of nights when he went out to dance. And Tony seeing the look on his face offers to dance with him. 

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar 

Title: Feats of Flexibility 

Description/Prompt: Bucky is doing push-ups, and someone accuses him of showing off - he had been in the gym for hours now - and Bucky claims that this nothing challenging to him, so naturally he is challenged into proving it. 

This is escalated into more and more complicated and complex tasks ending in Tony sitting on Bucky's back while he is doing push ups, with his feet in the air 

Poor Tony who only come down to keep in shape and tries valiantly to not stare at those feats of muscles and flexibility gets roped in 

Can end in a kiss/confession or more sexy times *wink*

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar 

Title: Untitled

Description/Prompt: Open to any ideas for some steampunk shenaniganry! Skyships, pirates, dashing captains, scrappy inventors, swash*buckly* adventures?

Warnings: none?

Limitations:  DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings

  Title: Fantasy Secret Identity AU

Description: Bucky standing in front of a wall plastered with posters of all sorts, among them some wanted posters, one for Iron Man, one for the Winter Soldier.

Prompt: Tony Stark is a well-known noble and mage, and Iron Man is a well-known villain. Of course, the two aren't connected at all. Until Tony Stark takes on a bet to figure out the identity of the man in the armor - and hires James Barnes, a washed-up mercenary to find any clues possible. It's just as well James has no links to the feared assassin called Winter Soldier, because that would be making things complicated.

I'm always open for other ideas but am really hoping for some identity porn :D

Warnings: None

Limitations: no A/B/O, no mpreg, no CW salt, no MCD

A/N: I haven't inked most of the posters in order to leave the author some freedom for the AU they want to make - I'm open for suggestions about adding stuff in!

  Title: Promise of the Desire to Live

Description/Prompt: This is a Pokémon crossover piece. The Pokémon egg on the left belongs to Magearna and will hatch in her original coloring (which are pretty much Iron Man colors). This Magearna will be the partner of Tony. The Pokémon egg on the right belongs to Mewtwo and will have almost the same coloring as Shadow Mewtwo except that his tail will be navy blue. This Mewtwo will be Bucky’s partner. Here’s the prompt – 

            The Avengers are called to deescalate a situation involving a young and semi-inexperienced Inhuman who lost her family due to a suicide bomber. After receiving her powers mere days after that traumatic event, this young girl, no more than 12, is able to sense who has a strong desire to commit suicide and send them to places/people/beings that need help and are able to bring them back from the brink of suicide.

Omega!Tony and Alpha!Bucky are sent to a Team Plasma lab with an egg incubator in the center of the room with two eggs in it. They take the eggs.

Warnings: Discussions of depression and suicidal thoughts

Limitations: Story cannot be ended with the Pokémon hatching. I want a full-length Pokémon journey from Bucky, Tony, and their Pokémon. I want them to find a way to travel between the Pokémon world and their home world. Also, must have A/B/O. No rape.

Title: Bunny Tony/ Wolf Bucky

Description/prompt: No matter what the media and Hollywood tried to say, there wasn't really that much difference between predator and prey presenting people. A jaguar wouldn't love climbing trees and napping all day anymore than a squirrel would hoard nuts and play deadly games with cars.

But whenever Tony's gorgeous rear and fluffy tail wind up in Bucky's line of sight, he has to clamp his teeth against a strong urge to bite. And when Tony comes down to the kitchen each morning, hair a mess and silky, floppy ears on display, Bucky has to fight more possessive urges. He's sure neither the team or Tony would appreciate Bucky dragging the bunny off to his territory...Would they?

Warnings: N/A

Limitations: Happy Ending, No Civil War, No  AoU, No bathroom kinks, Prefer Team as family, Explicit welcome

A/N: The sketch will be colored and have at least one more piece featuring a Wolf Bucky. And maybe a shot of Tony's fluffy tail.

  Title: Untitled 2

Description/Prompt: something based on the John Wick tailor scene or James Bond-Q outfitting or just general spies or mafia? 

Open for brainstorming or alternate interpretations or anything really! Assassins/Spies not up your alley? image can be edited/background removed if your idea is for a non powers tailor au instead!

Warnings: canon typical violence for story (john wick levels or mcu levels up to author?)

Limitations:  DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings

Title: Hold out your hand

Description/Prompt: The only thing I feel needs to be heavily included in the fic would be about Bucky's relationship with his arm and how Tony helps him with that (though it doesn't technically need to be the main storyline) 

If you want other input then I love tropes especially soulmate type situations and Bucky recovery fics, but pretty much any trope is good. 

Warnings: NA

Limitations: Character death, age play (I am pretty much open to anything else, any rating is cool with me as is including smut or not)

A/N: I am still messing with the composition and finish on this so if you have any input then let me know :) (for example the smaller images of the hands and Tony could be used individually for page breaks in the story rather than being the main art?)

Title: Porcelain and Metal or maybe a Toy au?

Description/Prompt: This particular piece was created because I really wanted a porcelain ballerina tony and nutcracker-ish bucky.This could be a first meeting scene of sorts with bucky being a shameless flirt but the writer could expand and add more scenes of course! I mostly just wanted a very cute and magic realism-ish vibe. 

Warnings: N/A

Limitations: No unhappy endings. A bit of angst for the sake of the plot is fine. Non-consensual acts of any sorts is also a no

Title: Scheherazade AU

Description/Prompt: Based on Thousand and One Nights, war chief!Bucky refuses a spouse and threatens to kill anyone he's set up with. Tony ends up married to him and talks every night, leaving off right before bed so Bucky has to keep him around another day 

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Limitations: no noncon/heavy warnings. Also really not into stucky, even as background influence/past feelings. Also don't want any feminization of Tony by having him as 'weaker' or a damsel. I don't like infidelity or overcomplicated drama because of simple misunderstandings. Some smut is okay, but no hard kinks, PWP, or A/B/O.

A/N: Besides inspiration of original story, I don't have much planned. While no warnings, it would include arranged marriage, but no actual noncon please. I like slowburn so totally down for a long fic. Also pretty relaxed with background ships and always here for some epic friendships (tony and rhodey, bucky and nat, etc). 

  Title: Mirror images

Description/Prompt: Bucky and Winter got separated into two bodies by accident or on purpose, which helps greatly with them getting along better (or at all), until they decide independently to woo Tony 

Both of them show how much they care about Tony, even if it's very very different from each other 

Tony appreciates and loves both and absolutely can't decide between the two (nor does he want to because both are important to him) and it ends in polamory either a triangle or v-shaped

Warnings: N/A

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink) 

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar 

Title: College au meet cute or something

Description/Prompt: No specific plot, maybe Bucky and Tony like each other but both are oblivious to the others feelings. Steve and Rhodey as the "Why am I bestf riends with an idiot" best friend. With minor thundershield please 

Warning: N/A

Limitations: No unhappy endings. Bit of angst for the sake of plot is fine.

A/N: Will color and clean this up a bit. I'll also be willing to make more art for the story if ever.

[anika-ann]

The 5 Times Steve Felt Betrayed - Pt.3

and the 1 Time He Felt Like He Was Betraying You

Type: mini-series to a series (part 1 & part 2 & Part 3),  Avenger!reader AU.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader, Matt Murdock & reader        

Word count: 2750

Summary: The airport battle comes to pass. Steve is not impressed. However, his major facepalm is coming in 3, 2, 1...

Warnings: violence, language, angst, physical pain, mention of human experimentation

A/N: This part of Melting Hearts’ verse follows the events of CA: Civil War, sometimes only referencing them and kinda expecting the readers to know what’s up ;)

Posted in double chapters (1st &2nd time, 3th & 4th, 5th+1)

Previous part

────── ·❆· ──────  

5. (Turning Tables)

When Tony showed up at the airport, just according to their plan… you were side by side with him.

Steve felt sorry for not burning the letter when he had changed into the uniform. He had promised himself that he would definitely read it when having the time, so he had secured it into a zip-zap bag and hid in the pocket of his pants instead. Now he knew that every word you must have written into the letter was poison and his right leg felt a ton heavier than his left one.

Steve knew that for the most part, it was the feeling of betrayal talking – but he was revisiting every single interaction with you, all of your words replaying in his head, and wondered, where he had gone wrong. What he had missed. How could he not see you as you truly were? A traitor. A liar. A coward, because while you were standing right next to Natasha, you weren’t even able to meet Steve’s eyes – unlike the spy.

He desperately wanted to meet your eyes. To look deeply into your soul and see if you were ashamed at least. For leading him on for so long.

The truth was, you were; ashamed, horrified and a little bit proud. But Steve didn’t seem to know that – which meant he either was as good as you were, or he hadn’t even touched the letter, which was pretty understandable actually.

“You’re gonna turn and come with us. Because it’s us! Don’t you see what you had done?! You tore the team apart – you even drove the woman who had ridiculous amount of trust in you, who loved you for god’s sake, away from you!” Tony yelled at him, apparently losing his nerves.

It made Steve’s blood boil.

“You don’t talk about my relationship with her like this! You have no business in that!”

“Yeah, and what about her? Does she have any business in that? She apparently has more reason than you do! Try to use your brain for a goddamn second, Rogers!”

“Tony…” Natasha whispered warningly.

It was the exact moment Sam’s voice sounded in Steve’s ear, informing him about the quinjet in hangar five; their plan of escape.

Despite the bitterness of this reunion, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of hope and satisfaction. He raised his tied hands above his head and a second later, Clint’s precisely aimed arrow freed him of the strange organic cuffs that dangerously reminded him of an actual cobweb.

It was time to punch their way out of this one, only to do a lot more punching later if they succeeded.

────── ·❆· ──────  

Steve was really busy trying to keep T’Challa from Bucky, too much to keep an eye on you. But when he had a second, he sought you on the battlefield subconsciously, checking if you were alright. He didn’t even have the energy to feel like a hypocrite with his own action, with the annoying habit.

He only found you staying out of the fight, keeping a careful eye on each of the individual combats – but never interfering.

His stomach rolled over, his vision blurring for a moment as his head spun. You were standing aside, watching your friends and him getting beat up. Like a coward.

What else were you? A back-up for if Tony and his friends would be losing? The ace in their sleeves?

Steve felt the bile rising up his throat at the thought. How had that happened? When?

It was only when Vision appeared that you looked up, all of your attention focused on the android who had entered the fight and literally drew a line between the two teams.

You joined the line created by Tony, Rhodey, Natasha, Vision, T’Challa and Spider-kid, standing against Steve’s team. Seven versus six – Steve was outnumbered.

And that was on you.

For the first time since you had encountered him at the airport, you met his eyes for a split second. Steve was shocked when he found the windows to your soul, usually so sincerely open, perfectly locked, your expression unreadable. He couldn’t bear it and looked away as he eyed his team and started jogging towards his former teammates and friends. And fiancée.

The opposite side broke into a run too.

And then you abruptly stopped, your hand hitting the ground hard, creating a thick layer of ice under your supposed teammates’ feet, knocking three of them off balance. And the remaining three who had managed to get in the air – Vision, Rhodey and Tony – were soon busy avoiding icicles shot from your hands.

Steve froze and it had nothing to do with your powers.

Wanda seemed unfazed by your action, throwing herself into a fight; the ice seemed to be conveniently melting under her feet as if she was the one controlling it. Which was impossible. It must have been all you. Which… what?

“Alright, does that mean Miss Iceberg over there is on our side now?” Scott yelled after everyone and it snapped Steve from his trance.

Well, it looked like it now. Steve didn’t spend much time pondering about it and rather went after Tony, who was getting dangerously close to him.

“She always has been!” Wanda cried out in response, sending Vision crashing into a plane.

“SHE WHAT?!” Steve shouted over the roar of the fight, punching Tony’s metal-covered face. The mechanical voice had asked the same question and seemed stunned – it bought Steve enough time to shoot you a look.

Oh, you were definitely fighting on their side with the way you trapped Spiderman’s hands in an impressive column of ice growing from the ground. It reminded Steve of their own arrest and confused the hell out of him.

Wanda threw away T’Challa who had come down on Bucky with a battle cry. “The letter! I was trying to tell you!”

It felt like a punch to Steve’s gut and only a second later, an actual punch followed.

Really? Was that what was written there? That you were on their side? What, the whole time? But that was impossible! You had sabotaged their escape, you had held back at every other occasion, you hadn’t come with Wanda! You had signed!

…but had you? Had you really signed, or had you just been stalling? Didn’t the fact you hadn’t arrived with Wanda give you the advantage of knowing Tony’s plan, learning any possible aces in his sleeves? Had there been a reason why you had helped the agency to get Steve and Bucky too? What kind of game had you been playing?

Steve quickly shook off the confusing thoughts. You would have to be playing Tony and everyone from the beginning. Or maybe you had changed your mind during the process?

An iron fist hitting his jaw brought him back to reality very quickly and he decided the reasons you had weren’t important – not now.

But before he could block another punch, Iron Man was gushed away by what looked like a cubic meter iceberg. Steve only gasped, his head snapping to the source. You gave him a quick smile and nodded.

“You need to go. I’ll help with holding them off.”

“But-“

“Go, Steve!” you cried out, your voice urgent, your sincere eyes glaring into his.

He saw it now. He saw you. His heart skipped a beat with the realization; you truly were fighting for them. For him. But how?

“You owe me an explain-“

“That can wait! Just go!”

“Then come with me!” he blurted out hastily, which only made you shook your head.

“Here, I can buy you some time! Go!”

“Goddammit, Snowflake, I’m not leaving you! They— I don’t know what they’ll do to you!”

“Duh, what else is new. Just move your ass, Captain!” you yelled and tiny icicles came at him from his left. He shook them off, only to realize they were fragments of the cobweb, frozen and useless thanks to your quick reaction – you had just prevented a whole new set of sticky trouble coming at him.

It made him sick all over again, because he just didn’t know what was happening, what had been happening. He shot a you a desperate glance.

“GET OUT OF HERE!”

He set his jaw tight, his feet as if frozen and itching to run at the same time. Before he could make up his goddamn mind, a wall of ice appeared, shielding him from you and his assailant.

You had decided for him. And as much as he hated it, as much as he felt like a complete ass, he had to admit you were right. He had to go.

And so he did.

The quinjet was already in the air when you fell to the ground with an agonized scream as the sharpest pain you had ever felt attacked the base of your spine and paralyzed you for several moments. You blacked out only seconds after you found a way to move your fingers; the last thing you saw was Natasha’s worried and pissed off face.

────── ·❆· ──────  

+1 (The Reversal)

The hum of the quinjet was so low no ordinary man would hear it; but now, it was two supersoldiers in it, Steve piloting, Bucky sitting beside him, and at least one of them found the white noise comforting. It muffled Steve’s loud thoughts a little. But sound could never prevent his emotions from coming at him and since he didn’t have to fight at the moment, he was failing at pushing them away.

"What’s gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky’s low tenor cut the silence like a knife, directing Steve’s thoughts exactly the where he didn’t want them to go.

His eyes absently traced the sky, his mind getting all too loud. For a moment, he didn’t even know what to say. He didn’t know the answer and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. And it wasn’t just his friends he was worried about. Even your fate was in the hands of people who didn’t really care; those who might still care must have been furious with you and their hands were tied by the stupid document that had divided the team in half anyway.

Steve had no idea what the future held; the only certainty he had was that whatever would happen, it wouldn’t be pretty.

"Whatever it is, I'll deal with it," he replied instead, trying so damn hard to keep his voice even.

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve.”

As if something truly broke in Steve, he cracked a sorrowful smile. Worth. Worth fighting for. Worth saving. Worth a chance at redemption. Steve couldn’t help but wonder if it was just him being a magnet for people with self-worth issues of if it came with the job description.

"What you did all those years… it wasn't you. You didn’t have a choice."

"I know. But I still did it."

The sentence was hanging in the air for a long time, too truthful to be disproved. Steve knew all too well he couldn’t change the past – but what he could always do was to fight for a better tomorrow.

"Even so, you still deserve a chance to redeem yourself."

"At what cost?” Bucky asked, his voice heavy with regrets. The knot in Steve’s stomach tightened. “This gal of yours-"

"Bucky, don't-" Steve pleaded silently, tears pricking in his eyes at the mention of you.

"-she seems... nice. I honestly have no idea whose side she was on, but she saved our asses there, kicking everyone else's.”

"I... I don't know either,” Steve admitted honestly, sighing.

What he did know for sure was that leaving you there was wrong. It felt like betraying the trust you had put into him; no matter the fact you had been the one who had told him to get out of there.

“She's good. Pretty. Badass fighter. I sense a pattern," Bucky brought up with a hint of a joke. The corners of Steve’s lips barely twitched.

"It wasn't like that when we first met."

"What do you mean?"

"Her... being like this."

Steve didn’t know what had possessed him to give in – perhaps it was the kind of talk he missed, mixed with Bucky keeping him company. With Bucky, who cared for him, who was curious about what he had missed from Steve’s life.

"What was it like then?"

"She was… alone. Scared of what her powers did. She gave me a frostbite the first time we met – without intending to. She was wallowing in guilt, because she hurt people, not knowing how it happened. Terrified she would hurt more. How's that for a pattern?"

Steve was confident Bucky had noticed the obvious nudge at their resemblance, but he didn’t take the bait. His friend lived to surprise; he snorted silently.

"You have the weirdest taste."

It brought an honest smile to Steve’s face, a warm feeling he wouldn’t expect filling his chest. Bucky continued though.

"You called her something, when we were fighting. It was cute. It was... what was it?"

Steve cleared his throat awkwardly. Bucky was cool and all, but the he would never let Steve live down the nickname he had given you.

"The whole team— what used to be a team, they all have a nickname for her.... Thor, you haven't met him, he calls her Lady of Ice."

"Oh wow."

"The public... they call her Frostbite. She doesn't like it much. Stark-“ and the name tasted way too bitter on Steve’s tongue, “-calls her Elsa – it's from some new fairy tale."

"Cute. Speaking of fairy tales, anyone calls her Snow Queen?"

"No. But... uhm… a friend calls her Gerda."

"A friend, huh?" Bucky emphasized knowingly, making Steve actually blush a little. There was no way Steve could ever supress the feeling of jealousy towards the man in the Devil costume or the lawyer he was disguising as in the daylight.

"They went on a date. Right before... before we got together."

And for some reason, she had sought him out after the mission in Nigeria.

"No way,” Bucky laughed excitedly, his mood shooting up towards the stars. Steve couldn’t hold back his own smile at the happy sound. “Did you have to like... fight him to win her favour or something?"

"No. She... she picked me, without a fight."

"Ah, I can feel your ego boosting."

"Yeah, well. She… she chose me and...”

Steve thought of what Bucky said before and what he said to him – about a pattern. He thought about him almost dying when he had been injected with the anti-serum and you had almost dying, pushing yourself to your very limit to save him. About you saying no to Matt. About you pulling Steve behind you when he had laid down his shield, which had left him somewhat unprotected. About you deciding to stay with the Avengers instead of disappearing off the grid with your parents. About you running away in attempt to keep the danger from him. And now about risking everything – including his trust – when turning against Tony while standing by his side.

You had always chosen him. And this was how he was repaying you. With leaving you behind.

“And I guess she always has,” Steve stated softly, his expression missing the flicker of happiness he felt just a minute ago; the dark thoughts swallowed it all. “Worked for her well."

"What happened to dealing with what's to come?"

Steve sighed, gripping the stalk tighter. There was a lot to come and he had in fact no clue how to deal with it.

"I'm glad you have someone like her, Steve," Bucky announced, patting Steve’s shoulder brotherly.

If I still have her, Steve thought bitterly. Even if he was about to get you out of the lurch he had left you in… there was no guarantee you would forgive him his ignorance.

He didn’t say any of that out loud though.

"Yeah. Yeah, me too. It's just..." he said instead, his voice trailing off rather than finishing the sentence.

"You will deal with what's to come. You're too stubborn to give up, punk."

That he was.

"I'm not giving up on you either, Buck."

"Thanks, Steve… but that was cheesy as hell."

Steve couldn’t but chuckle. It was good to have his friend back. He just wished the circumstances were way different. If nothing else, he wished the attempt to save Bucky and take care of the potential Winter Soldiered men didn’t come with the price of leaving you behind. Leaving you with the mess he had caused and betraying you – just like he had thought you had been doing for the past few weeks.

The universe had a very twisted sense of humour. But it was something Steve would have to deal with later.

────── ·❆· ──────  

Bonus chapter

────── ·❆· ──────

That would be it – six chapters are kinda the point of 5+1 stuff.

BUT there’s a bonus coming, for much needed closure. Pretty much a cheesy one too, set after the rescue one-man mission from at The Raft. Because me and my brain apparently don’t understand the concept of a 5+1 work. Also, it offers a bit of Reader’s insight, so… hopefully it’s not such a capital crime.

Worse things have happened, right? You can always just cut it here ;) (please don’t, I mean, if you have made it this far… :D )

Also, Snowflake’s hurt at the airport was caused by the fail-safe she was installed with in Hands Too Cold, in case you forgot :-*

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

A bold new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2021 on Disney+ with the wildly successful WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but Marvel Studios certainly hasn’t been resting on its laurels in terms of upcoming cinematic blockbusters. Not only does it have Black Widow (finally) ready for theatrical release, but we’ve also got Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all in various stages of production, there are also TV series on the way for the likes of Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and more!

Well, if you’ve been a little confused by Marvel’s shifting dates and streaming priorities, never fear! We’ve got a comprehensive release calendar for you here detailing all the forthcoming MCU projects, so you’ll always be able to find the latest updates when you need them.

Let’s take a look at everything Marvel has in store over the next few years…

Loki

Release Date: June 9, 2021

Tom Hiddleston will reprise his most famous role, as Loki finds himself on a heist through time and space “as he steps out of his brother’s shadow” after the events of Avengers: Endgame! Oh, and based on this trailer, there’s all kinds of time-travelling weirdness awaiting, including the return of Heimdall, some other Asgardian hijinks, DB Cooper (yes!), Owen Wilson playing an obscure character based on a beloved Marvel Comics writer, and…Loki possibly running for President!

Tom Hiddleston stars, of course, and the cast also includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, and Richard E. Grant. Michael Waldron is head writer and Kate Herron is directing.

Black Widow 

Release Date: In theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access Friday, July 9, 2021

The Black Widow movie was heading for a May 1, 2020 release before the pandemic, but Disney and Marvel decided to delay it until the industry’s infrastructure was back to some semblance of normal. They seemed absolutely committed to keeping Natasha on a theatrical release rather than sending her to Disney+, but eventually semi-caved in March as it was confirmed that Black Widow would hit both streaming and theaters simultaneously in July.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”

Cate Shortland directed the film, and Scarlett Johansson stars, with Florence Pugh and David Harbour alongside her. One of the movie’s villains is Taskmaster, and we wrote a little bit more about him right here.

Natasha Romanoff will get a prequel movie of sorts here, as we catch up with Widow right around the events of Captain America: Civil War. Will the plot affect her character’s ultimate fate in Endgame? Do not count on it.

What If…?

Release Date: Summer 2021

The beloved comic book series that tells tales of how things might have turned out differently in the Marvel Universe is becoming an animated series on Disney+!

Here’s the official synopsis:

“What If…? flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways…Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles.”

We know that at least a couple of these roles include Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as T’Challa as well as the return of Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter!

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Release Date: September 3, 2021

Simu Liu has been cast as the titular Shang-Chi and Tony Leung as The Mandarin (hey, that name sounds familiar! But this time, we’re getting the real Mandarin on screen). Destin Daniel Cretton is directing from a script by Dave Callaham. Given its “Ten Rings” title, Shang-Chi should be steeped in Marvel lore, going all the way back to the first Iron Man film!

Hopefully this will be Marvel’s most action-packed movie yet. The trailer sure makes us think so.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Release Date: September 17, 2021

Andy Serkis (Mowgli) steps behind the camera for Venom 2, which now boasts the catchy title of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The first film, buoyed by a terrific showing at the Chinese box office, made an absolute ton of money, despite being released to mostly scathing reviews.

Venom: Let There be Carnage will follow up Sony’s 2018 Spider-Man-less spinoff film, but will likely be more connected to the MCU this time around, thanks to a renewed deal between the company and its Marvel Studios partners. Tom Hardy will return as Eddie Brock, of course, and as you can probably guess from that title, he’ll be facing off against Woody Harrelson’s villain, Cletus Kasady aka Carnage!

We wrote about all the cool Marvel stuff happening in the above trailer right here.

The Eternals 

Release Date: Nov. 5, 2021

Acclaimed Nomadland helmer (and Oscar winner!) Chloe Zhao is directing Marvel’s Eternals from a script by Matthew and Ryan Firpo. Marvel described the film as an “epic story, spanning thousands of years” that features “a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s oldest enemy, The Deviants.”

The cast features Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Gemma Chan as Sersi, and Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. We meet all these characters in the trailer, which we wrote more about here.

This one was another victim of the release date shuffle, but we’ll finally get to see Jack Kirby‘s wildest creations soon enough!

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Release Date: Dec. 17, 2021

The next Spider-Man movie looks like a big one! Spider-Man: No Way Home will once again take place in the MCU since Marvel and Sony solved their differences, good sense prevailed, and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will remain a vital part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This one, well…this might be a live action Spider-Verse movie from the sound of it. Jamie Foxx will reprise his role as Electro from the maligned Amazing Spider-Man films and Alfred Molina will return from the Raimi era as Doctor Octopus.

Wait. Are they trying to make this a multiversal Sinister Six movie? Because…we could be down for that.

Hawkeye

Release Date: Late 2021

Jeremy Renner returns as Clint Barton to train his replacement as Hawkeye, Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop! Apparently based on the brilliant run of comics by Matt Fraction and David Aja, Hawkeye will also prominently feature Lucky the Pizza Dog, one of the great canines in Marvel Comics history.

The cast also includes Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Fra Fee as Kazimerz Kazimierczak, Tony Dalton as Jack “Swordsman” Duquesne, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Alaqua Cox as Maya “Echo” Lopez, and Zahn McClarnon as Willie Lincoln. We wrote more about all these new characters here.

Ms. Marvel

Release Date: Late 2021

Ms. Marvel is finally coming to live action! Here’s the official synopsis for the series…

“Ms. Marvel introduces Kamala Khan—a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. “A great student, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. But Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right?”

The cast includes Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer, and Nimra Bucha. Episodes are directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

This is going to be a big one, folks, because Kamala is going to be a significant player in Captain Marvel 2. How significant? The title of the movie is now The Marvels!

Morbius

Release Date: January 21, 2022

Spider-Man spinoff Morbius is Sony’s next big Marvel wild card, and it’ll officially be the first spinoff to properly connect to the MCU (even if Marvel Studios still isn’t officially acknowledging it in their own promotional materials the way they are with Spider-Man: No Way Home). Here’s the official synopsis for the film…

“Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed and transforms this healer into a hunter.”

Safe House‘s Daniel Espinosa directs from a script by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway. Jared Leto stars as the vampiric title character, and the cast also includes Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson.

Read more about the character of Michael Morbius here.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Release Date: March 25, 2022

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks like it will open up the storytelling possibilities in the MCU like never before. And that’s just based on the name alone. Scott Derrickson was scheduled to direct, but bowed out because of “creative differences” with Marvel. But the good news is that Marvel found a suitable replacement in none other than Sam Raimi, who of course has plenty of superhero experience thanks to his Spider-Man trilogy in the early 2000s!

This one has loads of connections to the wider MCU. Elizabeth Olsen will be here as Wanda Maximoff post-WandaVision, and the film will also connect to Spider-Man: No Way Home and its own multiversal ambitions. There are also a few rumors doing the rounds that Jericho Drumm aka Brother Voodoo could be introduced in this sequel. We’ll keep an eye on that and update this if there’s any substance to them.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Release Date: May 6, 2022

Taika Waititi, who gave us the delightful Thor: Ragnarok, will return to write and direct. Chris Hemsworth will be back. Natalie Portman is your new Thor (yes, you read that right, Jane Foster will wield the hammer…just as she did in the comics!). Christian Bale has also joined the cast as the terrifying Gorr the God Butcher. Not only that, this movie will finally put Olympians in the MCU with Russell Crowe as Zeus. Can Hercules be far behind?

Oh, and did we mention that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be along for the ride, too?

Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever 

Release Date: July 8, 2022

Black Panther 2 is now called Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Marvel has made it official that after the tragic, untimely death of Chadwick Boseman they have no intention of recasting the role of T’Challa, which is absolutely the right move.

Ryan Coogler will return as director, but there are no other details currently available. Interestingly, Coogler is also bringing a Wakanda TV series to Disney+ at some point in the future, too, and something tells us this Wakanda-centric title for the sequel is a sign of things to come.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Sequel

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Is it technically an MCU movie? Nope. But with all the legal weirdness going on between Marvel and Sony, and this franchise’s very multiversal concept, who’s really to say that it ISN’T an MCU movie either, right? In any case, the sequel to the best Spider-Man movie of all time is coming in 2022 with Avatar: The Last Airbender mastermind Joaquim Dos Santos directing and David Callaham writing.

There’s also an “untitled Marvel movie” still technically scheduled for this date but…that is almost certainly not gonna happen now. Expect whatever that project was to move to one of these below dates or to some other currently unspecified date on the calendar.

Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels

Release Date: November 11, 2022

WandaVision writer Megan McDonnell has been tapped to write the screenplay for Captain Marvel 2, which now boasts the title of The Marvels. You know what else is really cool? Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta will direct!

We have no idea where we’ll find Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in the sequel to her hugely successful first standalone MCU entry. Will she be fighting to loosen her former Kree pals’ iron grip on a pre-Avengers galaxy? Or will the follow up film see her fighting for justice in the present?

In any case, we know that she’ll be facing off with Zawe Ashton as a currently-unnamed antagonist, and WandaVision‘s Monica Lambeau (Teyonah Parris) will also return in her superpowered state after the events of that game-changing show. Considering that Monica was once known as “Captain Marvel” in the comics, that title of The Marvels becomes more appropriate. And even MORE appropriate when you realize that Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, will also be making her big screen debut.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Release date: Feb. 17, 2023

Peyton Reed will return to direct the third installment of the Ant-Man saga, making him the first director in MCU history to complete a trilogy…perhaps the most unlikely trilogy in Marvel’s entire arsenal. Paul Rudd will return as Scott Lang, and you can certainly expect Evangeline Lilly to return as The Wasp and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.

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The villain of the film? That will be Kang the Conqueror, who will be played by Lovecraft Country‘s Jonathan Majors. The inclusion of Kang opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities for the MCU, and may even tease the arrival of the Fantastic Four down the line! We wrote more about those possibilities right here.

We’re also going to need fast confirmation on Michael Pena’s return as Luis, though. Luis is key…

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 

Release date: May 5, 2023

After a tumultuous period which saw James Gunn fired and then rehired as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director, he will finally return to complete his spacefaring trilogy for the studio. However, Gunn can’t even begin filming Guardians 3 until he finishes production on The Suicide Squad for DC, as well as an HBO Max Peacemaker prequel. Once those projects are finished, he’s free to return to the MCU.

Avengers: Endgame left the team in an interesting place. We broke down some of the story possibilities right here.

And then there are still some dates that Marvel has announced that they have yet to match projects to. Those dates are…

July 28, 2023

Oct 7, 2023

Nov. 10, 2023

Some of those dates could very well be good fits for the following films…

Fantastic Four

The MCU Fantastic Four movie is finally happening! Marvel seems to be hinting that Fantastic Four will be their next priority after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. So is it possible that we’ll see it on July 28, 2023? That sure would be a great piece of summer blockbuster real estate to launch what might be the most important piece of the MCU going forward!

Marvel’s first family will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a film directed by Jon Watts, who did such a wonderful job with the first two MCU Spider-Man movies. That’s all the information that’s out there at the moment, but as soon as we have more, we’ll update this. It also appears that WandaVision started to set up the Fantastic Four, so stay tuned. We have our own theories on why Marvel went with the Fantastic Four before the X-Men, but that’s another story.

Blade

In 2019, Marvel announced that they will be rebooting the Blade franchise with Mahershala Ali playing the titular daywalker. Ali’s True Detective co-star – and former Blade villain – Stephen Dorff is excited to see what he can do with the character, and so are we.

Could Marvel decide to drop this in that Oct. 7, 2023 release date? Considering that’s the Halloween season and Blade is, y’know, a vampire hunter, they’d have to be foolish not to, right?

Captain America 4

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman is co-writing a currently-untitled Captain America 4 with another FWS alum, Dalan Musson. Those are pretty much all the details that are currently available on this one at this time, but at least we know that Anthony Mackie will return as Sam Wilson in that incredibly badass Captain America costume they gave him for that show. We wrote some more about the potential story possibilities for this one right here.

There’s no date or director for this one yet, so even 2023 seems like it might be a longshot.

Deadpool 3

Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin will be the writing team tasked with bringing the Merc with a Mouth to the MCU. What a Deadpool 3 could look like in the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe is, of course, anybody’s guess, but if anyone can crack wise about the follies of this kind of corporate synergy, it’s Ryan Reynolds.

And then there’s the lingering TV stuff, at least two of which will arrive in 2022, with the balance likely to arrive in 2023…

She-Hulk

Tatiana Maslany will play Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who ends up with her cousin Bruce’s gamma-irradiated blood. Hilarity certainly ensues. Kevin Feige has promised that since this will be a courtroom show, you never know who else from the MCU could show up.

It’s possible we’ll get She-Hulk on Disney+ in 2022, but nothing is confirmed at this stage.

Moon Knight

Oscar Isaac will play Marc Spector, a disturbed fortune hunter who also happens to be the avenging avatar of an Egyptian moon god. Oscar Isaac is already training hard for the role, and the series is now officially in production, so we wouldn’t be surprised if we see this one on Disney+ in 2022.

Ironheart

The first of two series that will explore the legacy of Iron Man and Tony Stark in the MCU, Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a teenager at M.I.T. who creates her own suit of armor to right the wrongs of the world.

Armor Wars

Don Cheadle will reprise his role as Rhodey and will have the solo spotlight in the War Machine armor in a series that deals with a nightmare scenario for the MCU: what if Tony Stark’s Iron Man technology fell into the wrong hands and was getting duplicated by villains? Based on a classic comics run, Armor Wars promises big action and lots of obscure bad guys. We can’t wait.

Secret Invasion

Samuel L. Jackson will return as Nick Fury alongside Ben Mendelsohn as Talos for a series about the shape-shifting Skrull infiltration of Earth. Kingsley Ben-Adir is apparently playing the villain of the series. Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, and Killian Scott also star.

On directing duties are Thomas Bezucha (Let Him Go) and Ali Selim (The Looming Tower) while Mr. Robot vet Kyle Bradstreet is the head writer.

Secret Invasion could be the biggest thing to happen to the MCU since Endgame.

Wakanda

Very few details are available on this one at the moment, but Ryan Coogler will develop at least one Wakanda-set TV series for Disney+. Could this have anything to do with that Wakanda Forever title for Black Panther 2? We wrote more about some of the implications of this here.

We’ll keep updating this with new information as it becomes available!

The post Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[duhragonball]

Battle Tendency Liveblog: JJBA Ch. 77-82

Here’s a nice map that explains the current plot situation.   Lisa Lisa resides on “Air Suplena Island”, an ancient Ripple Clan training facility off the coast of Venice.   Apparently there’s a second, smaller island for fighting.   The boys were supposed to have their final tests here by fighting their instructors-- Joseph vs. Loggins and Caesar vs. Messina.   But...

Esidisi showed up first and killed Loggins just as Joseph arrived for his test.  Esidisi seems to have found some clue that the Red Stone of Aja is here, although for some reason he checked this “adjacent island” first instead of the main one.   Anyway, Joseph shows up and quickly puts it all together. 

This particular moment gets crapped on a bit in the fandom, because Joseph observes that Loggins’ lungs were ripped out, and the lungs are vital for Hamon users, but they’re kind of vital for anybody, so it feels like a silly thing for Joseph to say out loud.   I think the real point he’s trying to make here is that Esidisi killed Loggins with a single kick.   As formidable as Loggins is, Esidisi knew exactly where to strike for a one-hit-kill.   Like, Santana wouldn’t have known to do that, because he’s never fought Ripple Clan guys before.   He might have gone for another vital area, not realizing that a skilled Hamon-weilder like Loggins could defend it as long as he could breathe.  

Anyway, the stakes just got raised for Joseph’s final test.  Beating Loggins was going to be a challenge in itself, but now Joseph will have to defeat the guy who killed Loggins in one blow.   But Joseph was going to have to fight Esidisi eventually anyway, so we might as well get it out of the way now.

But it’s JJBA, so no climactic battle would be complete without some absurd shots of buff dudes striding towards each other.   Well, the early parts more than the later ones.  

I’m not sure why there’s a pit full of spikes on this island, but I assume Loggins planned to fight Joseph here, since Joseph easily uses Hamon to walk on the spikes without getting hurt.   As for Esidisi, he just impales his feet on the spikes, because he can regenerate his body anyway. 

You know, actually, that seems like a really bad move on Esidisi’s part.   If these spikes are made of metal, and attached to a metal plate on the bottom, then Joseph could send his Ripple through the whole structure and zap Esidisi right now.   At least, I’m pretty sure Hamon conducts through metal.

I just looked it up, and apparently metal can’t store Hamon, but it will pass through metal, so I think that would be good enough for a trick like this to work.  Or maybe these are just stone spikes and they’re not interconnected.   Also, I finally found out that “Hamon” is just the Japanese word for “Ripple”, so that explains why the terms are used interchangeably. 

This fight is pretty awesome, but it’s tricky, so I’ll try to summarize the action as best I can.   Initially, Esidisi doesn’t even want to fight Joseph, because he’s only here to search for the Stone of Aja, and he doesn’t think Joseph has improved enough to bother wasting time on him.    But Joseph insists.   He wants to avenge Loggins, and he has to stop Eisidisi from proceeding to Air Suplena Island, and he wants the antidote to that poison ring in his throat.   

Esidisi is surprised when Joseph’s Ripple is strong enough to force his finger through Esidisi’s hand, but he still thinks he’s strong enough and fast enough to kill Joseph before he can channel more Hamon through his finger.   But that was just a diversion.    The whole time, Joseph had been unspooling a string, the other end of which was tied to the hand of Loggins’ corpse.  Joseph loops it around Eisidisi’s other arm, and it’s been soaked with vegetable oil, so it’s perfect for charging with Hamon.   

I guess he only tied the string to Loggins’ body to provide a weight on the other end while Joseph sprang his trap.   Anyway, he lops off Eisidisi’s forearm, and dedicates the attack to his dead teacher.   You know, I have to think Joseph had a lot of these tricks ready in advance.   I mean, he came here to fight Loggins, so maybe he figured a string soaked in vegetable oil would give him an advantage.   

Joseph expects Esidisi to be furious, but instead the dude starts bawling like a baby.   Joseph is confused and unnerved by this...

... and he’s even more unnerved when Esidisi regains his composure.  He explains that a good cry helps him balance his mood.    Earlier, Joseph mentioned Sun Tzu, so Esidisi tops him by suggesting that he knew Sun Tzu during his travels in China.   I’m not sure why Esidisi would have bothered meeting or reading Sun Tzu, though, since the Pillar Men have been so dismissive of “primitive” humans up to this point.   This is the most any of them have spoken to a human, so far, and it seems pretty clear by now that they only bother talking to Joseph because he’s proven himself to be a mildly worthy adversary.   Unless Sun Tzu had super powers, I’m not sure why Esidisi would bother remembering the guys name.    Then again, maybe Sun Tzu had super powers in the JoJo-verse.

Esidisi’s point is that Joseph only thinks that he won this battle before it began.  The missing hand isn’t even a setback, as Esidisi just hops over to Loggins’ corpse and grafts Loggins’ forearm onto his own.   Then he melts Loggin’s body just to show off his ability.   Back in Part 1, Dio could freeze things by altering his bodily fluids, but the Pillar Men have even greater control over their bodies.   Esidisi, for example, can heat his own blood to 600 degrees Celsius, hot enough to burn stuff.    I’m not sure why his blood doesn’t burn, but whatever.   He calls this his “mode”, and compares it to Wammu’s talent for manipulating air currents.   Perhaps appropriately, Joseph prepares his steel balls to use Clacker Volley.   So you can see how we’re getting closer and closer to the introduction of Stands in Part 3.

But Esidisi can do more than just burn things with his blood.   He can also extend blood vessels from his body, and shoot hot blood at his opponents.   And it looks like he’s got a clear shot at Joseph’s face...

Meanwhile, Caesar just finished his battle with Messina, who concedes defeat and gives Caesar a passing score.   Caesar immediately checks in on the other island to see how Joseph is doing, and Messina finds that odd.   A couple things here.   First, Caesar remarks how Joseph has a “heart of gold”, which I’m pretty sure is what Joseph himself said of Josuke and his friends at the end of Part 4, so that’s pretty neat.    Second, Messina compares Caesar’s friendship with Joseph to falling for a girl, so clearly Messina ships it.  

Anyway, Caesar discovers that Joseph is fighting a Pillar Man instead of Loggins, but they’re too far away for him to help.   Luckily, Eisidisi’s hot blood attack only hit Joseph’s breathing mask, so he doesn’t suffer serious injury.    But Eisidisi sprouts blood vessels from his back, too, basically trapping Joseph from all sides.   

Ah, but Joseph has been unraveling his wool hat the whole time, creating a trap within the trap.    This is where it gets kind of confusing.  

See, Esidisi’s whole deal here is that he seems to be one step ahead of Joseph, and he even rips off Joseph’s thing where he tells the other guy what he’s about to say next.  

All Esidisi has to do is cut the lines Joseph set up, and he won’t be able to conduct any Hamon through them.  Whoops.

Except, no!   Because... Huh?    Joseph talks about how magic tricks and illusions became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, something Esidisi wouldn’t have known about, but Joseph is all into.    He didn’t just make one string through these spikes.  He did two, and wove them together in such a way that the second string would still be in tact even when the first was cut.    But he made sure that one of these strings would be at Esidisi’s back, so that when he cut the first he wouldn’t notice the second.  

Long story short: If you were wondering why Joseph’s Stand is Hermit Purple in Part 3, it’s because he used strings and ropes for almost everything in Part 2.  He wraps the remaining string around Esidisi, fires up his Ripple, and Esidisi has no choice but to take it head on. 

Unlike Santana, who simply turned into a stone-like material, Esidisi friggin explodes.  And this is why I doubt Santana survived for long after Part 2.  Now, Joseph’s Ripple is strong enough to destroy Santana quite easily, and we never saw that happen because by the end of this story killing Santana was probably a formality.    Anyway, Joseph finds Esidisi’s nose ring and drinks the antidote inside.

Only thing is, Esidisi isn’t dead.   His brain and nervous system survived that last attack, and somehow he snuck onto Joseph’s back.   On his way inside, Joseph runs into Suzie Q, Lisa Lisa’s... butler?   I’m not really sure.  Anyway, she’s never seen him without his mask on and they flirt a little before he goes to report to Lisa Lisa.  

But she’s taking a bath, and Joseph decides to check her out before he goes in.  I gotta say, this shot is way more tasteful than what they did in the anime version.  

I’m kind of rushing through this part, but it comes down to this, Esidisi jumped off Joseph’s back, then infiltrated Suzie Q’s body.  Controlling her like a puppet, he then found the Red Stone of Aja and gave it to the mailman.   Then he reveals himself to the others, and declares his intention to hold them off so that they can’t get the Stone back.   

I assume Esidisi isn’t powerful enough to put up much of a fight now, because his strategy mostly boils down to using Suzie Q as a hostage.   He’s willing to attack Joseph and the others and to injure Suzie Q’s body, but he knows they can’t kill him without using a Ripple so powerful that it would put too much strain on Suzie’s heart.  

Really, I’m not sure I understand that.   Hamon is fatal to vampires and Pillar Men, sure, and it can be used to hurt humans, but we’ve also seen it heal people too.   You’d think a concentrated Ripple would purge Esidisi from her body without harming her at all.   But then I guess we’d have no tension here, so whatever.   Joseph tries to call Esidisi’s bluff, but it doesn’t work.

Instead, Joseph reminds Caesar of the trick he used to get out of the Hell Climb Pillar, and they both attack Suzie Q at the same time.   Joseph sends repelling Hamon through her body, while Caesar sends attracting Hamon into her heart, and that somehow cancels it out so that she doesn’t die from this.   I’m not sure why the diagram needed nipples.  Well, I know why, but you know what I mean.

And that finishes off Esidisi.    His brain grabs hold of Joseph as it gets forced off of Suzie Q, but there’s nowhere to go from here.   They’re out in the sun, and everyone else in the room has Ripple powers, so what else can he do but succumb to death?   Caesar is disgusted by Esidisi’s underhanded tactics, but Joseph respects Esidisi for fighting so doggedly to support his comrades and their cause.   This stunt with Suzie Q was pretty shameful, but it was all Esidisi could do, so he went for it.  

I dunno, I’m with Caesar on this one.    Esidisi’s a pretty awesome villain, and I respect the heel heat of using an innocent woman as a hostage, but I can’t respect him in a “noble warrior” kind of way.    Rest in piss, Esidisi.