#ESPECIALLY any ppl who personally knew him pre-war

[radiaking]

People falling for the ghoul without knowing he’s cooper howard!!!!!!

[peachyteabuck]

fool outta me [bucky barnes x reader]

summary: bucky and you finally have a conversation about your feelings after you catch him getting jealous about your friendship with thor

pairing: bucky barnes x writer!reader

words: 2080

trigger warnings: some teeth rotting fluff. talk about personal insecurities. allusions to previous and future sexual contact without much specifics. mentions of an unspecified childhood trauma

notes/other: hi hello i know i’ve been writing a lot of fluff n stuff. i will get back to fics abt two or more ppl just fuking rawing each other soon. dw. 

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

You and Bucky have been dating for awhile. Not a long time, but awhile. You hadn’t officially moved in together yet (you still paid your half of the rent for your shitty apartment), but you still often slept in his room in the Tower. You’ve had sex, but had never gotten too adventurous. It’s good, Bucky and you are happy. You’re in love. No need to push it, no need to talk it further, no need to complicate things.

You’re sitting on the couch, reading some book about the gendered politics of crafting, when you hear a loud crash in the kitchen. The others are all in other places at far ends of the Tower, and you’re pretty sure Natasha went out to get coffee. But any of them in the kitchen on the common floor? Without you noticing? Nope. Not possible.

Good news is, you trust Tony enough to not allow some stray or burglar to come and kidnap you, so you decide to investigate. You keep your hardcover novel with you to act as a makeshift weapon...just in case.  You’re expecting a rat, or maybe some sort of ghost, possibly a dog no one thought to CC you on the email about - definitely not the god that’s been spooked by a a Nutribullet plastic container thingy that’s fallen from a poorly-stacked cabinet.

“Thor Odinson,” you groan, grabbing and gently placing the large smoothie-thing (oh god, what do you call those things anyway? Do they have names?) in the sink. “You scared the shit out of me!”

He looks sheepish as he explains. “Sorry, my lady. It looks like someone in this residence didn’t put…” he gestures to the object. “That away correctly.”

“It’s fine.” You half laugh, half sigh as you go to hug him. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

Thor chuckles. “It has! Please, sit back down. I’ll be there in a minute and you can tell me everything I’ve missed!”

You smile, nodding and going back to your place on the extremely comfortable couch. Ever the gentleman, about two minutes later he hands you your favorite mug - a baby blue one with cursive gold lettering that says “flight” with little birds on it- with your favorite tea inside. It’s warm under your hands and provides a relief to the ache from holding the book.

“An apology - for scaring you like that,” Thor tells you as you blow lightly at the steam from the beverage.

Again, you smile. “Apology accepted.”

The conversation between you two flows beautifully. You two talk about this and that: about your writing and his kingly duties. About your new book deal and his universal travels. It seems ludicrous, comparing your lives. But he seems genuinely interested in your life - just as you are his.

Book long forgotten, it seems like hours later when Bucky enters the floor with Natasha and Sam in tow. They’re all chatting about some new upcoming training technique they’re going to try with some of the subordinates. Once they all see Thor, they greet him with the same grand gestures and loud voice they’ve always seemed to use with the equally grand and loud god.

Well, except Bucky. He greets only you and only you with his signature peck on the lips, sitting beside you and pulling you into his chest. He’s showered - thank Gods - and he smells like the body wash you bought him. The honeycomb is calming and comforting, much more so than sweat and adrenaline and whatever else got stuck to him.

“How was the workout?” You ask.

He shrugs when he answers. “Good - the usual.”

You roll your eyes. Bucky may not be able to see it with the angle you’re at, but he knows you’re doing it anyway. “Always so descriptive,” you tease. He smiles, welcoming your chide remarks.

Thor watches the pair of you. You can tell Bucky notices, but neither of you really say anything. He had a habit of staring at things while on Midgard, it became a habit after one-to-many all-too-forward inappropriate questions, mostly made while in public (Why does that woman have a metal bar through her ear? He asked in a coffee shop. Why would anyone want to build a bear, especially little children? He texted you when he went to the mall for a first time. Why does this text end in an eggplant? He questioned when he picked up your phone and accidentally read all of your notifications).

It’s no biggie - at least not to you, so you badger Natasha about her postponing a girls’ night. Bucky, though, doesn’t take his eyes off of the God. He watches Thor with his assassin’s precision, and you choose not to comment.

Soon, your conversation with Thor picks back up. The whole time, Bucky’s muscles occasionally tense. For awhile, you ignore it; You know better than to push anything, so you drop it from your mind for the time being. Later that night, though, you bring it to the surface again as you get dressed for bed and Bucky brushes his teeth.

“Sooo…” you begin, leaning on the doorway to the bathroom.

Bucky spits the black (charcoal was Steve’s new thing, and Bucky’s always willing to be his guinea pig) saliva into the sink. “What’s up, babe?”

You shrug, attempting to remain nonchalant. “What was with you while I was talking to Thor on the couch earlier this afternoon?”

Bucky immediately denies his actions. “Nothing, it was nothing.”

You scoff. “I’m a retired interrogator for the United States Navy. You can’t knock me off your path that easily...James.”

Oooooo, full first names are coming out now. This is getting serious.

Bucky scoffs, too. Yours was serious, though. The one he does is obviously an attempt to mock you. “And I was interrogated for like, seventy years. You can’t crack me that easily.”

You stare at him via the mirror, blank-faced. “Really, you’re pulling the Winter Soldier card?”

Bucky shrugs, finally wiping off his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You don’t budge, metaphorically and literally. “You’re deflecting and you know it.”

He just grumbles something unintelligible and brushes past you, huddling under the thick comforter on his side of the bed and turning off the lamp on his nightstand. Bucky’s acting like a small child who just got told he can’t go over to his friend’s house on Saturday because he has to get up early for Sunday mass. Luckily, the only more stubborn person on this Earth besides him (and Steve) is you.

Plus, you babysat until grad school: you know how to handle petulant children. You turn off the rest of the lights and snuggle into bed right beside him, curling your arms around his middle - just like he loves it. He’d never admit it, but James Buchanan Barnes (World’s longest serving POW, Winter Soldier, Veteran, Avenger) absolutely adores being the little spoon.

When he settles into you, you know you’ve got him right where you want him. “You know, if you don’t want to talk to me, I could just give Wanda the go-ahead to read your mind and spoil all of the pranks you were planning to play on Sam…”

He flips over and gasps. “You wouldn’t…”

“And I won’t!” You assure. “You just have to tell me how you feel.”

“Ugh,” Bucky exclaims dramatically. “Talking about emotions.”

You snort a little, kissing his warm, sweet-smelling shoulder. Damn, you really know how to pick a body wash.“You knew this was going to happen! My mom was a social worker, you can’t hide that part of me for long!”

He growls, then sighs. “Fine. But turn over.” You start to question him, but he cuts you off before a single sound can leave your lips. “I can’t have you looking at me while I say this.”

Listen, you bargain with yourself. You got him to open up! That’s great. Let him do it in his own way. Being the loving girlfriend you are, you flip over and face the wall.

It’s a few pregnant moments before he starts, but when he does - he can’t seem to stop. “Look, I know...listen. I was super like, sauve and stuff...pre-war and shit. Talk to Steve, he’ll tell ya. But being under mind control for a Nazi organization doesn’t really like, help your self-confidence, you know? When I met you, it was hard. I remember you, at that party. You looked...oh god, you looked so good in that velvet pantsuit. And those heels! When Natasha introduced us, I legit almost fell over,” it takes every ounce of all willpower you have not to giggle. You remember that day so vividly: how much your bra hurt, what the champagne tasted like, wanting to jump Bucky’s bones the minutes you saw him. Everything, you remember everything. “And then Natasha threw, like legit threw all of your books at me once we got home. And I read all of them. Several times. It was just...I remember I wrote down all of my favorite poems and like, read them every chance I could get. I just, you’re so articulate, the way you use your voice, the way you write. I was...floored. Still am. I just, you never cease to amaze me. And I remember the first time we slept together, and your dirty talking - god. I wanted to stop fucking you so I could write down everything you said. I’ve just never, I’ve never met anyone who could manipulate the English language like you can.”

You wipe a tear from your eye. God, what a fucking charmer. No wonder you let him get it on the first date.

“You’re so...like, you’re like some Greek statue. Carved from perfect marble and so precious. Sometimes I want to touch you make sure you’re real but I don’t want to smudge you, wreck your beauty. And I’ve always felt like...remember that poem, from your second poetry book. The one about trauma from your childhood?”

You sniffle. That poem, that’s the one he talked to you about on your first date. Normally you felt so uncomfortable when people complimented you, but with Bucky it felt so natural. “That my trauma felt like the jagged edge of a rock at the bottom of the pond; ever present but with no exact location until it was too late.”

Bucky picks up, still facing away from you. “Yeah, I just...I never thought anyone so fucking amazing could love someone like me. It felt like you were a shooting star that somehow fell in love with some stupid cliff’s edge, or some other shitty rock or something. I don’t know. I just...I’m worried that you’ll see me like I see me, and Thor is like...the hottest person ever. He’s just as bright as you are...at least, I don’t know, I remember you and him talking about your writing’s allusions to mythology and I had no fucking idea what you were talking about and I just...I don’t know. I love you, I love you so much, and I’m trying everyday to prove that to you. But I just, I’m not sure how to do that properly, so sometimes I-”

You don’t allow him to finish his sentence. You surge forward, your salty tears mixing with his as you kiss him. Bucky kisses back without hesitation. Both of you are reluctant to pull away, but oxygen cares not one bit about how in love two people are.

“I think dating a writer rubbed off on you,” you whisper, lips still almost touching his. “Because those words...fuck. If you keep talking to me like that, we’ll never be able to leave this bed again.”

He laughs, deep and husky. “What can I say, I’m a changed man. First the loofah and that body wash, then the yoga, now this…”

You bark out laughter, then sigh happily. “If Thor would make you crack like this I would’ve invited him to Midgard a long time ago…”

Bucky jabs his fingers into your side, tickling you. “Don’t even joke about that! I’m trying to be tender here, and this is how you treat me?”

You kiss him again, smiling. “Aw, my love. How ever will I make it up to you?”

He taps his finger to his chin for a moment, then flips you over so that he’s on top of you. “Oh, I think I have a few ideas…”

[superleeleehipster]

Season 8 Caryl

So The Walking Dead season 8 premiere is in less than two weeks (9 days, holy crap!), and I figured I’d give in my two cents on the potential for some Carylness during the premiere as well as the entire season. 

Speculation below the cut:

I’ve always hated the last few weeks before premieres to be honest. We get all of these reviews from various magazines and news sources about episode one, and it can cause some major stress leading up to it for people who actually read them. But unfortunately, at the end of the day, whether or not the episode is good is always arbitrary. Same thing with Caryl moments. 

We know from TSDF page that Carol and Daryl share a hug and a brief conversation during the premiere, so there’s definitely some massive potential for good interaction. However, not a whole lot of commentary has appeared in regards to the way in which they interact. Brandon Davis said nothing about a Caryl moment, but then again he’s not a Caryl person, so his opinion should always be taken with a grain of salt. The only other source that we’ve heard from about the Caryl moment had said that “we don’t ship them anymore. Carol just looks like a friend Daryl desperately needs”... 

First of all, who’s ‘we’? Secondly, for me it really depends on the reason as to why they don’t ship Caryl anymore to think like that. Is it because Carol and Daryl’s interaction in the premiere is more platonic? Or is it because so much time has passed and so little interaction has occurred between them that they’ve just given up on the idea that it’ll happen? B/c, logically, a relationship (or at least ambiguous potential of one happening in the future) would’ve happened by now, right?... if the writing was good, then yes it would’ve. So I wouldn’t get too worried about that review b/c, again, it’s arbitrary. I think they don’t ship them anymore simply b/c it’s been too long and the writers have failed to show enough that there’s a potential relationship there. 

Now I’m not saying Caryl won’t happen, I’m just trying to make a point that the writers struggle with relationships. The vast majority of the relationships on TWD right now happened very suddenly, and with barely any progression to it. Denise and Tara were out of the blue, Sasha and Abe (although sweet) were still awkward and sudden, even Richonne’s canon moment was questionable. I swear to any Richonners reading this that I’m not downplaying your ship, I am simply stating that the writers should’ve done better for you. They had obviously progressed Rick and Jessie’s relationship before they actually kissed, most ppl knew that was going to happen eventually. Then Jessie dies, and literally the next episode, Rick and Michonne get together. Yes there was potential build up before they arrived at ASZ, but recent buildup was nonexistent. He was with Jessie, she dies, then bam, he’s with Michonne. 

My point is, the canon moments for most of the relationships we’ve seen are often very out of the blue, and unfortunately I don’t see Caryl happening any differently. I’m sure when it happens we’re going to jump for joy... then start complaining about lack of progression beforehand. But it’s been a problem that the writers have had all this time. I’m not saying this to be negative, I’m only saying that just because there’s not much progression, doesn’t necessarily mean canon won’t happen. Is it the right way to write it? Fuck no, but we’re stuck with the writers we got.

In regards to Norman’s comments about various ships with Daryl, honestly, I don’t pay much attention to what he says most of the time. Ever since season 4, Norman has always been a bit uncomfortable with shipper questions. But he doesn’t like confrontation and he also doesn’t like letting people down, so he doesn’t ask “don’t ask me those questions please”. He is a people pleaser first and foremost, and he’d rather flirt the canon line with every ship than pick one to fangirl over b/c he’s seen the hate that comes from the shipper wars attacking each other. Is it the right way to play the field? Nope, but he doesn’t see it from our perspective. That’s why he’s sometimes described the idea of making Caryl canon almost scary b/c he’s seen the hate that can come from it. Melissa got a shit ton of hate after Beth died b/c there were stupid rumors about Mel’s influence on Beth’s death (none whatsoever). She still gets hate now from ageist assholes and the like, so I’m sure even Mel has some trepidation about them going canon. I’m not saying this to defend him, I’m just saying it to help ppl understand why he says stupid shit. Norman does have the potential to say really good things, but at the same time he’s said really crap things, so I just focus on the good. Keeps me sane XD.

At the end of the day, only listen to Norman if he’s flanked by Andy or Melissa b/c his answers will be much more thoughtful then... and for the love of god, run the fuck away if he’s flanked by Kirkman or Greg (especially).

8x01 Hug

Okay, so supposedly Caryl share another hug in the premiere (woo!) as well as a brief conversation. So far we haven’t really gotten the specifics on what this hug looks like or how it goes down, and we probably won’t until we see it for ourselves. What I will say is that oftentimes a caryl scene is downplayed to the audience, whether be from Brandon Davis or TSDF peeps. For example, in The Same Boat, the only thing we heard about the Caryl reunion was that “they share a quick hug”. It wasn’t that much to go on, and I know many of us were bummed at how that sounded. However, it wound up being more sweet than we anticipated. We got the soft shoulder grab and him asking, almost desperately if she was alright. Then the chin tilt, and then the hug with Daryl’s hand holding Carol’s head. Not to mention he stuck by her after, putting himself between her and the last Savior. That was a lot of detail within “a quick hug”, and I’m sure this one will be no different. Melissa and Norman, whether ppl like it or not, have very good chemistry, and they are able to use it and feed off each other to create powerful scenes, even if the writing sucks ass.

So when I think of the premiere hug I picture it as either Carol coming up and hugging him while he’s sitting on his bike and nuzzles him again (he does the same). Extra brownie points in that scenario b/c she’ll technically be in between his legs :D. Or Carol will say stay safe and walk away, but he calls her and walks up and hugs her, b/c he doesn’t know if he’ll ever see her again. 

In regards to their brief conversation, since it’s brief I highly doubt they’ll talk about the really tough stuff, like Carol’s guilt over the girls or Daryl’s guilt over Glenn. I think it may just be them joking a little bit to ease some tension, and then they hug, and he’ll say “stay safe”, and she’ll say “nine lives” before pulling away. Personally I do hope that when the explosion happens later, that we get to see Daryl’s reaction. That’ll bring even more potential for an even greater reunion later on in the show b/c he won’t know if she survived the blast. 

Season 8 Canon

Now I never really expected Caryl to go canon in the premiere (motherfuckers!), but I still very much expect canon by the end of the season. I know we’re very hesitant to believe anything from AMC, and we’re scared that they published those season 8 photos just to tease/torment us. But AMC isn’t dumb, they know that if they teased Caryl and (god forbid) had Carzekiel happen, then shit would hit the fan and not in a good way. That would be a complete bitch slap to the fans, and they know that a good chunk of them wants Caryl to happen. So I don’t see them promoting Caryl pre-season as a bad sign or just a stupid tease so they could get more ratings. I think they want people to tune in b/c they’ve got something big, and they know that if they put Carzekiel together then the ppl they’ve convinced to watch will just leave again.

I’m with Ripley, and I don’t think they’d go canon until the war is over b/c that’s just not a good time to do so. In fact I’d actually get more nervous if they went canon in the middle of the war b/c then they’d have more potential for more drama if they killed one of them off later. So I think we’ll get to see them interact throughout the season, and see the potential of a romance there. But I don’t think they’d be in the right mindset for romance until after the fighting is done. 

Now hang on, bare with me for a second. I’m saying this because of Melissa’s recent interview about Carol’s mentality. Norman of course had said that Daryl’s not in the right headspace to have a romance, and we basically fried him on a stick for that, but Mel said something similar in that ‘Carzekiel’ specific article. They were talking about the potential for Carzekiel in season 8, but Melissa herself had said that Carol’s trying to keep herself from letting him in, or letting anyone in. She’s keeping everyone at arm’s length b/c she’s still having issues with having to kill people. I was hoping that after season 7 she would be on the mend with her inner demons but it still sounds like she will struggle with herself throughout the season. So it actually looks like neither character is in the right mindset for a romance, that’s why I think they’ll wait till the war is over for anything to happen. 

Anyways, I do hope we get to see Caryl interact and heal together before the season ends though, b/c frankly, I’m tired of Carol being in a miserable arc, and I’m tired of Daryl being in a hot headed, revenge quest arc. Enough with the self tormenting, I want them happy!! But fuck everyone who says anything negative about this ship, I will fucking go down with it. I will never give up on Caryl!

Caryl on loves!