#also I think all of them should stay single forever xoxo

[yup-no-way]

Astro Observations

Hi there! This is going to be a short intro to my blog. It’s currently like 2am in my timezone and I was scrolling through Tumblr(as one does) and I realised I enjoy this app too much to not start posting stuff on it. I don’t know what this blog is going to be targeted mostly for but I think I’ll focus on astrology. If u enjoy this post and would maybe be interested in reading my 3 am brainrot, this is the page for you.

These observations are based on my personal experiences so don’t take it as full facts. These placements can also be influenced by other things in someone’s chart like degrees, houses and aspects. Also if u have any suggestions for what content you’d like to see feel free to let me know. English is not my first language lads so don’t drag me for grammatical errors. xoxo

Aries moon: crash out final boss, yous need to learn how to regulate your emotions omg. They r the type of people to get mad ab smth so fast and cool down just as fast. All I will say is that if u have a parents with this placement, you are a victim 😔

Pisces sun: one of the most complex sun signs imo. Them being the last of all zodiac signs, taking small traits from every zodiac does reflect a lot in them. It’s rlly hard to pinpoint stereotypes to them based on this placement alone since the rest of their chart rlly does affect this placement(that goes for all chart tbh but I noticed for Pisces sun that this placement is the hardest to pinpoint). Overall I find this placement not as lazy and delusional as people make it to be. They are quite smart but their issue stems from their lack of organisation and task management which can lead to a scattered mind. They should learn more from their sister sign Virgo and gather their thoughts so they can reach their full potential. If evolved can be very articulated, intuitive and loyal. If not then gg. They can get quite selfish and stingy. So be aware.

Gemini Venus: ur cooked. That’s it basically. Cause how do u strive for deep connections and understanding in relationships but can’t commit to anyone to save your life. Also not every person that slightly resonates to your ideologies is the love of your life. Sorry guys! You r fun tho.

Cancer sun: this is mostly for men cancer sun, but I feel like the stereotype of crybabies doesn’t rlly apply to them. Met so many cancer sun men in my life and every single one has shed prolly one tear in front of me. They rlly only cry in very bad situations, apart from that they r passive aggressive lords. They would rather chew a jean jacket than not be petty and passive aggressive.

Also noticed they tend to strive for validation from other people and might struggle with self love. On the bright side they can be very fun to be around and rlly easy to talk to.

Aries Venus: I’ll stand by my statement but I don’t think Aries Venus placement people are as flimsy and we make them to be. I think most people that I’ve met with this placement rlly are very loyal and passionate lovers, they just need to find someone that can ignite that spark in them really. One thing ab Aries Venus is that they know when they want u, and you’ll know it too. For them attraction/love at first sight can be a very real thing. If an Aries Venus is still in a talking stage with u for longer than a month and doesn’t seem to take it further, then they just don’t want u that bad cause if they did they want u to be their as soon as they lay their eyes on u. And once u r in a relationship and they really find you and interesting person they WILL STAY FOREVER, good luck escaping.

Scorpio Venus: I will keep this brief. Stop romanticising toxic dynamics. This placement can be so beautiful and harmonious once developed. Undeveloped tho… u guys will have a whole family and still think of your ex from 10 years ago who did you so dirty but smh they r ���the love of your life” and “the one who got away”.

I had to come back to this one again and say smth else. THEY R LOYAL if evolved. They will literally burn the world down for you (same goes for Scorpio suns)

Taurus sun: love-hate relationship personally with this placement. If developed this placement is beautiful all around, but if not… worst people you will ever meet, I promise you that. They will be sneaky, manipulative, controlling, lack direction and a backbone, god complex, gossip a lot and overall not reliable people. If the placement is evolved tho you guys r genuinely so full of grace in every approach in life. This placement is quite interesting for me since I got done so wrong but so well by Taurus people so that’s why it’s 50/50 for me .( did notice tho that all the tauruses I got along with were April ones not May so take that as you will)

Scorpio sun: Can u tell i am rlly intrigued by scorpio placements. I love love love this placement in women and absolutely dislike this placement in men. For some reason it manifests so differently in women compared to men. They r either all in or all out. Also most people w this placement that I’ve met have always had quite niche interests and they lowkey love obsessing over things. This placement in a nutshell is going from one hyper fixation to another. They can go on hours talking about their interests and then going non verbal right after. When they love, they LOVE. If they rlly care about u they will be so observant and once they chose u, good luck getting away. Also want to give a shoutout to people with heavy Scorpio and aqua placements in their chart. Hang in there soldier, it doesn’t get easier but you will(hopefully) learn to deal with the mental back and forth. 😌

This is the end of the blog. If u acc read all my blabber and u enjoyed it then might as well keep an eye out for what I have to say in future posts. Good night/evening/morning to everyone

[marley-manson]

Finally watched the Xena finale, thanks to the fanon episode order treating it as a midseason soft finale that gets fixed by When Fates Collide lol.

And man, it really was a hot mess. I could barely follow the plot, and many aspects were very arbitrary and like, revealed off-screen. The most hilarious of course being Xena suddenly announcing, like a minute before the end of the episode, that oh actually apparently she has to stay dead, sorry Gab, xoxo

It is VERY Xena though to have a plotline where Xena anticlimactically dies in the pre-credits scene at the beginning of part 2 and both you and the characters assume for the rest of the episode that she's going to come back to life like usual until the tragic twist lol.

Akemi was... resoundingly mediocre as one of Xena's exes. Her only personality traits were 'proto-Gabrielle' and 'wants to kill her dad.' Also like... was there incest subtext there? Like it was implied that the little creepy afterlife she was in was like, her dad's ghosts' personal brothel or something? But like I said, the plot was very hard to follow.

The themes were also a mess of course, it's been said many times but yeah ignoring the central theme of the show (atonement is pointless if you're doing good now) in favour of redemption thru death was dumb, the set up was dumb (we're blaming Xena for 40k deaths because she set a couple dudes on fire in self defense? Man at least give me an actual deliberate atrocity here), and choosing death over Gabrielle was like a dumb reverse Ides of March. Also Gabrielle just going like, 'damn okay I guess, bye forever,' was unbelievable. Even if Xena wants to backslide, I'm pretty sure Gabrielle would force her to come back to life anyway, fuck those souls. Like, it's not even clear how Xena's death helps them? Killing Akemi's evil dad again freed them from torment or whatever, who cares if they don't get avenged? What is a state of grace? How will they be lost, if she comes back to life? People go unavenged all the time, deal with it.

That said, I'd been under the impression that somehow Xena's death here contradicts the whole reincarnation thing, but I didn't get that at all? Idt there's any stipulation that she has to stay in the Japanese afterlife, just that she has to be killed and stay dead, and it does make sense since in their next lives Xena is a lot older than Gabrielle, so she should logically die a few decades earlier.

On the more positive side of things, it was very fun to see Gabrielle shining as ~the new Xena~ Love to see her kicking that one dude's ass twice, and the moment she catches the chakram is super cool. The non-Xena chakram-catch has always been framed as an 'oh shit, this woman's gonna be hardcore as hell' moment in the show so I love that they use it to show how far Gab's come.

And of course, gay gay gay homosexual gay. Like, season 6 is the point where I would say it is textual if only the show didn't go out of its way to scream "IT'S STILL AMBIGUOUS" a couple times lol (reporter's question in You Are There, fans in Soul Possession saying "yay Xena and Gabrielle are finally together" when they hear Harry and Mattie are married, eg.) "If I only had thirty seconds to live, this is how I'd want to spend them: looking into your eyes. I love you, Gabrielle." Like goddamn. I appreciate this cast and crew so much. Plus the incredibly thinly veiled makeout scene <3

Finally, while I think her chatting with Xena at the very end was meant to be more metaphorical or symbolic rather than literally Gabrielle talking to herself, it was an unfortunately funny image and a pretty terrible final scene imo. I do like the 'I hear they're in need of a girl with a chakram' reprise though, I gotta admit. Go kick some ass babe <3

And despite very much not liking that Xena dies in the finale, I would still read/watch the shit out of Gabrielle's now-single adventures as a just-as-invincible gay hero, kicking ass, fucking women without ever settling down with anyone, telling stories about Xena and becoming even more famous herself.

[ff-imagines]

Oh snap you're opened. Welcome back! Can you please do the nsfw alphabet for peking duck? I really like your writing!

Peking duck: nsfw alphabet

Minors dni xoxo

A - aftercare

The best at it, honestly. Might seriously cry a little afterwards lmao. You don’t have to ask for anything because he’s already thought ahead and is shoving everything you could need your way. It might get a little ridiculous with how careful he is with you, he doesn’t mean to baby you, he’s just terrified of hurting you. If you’re sore at all he feels incredibly guilty, even if there is a tiny part of him that twinges in pride when you remind him you’d asked for a rough treatment and, well, he’ll be damned if he doesn’t give you exactly what you asked so nicely for.

B - body part

Of yours, it’s more a question of what he doesn't like. If he had to make a choice, he’d say your stomach. It’s good to lay his head on it, and it’s one of the softest parts of your body so it’s nice and warm. He’d die before he admitted it but some nights he goes a bit harsher than usual, splaying his hand across your stomach and feeling how deep his cock is inside you as he thrusts- it drives him insane really.

He also loves your hands, always wants to be holding you hand, especaily during sex. Will pin you down in a loving way by lacing his fingers with yours above your head.

On himself? Definitely his hair. Playing with his hair and giving him a scalp massage makes him feel some type of way. Sit in his lap while you run your nails across his scalp and he’ll bury his nose in the crook of your neck and moan for you, whatever happens next is up to you babes xoxo

C - cum

It’s not a crazy amount but it’s pretty thick. You can’t tell me he doesn’t have a big ass breeding kink. What can he say, Peking Dad is a family man! Just the thought of cumming deep inside you has him thrusting all that harder. Beg him to cum inside you, I dare you. You’ll see a side to him that’s much more feral than you’ve ever seen this sweet man. Would 100% cum inside and buck into you just a bit longer to fuck any cum that’s slipped past his cock back inside you.

D - dirty secret

He wants to take pictures of you while in your blissed out state. He loves you so stupidly much, he’s already got tons and tons of pictures of you going about your daily life. He’s the type to see a cat asleep and go “what a rare moment I must capture it forever” and that stays true with his beloved. If you’d let him, he’d love to make some… home videos with you, ones he’d definitely come back to rewatch to the point where your whines are committed to memory like the lyrics to his favourite song.

E - experience

I’d say he’s not a green bean with sex. I don’t think he’s been around the block either. He’s probably opened up such intimacy with a few others before just to test the waters, but hasn’t really felt passionate about opening that part of himself back up for quite some time. He’d most likely fumble a bit to begin with as he recalls the motions.

F - favorite position

Whatever yours is! He’s the definition of a true switch, let him soft dom you or treat him how you like, it’s up to you!

If he had to pick, he’s most likely a sucker for when you’re on his lap. No matter if he’s in charge or not, he just loves to look up and see the way your face scrunches when he bucks and hits that one spot inside you that makes your mind vacate.

G - goofy

Not…. Really? He’s accidentally goofy by saying something super out of place during intimate moments or by fretting over something you wouldn’t even think to be worried over. You could have his cock buried so deep in your insides will feel like they’ve molded to the shape of his dick and he’d stop and ask if you remembered to turn the oven off lmao

H- hair

On himself he mostly trims to keep it simple but like, that’s it. He’s got a light happy trail that he doesn’t really trim since it’s not that thick, it doesn’t really bother him.

On you, he literally doesn’t care. Shave or don’t, he’s your personal cheerleader either way.

I- intimacy

It’s his expertise, your honour! He lives to be closer to you, learn more about your desires, what makes you happiest, please let him treat you good, he adores you so much, and precious things get treated like royalty in his hands. He commits your body and reactions to memory, almost like he’s taken a photograph of every single touch- and like I said….. if you let him…. he would take pictures ;)

J- jerk off

You’d think he’d only do it occasionally but he actually does it quite a lot. He thinks it’s healthy to release regularly, it’s better to cum now than have a weird spike of horniness in public. He’s probably considered the chance that you walk in on him, and he’s surprised by how much he wants that to happen. For him to be desperately close to the edge and for you to walk in and take over, him a deer in the headlights as you take control, he’s could probably cum to that fantasy alone, honestly.

K- Kinks

Well, obv a big ole breeding kink. The thought of cumming in your deepest parts has him frenzied beyond belief.

Idk if the taking pics thing is a kink but also… that ofc.

I think he’s also into sensory deprivation. Allow him to blindfold you, tie your hands behind you, let him take care of you. He’ll handle everything from here, sweet thing, all you have to do is keep moaning for him in such a pretty way.

He’s also, surprisingly, into masochism. He doesn’t care for sadism at all, he’d die before he left a mark on your perfect skin, however….. if you decided to roughly pull his head back by his hair and bite just a little too hard, you might find him bucking into you a little faster.

He’s probably thought a bit about cock warming, but surprisingly he doesn’t really want it to be…. “sexual” as much as he desires to be closer to you. You sitting in his lap, feeling you exhale against his neck with your arms wrapped around him, all the while is cock is buried deep inside you, it just sounds so intimate, and he finds himself craving to be that close to you often.

The biggest of all? Praise praise praise. Body worship as well. He’s literally always babbling about how gorgeous you are, how good you feel, how amazing you make him feel. Always encouraging and always admiring you, just like he does every single day in non sexual contexts, always sneaking in ways to remind you how much he adores you. Tell him about a certain part of your body you don’t feel confident in, he’s paying extra attention to making it known how perfect everything about you is. Everything you have, own, are, all of it. Peking is your number one fan, sit back let him remind you just why he finds you so lovely, you won’t regret it.

L- location

He prefers to be in a secluded area, he knows he’s loud and he’d be really embarrassed if anyone but you brought up the….. volume of his whines.

However, he’s very weak when it comes to your begging. If you're in a less than private location, he’ll most likely let you lead and just try to bite his knuckle to keep from crying out. It'd be soOoOo awful if you made a game out of trying to get him to break and whine out for you unmuffled as you play with him, oOoOoHhHh the horror >:)

M- motivation

He’s an old dad with an enormous you-shaped hole in his chest, just ask him and he’ll give everything he has to his name to you. You don’t need to wear that certain perfume he loves so much, you don’t need to breathe across his neck like that, you don’t need to run a finger down his spine so slowly, he’ll give you anything you ask for, please don’t tease him so much.

If you straight up ask him for sex, he’ll mostly lean towards soft service domming, if you choose to purposely rile him up, he’ll be in a much subby-er mood.

N- no

Like I’ve said, there really isn’t a sadistic bone in his body. He also doesn’t have literally any desire for humiliation kinks. He just doesn’t like it, giving or receiving. He’s a big ole simp with a big heart and it’s in the palm of your hands, please treat it nicely :’(

O- oral

P l s let him give you oral. He might not be an expert but he lives to make you feel good.

Afab readers…. He’ll most likely try to make you sit on his face at least once, please please he wants to feel your thighs against his head while he works his tongue on you.

Amab readers, he fuckin loves to rub his thumbs on your hips to keep you from bucking as he swallows your cock, he’ll open his mouth for you after you cum, swallow, and open his mouth again to prove he didn’t let a single drop go to waste.

As for receiving, phew boy does he love receiving. He cannot for the life of him figure out where to put his hands so it’s a frenzy of him grasping the sheets to biting down on his knuckle to placing a hand on your head. If you made him look down at you and lock eyes while his cock is in your mouth his soul would leave his body lmao

P- pace

Not very fast at all, he prefers to thrust deeper than should be possible. He really likes when you beg him to go faster, and as soft as his heart is, this is the only time he might withhold himself from giving into your begging for a bit, he just loves pulling out so slowly and watch you almost cry out for him to thrust back, deeper harder, faster, please, he’ll give into you eventually, just let him savour the feeling of you needing him badly enough to cry for a few more minutes.

Q- quickies

He prefers long, drawn out rounds, but if you really need some relief quickly, he’s not one to deny you. He will most likely give in, and later on in the night when you're back home and out of the public eye, suggest you two have a much more... thorough round as quick rounds just don’t satisfy him enough.

R- risk

Surprisingly…… he kinda likes the idea. The thought of someone, maybe even someone who’s been pining for you, to catch him in the act of making you beg and cry for him. Alternatively, making them watch you as you give your full attention to him, pleasure him, make them watch you love him instead of them. It riles him up in a way even he’s not used to.

S- stamina

He’s an old man, his refractory time is kinda long lmao. He prefers one really long round rather than multiple. He doesn’t mind or judge if you need a little more, and doesn’t mind giving you a few more orgasms with his tongue or hands.

T- toys

He doesn’t have any, but he’s open to the idea! Admittedly, he likes the idea on himself, like, really likes the idea. Give him a cock ring and watch him cry out as he begs for a break that he doesn’t actually want to take because the bliss you’re giving him is making him feel like jelly.

U- unfair

He's tried to edge and tease you before but he gave in so damn quick it was almost embarrassing for him. He just adores you, he lives to please you, even if you beg him not to give in and try to tease you he just can’t, his heart is so so squishy and he loves you very much dear, please let him treat you exactly how you beg to be treated.

Overstimming however….. he does it accidentally a lot, he just loves prolonging your pleasure, watching you squirm a bit as he forces a second orgasm out of your poor spent body.

V- volume

He’s very loud honestly. If you decide to dom him he talks a lot. He's got a bad babbling habit, words of adoration bleeding from his lips that get more and more incoherent the longer you toy with him. Play with him long enough and he’ll forget how to form words, letting out loud whines and he squirms under you. You might catch him attempting to cry out your name but the poor thing just can’t seem to form the right words.

If you let him top you he’s still throwing out every compliment he can think of and he still whines a lot, he likes to bury his face in your neck to muffle himself and listen to your moans. He lives to hear you come undone, but he can’t help being so loud, you’re just so warm and you feel so good :(

W- wild card

I think jealous sex will be more common than you actually think, Peking is just very quiet about the reason he’s suddenly a bit more handsy. He knows it’s not rational to worry about his place in your heart, but it just eats at him sometimes when he sees the way you blend in with others so easily while he just… doesn’t. If a stranger/friend is more overt about their flirting he will probably be more obvious about the jealousy burning through his veins. Even if he wasn’t prompted through jealously, pillow talk sometimes leans towards him venting his fears to you. Please praise him, tell him how much you love him, he needs it :’((((

X- X Ray

A lot bigger than average and a bit curved. He never considered himself to be out of the norm, or never really considered his cock to anything else than, just, “well, its there” I suppose. He does appreciate the curve a lot more now because it makes it easier to hit your weak point. He feels a bit of pride nestling into his chest if you cry about him being too big.

Y- yearning

Fairly often, but he doesn’t mind not acting on it. He can still function and do his work if he’s only surface level horny. Literally anytime you ask he’ll deliver with very slim exceptions. He’d like it to be a regular thing, since he really enjoys the intimacy, so maybe 3-4 times a week, 1-2 if you prefer it to be.

Z- zzz

Oh man he loves cuddling with you after sex. He also loves cuddling with you period but god he loves to the pillow talk with you in his arms, listening to your sleepy voice as your grip on him slowly loosens -but never lets go, as you succumb to sleep. He isn’t overly sleepy himself, instead choosing to close his eyes and comb through your hair, or run a thumb across your cheek if your hair isn’t a texture that can be combed through. Sleep will come to him eventually, he just likes savouring the warmth you bring him.

[peakywitch]

Hello you creative human you! I was wondering if I request some good old tommy angst with him finding out his daughter has lost her virginity? Could do with reading some drammmma while I’m working from home😂💕

His Daisy - Tommy Shelby

Warnings: usual stuff, you know (swearing, mentions of killing and sex)

Word count: 1.2 k

A/N: Hello my cutie!I couldn’t use angst, I’m so sorry, but it’s cute cute cute and has a lil drama so you don’t get bored. How’s your work doing, everything fine? i hope zoom calls are not drowning you!

As for why i didn’t use angst: i don’t believe Tommy is a slut shamer, and neither should we. Yes, my feminism got in the way, but i wasn’t comfortable. Sorry! Hope you enjoy it anyway <3

Ps: i’m not saying you are a slut shamer, nor that you think tommy is one, haha xoxo

Six in the morning was marked on the clock, which sounded in time with Tommy's footsteps.

“Tom,” his wife began, “you're going to dig a hole. And I don't think you want to be in a tunnel again. "

As he finished his millionth cigarette of the night, he collapsed into one of the black chairs in the living room.

"I swear...” he spoke, slowly and furiously “that as soon as she walks through that door, I will drag her to the car and I’ll take her to a house of fuckin’ nuns, Y/N. I swear to fuckin’ god."

His wife sighed and pursed her lips in disgust.

It was not the first time that Daisy had escaped during the night. Y/N and Thomas knew perfectly well, but she always came back at three in the morning.

Tommy changed position every two seconds; he was uncomfortable, angry, nervous and scared. Y/N did not remove her fingernails from her lips, nor did she stop fearing the worst.

They spent ten minutes in silence, in their pajamas and in the middle of the room. The house that had ten rooms seemed even smaller than the tunnels of France that still lived in Tommy. And with every minute that passed, the house got smaller and smaller, and the knot in both throats grew and tightened more and more.

After five more minutes, footsteps and quiet laughter were heard in the front yard. Tommy separated his palms from his eyes and looked at his wife in relief. His face was deformed just after hearing the voice of a boy, which accompanied his daughter's voice. Like a shooting star, Tommy bolted for the door to give his daughter a warm and agitated welcome.

"Daisy, you are going to kill your father." Y/N sighed, getting up from the chair, while listening to how the laughter stopped.

"Dad…” said Daisy, seeing the man in pajamas.

"Indoors. Now."

Tommy's voice erased all happiness from the night before. She turned to dismiss the boy, but her father's rough tug interrupted her, forcing her inside.

"Dad!" she yelled complaining, but the slam of the door made her scream inaudible.

"Daisy, where were you?" Y/N asked, stepping to one side of Tommy.

"It doesn't matter..." she said, trying to free herself from Tom's grip.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he asked, walking into the living room with her daughter's arm in her hand. He sat Daisy on the chair in which he was the last fifteen minutes “You're going to sit in that damn chair, until I feel like. Or until you tell us where the fuck you were! "

"I'm sleepy, we'll talk later."

Daisy tried to get up, but her father's scream commanding her to sit scared her, sending her back to the black single chair.

"Mommy, you know where I've been..." Daisy started.

Thomas's expressionless face scared Daisy even more. The anger showed in his eyes, always.

"Save the stories, young lady. Tell us where the hell you have been because today I am sending you to live with nuns. "

"Yeah, of course."

“Daisy, we haven't slept in five hours. Please just tell us where you were." Y/N sighed, hugging herself. It was a cold morning.

"I was with Adam." she said, sighing heavily.

"Who the fuck is Adam, Daisy?" Thomas asked, keeping his tone.

Daisy looked at Y/N.

Shit.

Adam.

Y/N had forgotten to talk to Tom.

"Daisy, go to your room." Y/N spoke. She had promised her daughter that she would explain to her father.

"Y/N..." began Thomas.

"Now." she sentenced, heading to her husband's study.

"Y/N!" he yelled, following her. He turned in his footsteps and ordered Daisy to stay right there because otherwise the boy would become history thanks to the Peaky Blinders.

With the second door slamming in the morning, Thomas Shelby and his wife locked themselves in his study, demanding an explanation.

“Tell me where the fuck was Daisy, Y/N.” he demanded, while serving himself a glass of scotch.

“If Tommy Shelby doesn’t drink his scotch at crazy hours it’ll evaporate.” She said in a whisper.

“I will drink whatever the fuck I want, at whatever hour I fuckin’ like, Y/N!” he defended himself angrily. He finished his glass in a second, to sit shortly after in a chair, near to where his wife was standing.

“Now, tell me where Daisy was. Because apparently, you knew the whole bloody night, and didn’t bother to tell me.”

His calm tone always exasperated the woman, he had that voice every single time, every day.

“Yeah, of course. I’m an idiot. I made you spend five hours awake, because I knew where she was and just wanted to make fun of you. You are right.” She argued sarcastically.

Tommy took his glasses of, dropped them in the table by his chair an touched his nose bridge. If there was anything he hated more than war, was sarcasm.

When she seated on the black chair next to her husband’s, she took his hand in hers.

“Tommy, look at me.”

When she saw his eyes, she traveled twenty years back in time. His concerned look was the same look he had when Daisy was born. She smiled slightly, he looked as beautiful as ever. His mood never mattered, sad, angry or happy. He was always the most handsome man she ever lied eyes on. Well, when he had that playful smile on his face, he was charming.

“I didn’t know where she was, Tom. I did not. But I now know.”

“Does she have a…?” he whispered.

His mouth could hide his smiles, his eyebrows could hide his frowns, but his eyes could never hide happiness or if he was worried. It was as if they changed, there was something that changed.

“Boyfriend?” she helped him, he nodded “yeah, kind of.” Y/N smiled, Tommy did too.

“Did they…you know?”

Thomas Shelby could say the alphabet of bad words. He knew them all. He knew a few in other languages, too. He had no shame in saying them everywhere and to anyone. He could also be very abrasive with his words, but with Daisy. With Daisy, he never said a bad word. Not until she turned sixteen. He got used to say “muffin” and “puppy” in front of her. Arthur once made fun out of him, but his gaze shut him up, forever. So, the fact that he wasn’t saying the word “sex” didn’t shook Y/N at all.

“I think so.” His wife smiled, looking into his eyes while caressing his hand.

“I swear to God, if that fucker hurts her, Y/N, I…” he started, whispering angrily.

“You will take care of your daughter. Because she will need you. In a month or two years. And you’ll be there for here. As you were there, holding her little hand in yours when she was born.” She interrupted him, with a smile on her face.

He fought the tears. He fought, hard. His baby was a woman now, and he had to accept it. And be there to hold her hand and hug her until her heart was in one piece again. But that didn’t mean that he had to forget about revenge if that ever happened.

He let out a smile, he couldn’t fight the smile. And he didn’t know if it was because of the beautiful daughter he had, or if it was because he knew no one could harm for free his Daisy.

——

taglist: open

@a-golden-sunflower-vol-6

@fifty-shadesof-tommyshelby

@stydia-4-ever

[mcfiddlestan]

Fic Writer Questions

I'm bored and this was in a note on my phone from forever ago, so I must have been tagged at some point. Apologies to whoever tagged me. 🥴

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

52. Though, I used to have a few more. I deleted a few fics some years ago bc I hated that they were just sitting there unfinished. I was going through a particularly brutal bout of writer's block that affected both my fic writing and my RP writing.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

720,782. And I was stressing about a 30-page thesis. 😂 (which ended up being over 15,000 words)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I started writing fic in 2000 with *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, and Backstreet Boys fics. I stopped writing a bit around 2004-2007 (because of a stupid boy) and picked it up again in 2012 after reading some awesome Cherik fics and wanting to write my own FrostIron College AU when I read one that was good, but kind of disturbing. I think I write for one fandom -- Marvel -- but, like different factions of it. FrostIron and WinterFrost mostly, with a dash of Stucky, ThunderFrost, DashingFrost, and WinterIron.

4) What are your Top 5 fics by kudos?

Black Light Special (WinterFrost) - 628 kudos

Can I Bum A Ride? (WinterFrost) - 425 kudos

Empire State of Mind (FrostIrom) - 420 kudos

Dark Side (FrostIron) - 398 kudos

A Worthy Collection (FrostIron) - 309 kudos

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I really do make an effort to respond to every single comment, even the not-so-nice ones. I want people to know I've seen and read the comment they took the time to post, so even if I just thank them for reading and commenting, I respond.

6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Considering it features two -- count 'em, two! -- major character deaths, it's definitely Empire State of Mind. Though, I'd argue Dark Side is a pretty close second.

7) What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Probably Ghosts That We Knew. It was the final fic in the trilogy that is the Picture Perfect Series. It follows Loki and Tony from when they meet in college and ends 30+ years later.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

No, not really. And I rarely, if ever, read them. There's no real reason behind it other than I've just never come upon one and thought "ooh I need to read that."

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I got a lot of hateful messages after I completed Empire State of Mind. People were really angry at me for killing off two major characters. I mean, a lot of the messages were "omg I hate you but I loved this!" kind of vibe. But there were a few that cussed me out and called me names for writing it.

I had some chapters of a Fools Rush In FrostIron AU posted a while ago, in which Loki was a female, the only daughter in both the Odinson and Laufeyson families. Following the storyline of the Matthew Perry/Salma Hayek movie, Loki meets Tony Stark in a bar and gets pregnant from a one night stand. Anyway, I got a lot of messages telling me that Odin's misogyny and mistreatment of Loki was unrealistic -- even though I had literally modeled his behavior after the movie that inspired it. 🤷🏽

I have some prompts done for the 100 Ways to Say ILY writer's block challenge and for one of them, I borrowed the storyline from an episode of Will & Grace when Will's father dies of a heart attack after they have a bad argument where his father basically admits he wished Will wasn't gay so he could have had an easier life. In the epsiode, the fight starts because Will's parents gift his baby blanket to Grace, who is pregnant with her ex-husband's child. Will takes offense, they don't understand why bc he never mentioned wanting children, and a fight ensues. Similarly, in my fic, Frigga and Odin offer a pregnant Natasha (his BFF) Loki's blanket. Some readers did not like this and did not understand why I would write it. In another prompt, one that was literally how my last relationship ended, got some harsh critiques. Those ones hurt especially bc it was such a personal experience I wrote about.

And I actually got into a fight -- like a screaming match -- IRL with my best friend's boyfriend at the time. One of my bestie's friends asked about my fanfiction and I gave them the gist of one of my stories where Loki has a brief relationship with Sif that results in a child and later reconnects with Tony. Later on, Sif offers to be a surrogate for Tony and Loki and eventually births three more children for them. Bestie's boyfriend could not fathom why a woman would purposely get herself impregnated and then give the child away. I tried to explain that this was a thing that a lot of women did IRL -- and some don't even use their own eggs, but the eggs of a woman who cannot conceive; Sif used her own eggs so that all four children were half related (two by Loki, two by Tony). But he just did not believe me and told me I must not be a very good writer. Worst night of my life.

10) Do you write smut?

I was just telling @teadrinkingwolfgirl the other night how when I first started writing fic I did not write sex scenes. It was always inferred or glossed over. When I started writing again in 2012, for FrostIron, it was my first time writing more detailed sex. I cite Jackie Collins as my smut-writing mentor. I've written almost exclusively M/M smut.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Which is like the best thing ever! A couple of my older fics have been translated to Russian. I have one *NSYNC fic that was made into an audio fic. And someone recently messaged me on ff*net to ask to translate as many of my fics as they can to Spanish. :D

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, not technically. I've gotten a lot of prompts and ideas from friends and mutuals, and I started reformatting my WinterFrost RP with my ex from 2014-2015 into novel form a while ago. That's tecnically the only thing I've written with someone else and published.

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

I have two that will always, ALWAYS, have my heart and attention. FrostIron (Tony Stark/Loki) and WinterFrost (Bucky Barnes/Loki). They are the two ships that I write the most, read the most, and seek out fanart for the most.

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Probably The Flame. It's a fic that starts out ThunderFrost (not related; Asgardian Prince Thor semi-rescues an imprisoned Jotun Prince Loki) but eventually ends up FrostIron. It's the only fic I've ever written that features Loki with both male and female biology. I have a few chapters done but I haven't worked on it in years.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I write realistic relationships. And I think my dialogue is also realistic and easy to grasp. And I put a lot of humor in between all the angst and hurt.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I get too detailed with background. I just reread my Picture Perfect series (which I do like once a year), and there are literal paragraphs of background that in Google Docs is like pages and pages. But I want to make sure people understand my characters! LOL

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I'm a big fan of it. I featured a lot of Norwegian in the Picture Perfect series. And French. I think as long as it flows with the storytelling and it's not forced on the characters it can be really cool. It should be natural. I always leave a translation list at the end of the chapter or explain in-text what was said. Which I think most authors I've read do.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Backstreet Boys. LOL. Don't judge. I started writing my own fics after discovering BSB fanfiction written by an author named Mistress Lynz. She wrote a lot of fics about bloodletting, but I really enjoyed the fics where the guys were hooking up with each other behind the scenes, LOL explains why I write mostly M/M now. 😂

20) What's your favorite fic you've written?

They're kind of like my babies so at different times different ones are my faves. But if I really had to pick one, I would say Stay With Me is my favorite. I got some of the most amazing comments on this story from people that found meaning and themes in the story that I didn't even realize I'd put in there. It was one of my first WinterFrost fics I'd posted and the response was more than I could have asked for.

And now I have to tag people! @teadrinkingwolfgirl @incredifishface @incubigirl @rabentochter @marvelswinterfrost and whoever else feels up to it.

xoxo

[writingmanaged]

Fluff Alphabet (Sirius Black)

Ship: Sirius Black x Reader

Triggers: Just mentions of alcohol and sex.

A/N: This is my first post and I hope you all enjoy it! I saw these abcs a lot on tumblr and I thought, why not! I decided to make a new alphabet instead of copying one because I thought it would be much more fair. Without further adu, let's go to the fic!

Α - Activities (Hobbies and things you like to do together)

It is no surprise to anyone that Sirius adores his motorcycle. He simply adores the feeling of the air on his face, pulling his hair back while he looks down at the sight of London. It would only make it better for him, if you were with him too admiring the view and wrapping your arms around him. Perhaps you'd be frightened at first, but he'd make sure to make you understand you are in no danger while he is around. Well, almost.

B - Baby (do they want to have a baby with you?)

Not really. Don't get him wrong, he simply wants his freedom. He thinks you are too young and you should enjoy your independence as much as you can. However, (if you are a fem!reader), as long as you tell him you are pregnant he changes his mind about that completely. Suddenly, he wants to protect that little human and make sure his or her childhood is much better than his own. (That makes him father material)

C - Comfort (how to they comfort you after a bad day?)

If there is one person who knows what it's like to have a bad day, that's Sirius Orion Black. Personally, he usually lets it out on alcohol or sex. But he would never let you do that. Instead he'd pour you just one light drink and let you tell him all about it while you rest in his arms. He'll try to be of help in every way possible. No one has the right to hurt his baby.

D - Dancing (do they like to dance with you?)

Oh yes! Sirius is an amazing dancer of all types. He will always drag you to the dance floor with him. If you like dancing, then prepare yourself for the best time of your life. If you don't, he'll still try to dance with you. Maybe by putting on some music in the dorm when it is empty and dancing in the dark.

E - Eating (meals together)

Sirius will make sure you always have 3 meals a day. During your Hogwarts days, he'll always check on you on all three meals. Both because he loves to stare at you, and to make sure you are eating properly. If you two live together, he will still do so. Do not expect him to cook. This boy barely even had to pour water himself. If you can't cook, however, he'll probably learn. Maybe you could have cooking lessons together.

F - Favourite (their favourite part on you)

Although everyone would expect him to be obsessed over your body (and don't get me wrong, he did love every aspect of it), his favourite part on you is actually your eyes. He just loves to stare inside of them and seeing your love for him reflect inside. They always give him a warm feel which must be what home is supposed to feel like.

G - Gifts (what it says)

It's no secret that this boy is rich. He would love to spend loads of money on you. He'd buy you the most expensive things. Everything you ever need is yours. You look at something in the store? He instantly buys it. If you feel uncomfortable with all this, he will try to restrain himself. You should still expect great gifts on birthdays, holidays and anniversaries whatsoever.

H - Hair (how you treat each other's hair)

Sirius is very fond of his hair. He takes extra care of them. He adores when you run your fingers through them or brush them for you. At times he may even allow you to braid them. At first he was a bit annoyed by it but seeing how it helped you relax it helped him relax as well. He may or may not go to classes looking like that-

I - Ironing (who does the chores?)

I know I've said this a lot, but Sirius was brought up in a rich household. Which means he never got to do chores. However, unlike common belief, he is above all a gentleman and would never let you do all the chores by yourself. He'd make sure you shared an equal amount of chores.

J - Jokes (would you pull jokes on each other)

You bet! Jokes are part of your daily life so you better get used to it. He would also adore to prank you. Your reactions are always so adorable to him. He can't help but life while you are scolding him for ruining your hair. But his laugh is so attractive that you sigh and start laughing along.

K - Kissing (how are their kisses?)

Deep, rough and passionate. He wants to show you how strong his feelings are through the kiss. He is also very demanding and wants to show off dominance. French kisses are his favourite. However, when times require it his kisses can be softer.

L - Lies (would you lie to each other?)

No. Sirius is a very honest person. He would feel most betrayed if you ever lied to him even about the slightest thing. He would also always tell you the truth. "Did you just eat the last piece of cake!?" ".....yes?"

M - Money (how do you handle money?)

Seeing as it is not an issue, he just spends it in all the ways possible. Perhaps he wanted to get rid of it for the shake of his parents. However, you (as the brains of the relationship) would make sure there are always some money aside in times of need.

N - No (things they are not okay with)

Sharing. Not with you, of course. He'd always share everything with you. His house, his clothes, his friends, his heart, they are all yours. However, you only belong to him. This is not an open relationship and if anyone stands too close to you well... They are on for a lifetime of hexing.

O - Outdoors (do you spend more time outdoors or indoors?)

Sirius is a very outgoing person. However, if you are introverted he would stay inside. He is into anything as long as you are there. Still, you should forget about quiet reading nights. Even if you stay in, time with Sirius is very active and loud.

P - Partying (do they like partying with you?)

He is the party animal. More specifically the party dog. This means you will get dragged along into parties a lot. If you like partying, then awesome! If you don't, he'll try to change your mind at first. If he can't, then he'll go without you only to grow tired of it eventually and stay inside with you.

Q - Question (marriage and how they feel about it)

He dreams of it actually. Only the thought of you being a Black, is enough to make him bear a huge grin on his face. Nevertheless, that is the case only after he met you. Beforehand, he wasn't so supportive about it. He was actually certain he would die single.

R - Right (do you argue a lot? Who usually wins?)

This depends on your personality of course. But you should know, this boy is very stubborn. With the correct arguements, you are the one who wins. But he is too stubborn to ever actually admit defeat.

S - Sick (taking care of each other when sick)

He barely ever gets sick, which means he is usually the one taking care of you. He doesn't care if he gets infected. Really, he just wants to take care of you and make sure you get better soon. He'll stay with you while you're sleeping and always race to bring you everything you need. Painkillers? The best in the market. Pillows? The softest. Soup? The tastiest. Hotel? Trivago.

T - Tears (do they cry a lot? Do they do it in front of you?)

Due to his background, he actually cries a lot. Especially when he finds out news about his family. But he would never do it in front of you. He isn't afraid of being seen as weak or anything like that, but he just doesn't want to make you sad.

U - Until death tears us apart (does your relationship last long? Do you ever get apart)

He wanted to stay with you forever. Unfortunately, we all know he has to spend 13 years in Azkaban prison. If you still love him, he would be very happy to get back with you when he comes out. If not, he would be heartbroken but understanding.

V - Victim (what do they do if someone blames you for something you didn't do?)

Oh boi. He would never let that go. He hates when things like this happened. When someone who is innocent gets punished (rings a bell?). He would do his best to get proof regarding your innocent and whoever blamed you... Let's just say they woke up in the infirmary the next day.

W - Working out (what it says)

Sirius likes to work out a lot. That's why his body is the way it is. He'd be delighted if you wanted to join me. He had always wished to do all these couple training.

X - Xoxo (how do they text?)

If phones existed in his era, he'd text you 24/7. Really all the time he wasn't with you, he'd text you. He would send a lot of memes that's for sure. He would also send you a lot of selfies and use emojis all the times. 💕

Y - Yours (Are they possesive? Do they get jealous a lot?

A lot! They would be jealous the second a guy is more than friendly. Don't get him wrong, he trusts you. It is the others he doesn't trust. He'd always rush to your side and wrap his arm around you, claiming you as his own.

Z - Zzzz... (How you sleep together)

He loves cuddling, especially if it is after making love. He'd like to hold you in his arms until morning. He hates to depart from you when you wake up so he'd pull you back down for some more cuddling and maybe even more if you are in the mood.

[consumedkings-archive]

“ i thought you only had eyes for me. ” serve us some unholy trinity queen xoxo

oh!!! hello dove!!! thank u for gracing my inbox i am SO unworthy but so happy to try and provide you some content!! i hope you don’t mind that i combined yours and @shallow-gravy’s requests.... they just felt like they fit so well together, i couldn’t resist  (ಥ﹏ಥ)

iii. vicious traditions ✤ the unholy trinity

john/elliot/diana + “i thought you only had eyes for me” and “i can’t stop picturing you with her” or: a dissertation on “Mine is a noun if you capitalize it” john seed struggling to reconcile sharing his wife and also having more of what he Wants. taken from this prompt list!

word count: 1.8k

warnings: language, sexual themes, but nothing explicit. as always, herald!elliot and john deserve their own warning. ✧･ﾟ also i only sort of proof read this so APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE

The first time Elliot kisses Diana, John thinks about it for three days after.

He’s known. Of course, he’s always known, because Elliot made it perfectly clear why she wanted the deputy from the get-go. I like her, she’d said, a phrase normally reserved for the most puzzling of obstacles. It’s not a game, isn’t fun if she doesn’t have to work for it, and on that front he and Elliot differ entirely—he would prefer Diana Baker’s complete and utter submission, in written and verbal form, handed over in a glass frame so that he can hang it on the wall in the bedroom to admire as he pleases.

In a way, he does. Each time there is a violent collision, each time their mouths and teeth meet, he holds onto it for a while—keeps it for himself, even though his wife is pacing herself, even though she reprimands him for rushing, for pushing Diana too far too fast.

Conversely, Elliot wants to work for it. She wants to get her hands dirty, elbows deep in the gore of Diana, the filthy fucking carnivore that she is, and normally John would love it; normally, it’s one of his favorite things about his wife, that she’s so willing to get the blood up to her elbows, no gloves required. Normally, he likes watching her sink her teeth in—but it’s different, now.

Diana is different. 

She has always been different. She is the exception to every one of their rules. They had taken lovers, before, to share—this was not new—but they had never taken someone permanently, not the way that Elliot wants Diana (and the way that John wants the deputy, too). They would have never tolerated this kind of blatant disrespect from anyone, not even a pretty little viper skittering through their garden.

But they do; whenever she takes something, Elliot will just go out and take it back. She’ll go out and build a new silo—it doesn’t replace the product, but what can you do—or she’ll pay the viciousness back, in turn, another way. Hit them somewhere else. They’re incapable, nearly, without Diana—so if she’s all the way in the Henbane, who’s going to pay attention to poor Fall’s End?

It goes like this, on and on, vicious cycles before Diana eventually finds herself back there. This evening, John expects no change of pace, but when Diana enters the room, Elliot’s eyes fix on her; he feels like the outside party, the interloper, because the blonde clicks her tongue and brings Diana, bloodied and bruised, to her with delicate fingers.

“Let me see,” Elliot says, the pads of her fingers tilting Diana’s chin up, smoothing along the pillar of her throat. John can only watch—memorizing the way Elliot touches her, different than the way Elliot touches him, both because he wants to covet the image in his mind for as long as possible and because, like watching a car crash in motion, he cannot look away.

And he cannot look away when his wife guides the deputy’s face to hers and kisses her, either. 

It’s not even a particularly enticing looking kiss, really. It’s nothing more than a chaste brush of lips, with all of the desexing of a kiss from the Pope, but the intent and the message behind it is clear, because Elliot’s eyes look to him pointedly.

See? The kiss says, his wife’s thumb coming up to drag on Diana’s lower lip, making the brunette’s breath hitch in her throat. See how good she is for us?

So yes, he can’t stop thinking about it. Not that night, and not the morning after, when Diana has left in their sleep—a shorter visit than usual, perhaps spooked by the physical intimacy, strange and alien in comparison to the way that John and her have locked lips before—and there is a whole conflict of emotions occurring in him for another two days after that.

I do like that she’s good for us, he thinks, watching Elliot at the vanity, pulling her hair back from her face. He does like it, he does like that Diana Baker comes back to them time and time again, but Elliot is their bridge—she’s the go-between, and this slow progress means that John has become the interloper.

“What is it?” Elliot asks, watching him through the mirror. She’s given up trying to put her hair up in a ponytail and instead now sits, cinched in a silk robe, chin in her hand as she gazes at him.

His mouth twists. He shifts back against the pillows. “I can’t stop picturing you with her.”

The blonde’s eyes don’t flicker, not even a little bit. Not a sliver of softness in her expression. She doesn’t move to comfort him—and she wouldn’t, but he wishes, sometimes, that she would come to him more readily; but any emotion, any feeling, makes her feel deranged, makes her feel seen, and one of those is worse than the other—but rather watches him.

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” Elliot smooths a strand of hair from her face. “For you to think about your girls? Together?”

John’s mouth plants itself in a frown. “I’m not being funny, hellcat.”

“What’s so different?” she says at last.

“What do you mean?”

“Well.” It’s her turn to shift carefully moving some items on the vanity out of the way—trinkets, kept from her childhood. “What’s so different this time?”

“It’s—she’s yours,” John posits.

“Noelle was mine,” Elliot says plainly. “You loved Noelle. You called us your little wolves.”

“Yes, well—�� He sits up, swallowing. “It’s different.”

Elliot turns in her seat so that she’s looking at him now, and he can see it—the brows furrowing, the defiant tilt of her chin in his direction. “So I’ve gathered.”

“Elliot—”

“But I’m asking what makes it different.”

“It’s different because you picked her!” John snaps, finally, the hot spike of emotion flaring in his chest. “You singled her out. She’s your—”

“Our.”

“She’s not mine,” he manages out, voice bridging on strained. “She’s not, and you know that. And you want her for longer. It’s always just been a little while, and you want to keep her, don’t you?”

Elliot stares at him. “Don’t you?”

Yes, John thinks, furious, mouth dry. Yes, I do. I want her for-fucking-ever, the same way I want you, until the cold black fucking end. I want her forever, just like you, and she won’t fucking have me.

“I thought you only had eyes for me,” he says instead.

The blonde sighs, coming to a stand finally—at last—coming to him, crawling onto his lap.

“I have eyes,” she murmurs, draping her arms around his shoulders, “for us.”

John exhales through his nose. It’s more complicated than that. It’s more complicated because Elliot so easily fits with Diana—even in the beginning. Elliot’s strange juxtaposition between Diana and John afforded her a comfortable advantage on both playing fields, as it does now; and maybe he’s jealous of that, too, that his wife, beautiful and charming and deadly in equal parts, is somehow reeling Diana in better than he could. With less carnage.

It should be him. He should be the one winning Diana over, drawing her to them, presenting her to Elliot as his conquest, his gift, for them to both enjoy. And no matter which way, she always bucks against him.

“Honey,” Elliot says, her voice soft. “I’m your wife. And she’ll be our wife. Don’t you want that?”

Dropping his head against her shoulder, he lets her card her fingers through his hair. “Yes,” he manages out. “I do.”

“Then let me get her for us, baby.” The blonde’s words are light. “What’s mine is yours, so if I get what I want, then we get what we want.” Her lips brush against his temple as his arms wind around her. “You’re always doing everything for me. Trust me to do this for you.” Another pause, and then: “For us.”

His chest feels tight. He thinks, no, I have to do it, you asked me, and he thinks, I don’t like sharing my wife, and he thinks, I want her too, I want Diana too.

And he thinks, yes, please, do this for me.

“I do,” he says, into the crook of her neck. “I trust you.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It’s late; the sky is speckled with stars and dark clouds, promising a storm on the way even amidst the humid summer heat, and John is exceptionally tired.

This isn’t the first time he’s stayed late at the compound, listening to Joseph’s furious whispers, and it certainly won’t be the last. But now he’s home, and his shoulders ache and burn with the tension of having driven himself home, and the last thing that he wants to do is think about anything.

However, as he enters the bedroom, he’s surprised to find not one viper in his bed, but two.

“You’re home,” Elliot says, her voice sweet; thick and syrupy and laden with what he can only assume are the remnants of red wine from the empty glass on the bedside table. “We missed you.”

He looks at Diana. She seems less pleased at his presence, but there is a tenuous curiosity; Elliot’s said something to her, done something, but there’s no reeking floral scent of Bliss, and there’s clarity in both of their eyes. No games here, he thinks, even as he tentatively crosses the distance between the doorway and the foot of the bed.

“Did you, now?” John asks, shrugging out of his jacket.

“One of us, anyway,” Diana says, the bite in her voice not at all lessened by the humidity of the room.

His wife smiles at him, and she tilts Diana’s face towards hers and kisses her—long and languid and open-mouthed, and he watches her pearly teeth dig into the deputy’s lower lip. A rebuke. She’s done it to him plenty of times; seeing her do it to Diana spikes something wretched and desirous in him.

Against the brunette’s mouth, Elliot says, “Don’t be cruel, honey. John’s been working hard.”

She beckons John with a crook of her fingers, and of course, he obeys, slides onto the bed and lets Elliot hook her fingers into the front of his shirt so that she can undo the first few buttons.

“Diana’s been working hard, too,” Elliot murmurs. “But we’re going to take care of her, aren’t we?” She looks at Diana, lips kiss-reddened and gaze hungry—and he can tell that the deputy’s in a mood, like maybe she can’t quite get the taste of blood out of her mouth, and he likes it. “Do you want that, baby?”

The brunette’s eyes flutter. She swallows thickly, hesitating. “I—” Diana begins, and she looks like she wants to say yes but that stubborn, obstinate nature of hers, purposefully obtuse for the sake of raking up his ire, is rearing its head.

“John.” His wife’s voice is saccharine. She moves lithely, sitting behind Diana, letting the brunette lean back against her a little. “Are you going to show the deputy how nice we can be?”

His chest is pleasantly tight, at the vision of them—his vipers, perfectly entangled, eyes fixed on him. Not so much an interloper, anymore.

John leans in, tilting Diana’s chin up; there’s a second of hesitation where he thinks maybe she’s going to balk, throw nails and teeth to get out from between them, but Elliot grazes her mouth along the brunette’s neck and purrs, “Let us take care of you,” and the brunette’s body relaxes, just a little, just that much where he can lean in and kiss her.

And kiss her, and kiss her, in a way that he’s never been able to before. Luxuriating in it. Tasting the ash and blood and red wine in her mouth, and liking it.

“So good,” he hears Elliot praise silkily, when their kiss breaks. “We have the loveliest little viper, baby.”

“Yes,” John agrees, and his voice is rough as it comes out of him, the electricity palpable. “We certainly do.”

Diana watches him for a moment, her fingers knotted in Elliot’s hair, before she leans forward and captures his mouth in a kiss more punishing than the last, with more teeth and heat; he can hear his wife sighing delightedly into the brunette’s skin, and for the first time, it feels most apt to say we have and not you have.

Ours, John thinks, mind fuzzing pleasantly in the static aftershock of Diana’s kiss.

Our little viper.

[nadineeb]

Hey, it’s Nadine and this is my first blog!

Welcome my dear readers to my first blog post! I want to extend my arms to all of you for reading this blog and the future ones. I’m delighted that I found this platform on the internet which makes me give a stand and voice on things that matters to me and the people around me. All the blogs that I will post here at Tumblr are only my thoughts and opinions. If we don’t have the same stand regarding a matter, feel free to exit. I believe that we all have the right to express ourselves with utmost freedom we can have. I hope we all vibe together. -XOXO, Nads <3

Allow me to introduce myself to the blogging world!

I’m Bernadine Bayangos, a teen from a small town in Isabela, Philippines.

A LOT of people I met outside Region 2 and in the upper part of Luzon, they always tell me “Where is that place?” or sometimes, “Isa - what?? I haven’t heard of it before! It really is a place huh?”. Hearing these things I don’t know how to react to be honest.

Most of the time I try to explain where it is but sometimes, I just shrugged them off because some of the people especially those I met who came from well-known cities offend me. They ask me if we got a mall here or just the random, common sense questions.

Let me tell you, yes, we’ve got malls here where we get our stuff from our day to day living. I felt so lucky that we still have to shop at the farmers’ market. It’s available and open anytime of the day. We can find cheap-priced things and foods that are essential to our daily lives. Some grocery store-bought vegetables cost a fortune unlike in the farmers’ markets.

Well as for clothes, I usually go to Manila every month but since it’s locked down, I order online. The Internet + my love for clothes really make a huge difference especially now that we’re locked down in our areas and can’t travel that far.

I grew up with my family and some extended relatives which are way older than me - my grandparents. I learn my instincts from them - self-defense, way of life, how to be smart, and most importantly, my virtues. That’s also explains why I’m a bit talkative.

I want my Tumblr to be my avenue to express things to others which I cannot do since face to face chatting with your dear friends is not really advisable at this moment.

One of my favorite things to do back then and now, is to read books. I can remember when I was like 6 to 12 years old, when we go to Manila, I could never go back here in the province without the 4 big bags of books and school supplies that I bought from a famous bookstore. Thinking of it now, I quite made my dad go broke. Yikes!

Feeding my love for learning, I’m always a girl that is curious about a lot of things. If I’m not satisfied, I will surely ask about it. Though now, that I’ve grown so much, I refrain myself from asking now that I can solve issues that affects me.

I also love travelling! When I’m somewhere near the ocean or the mountains, I feel that I’m at peace. Not much of a city girl, that I’m tired of being it since then. My favorite place to visit here in the Ph is Cagayan de Oro and its nearby towns. The Dahilayan Adventure Park which has the longest zipline in Asia. You can also visit the Del Monte pineapple plantations and see acres of pineapples while eating a medium-rare steak at their restaurant. If you’re also fond of adventures in line with having to see the beauty of nature, I highly suggest to visit this place!

The people, they are heartwarmingly hospitable. In the hotel we stayed, Limketkai Luxe hotel, the accommodation was amazing. Also, I love to stay there every time because when mom and dad leave me for meetings, there’s a backdoor and an overpass which leads to the entrance of the shopping mall. How I miss!

Cagayan de Oro also holds a special place in my heart because as what I’ve said earlier, I’m fond of reading books whether it is online or a hard copy one. I’ve read the Montefalco Series on Wattpad by Jonaxx, the author, I’ve fallen in love with the place immediately. I feel like one of the main characters whenever I go to CDO.

When I travel I always tend to adapt to the cultures of the place I’m going. It’s a sign of respect to the. Being able to mix in with the crowd is a great advantage for me in the future especially that after I finish my studies, I want to go abroad to master my skills. That’s why I’m always day-dreaming at things that may be going on for the next few years of my life.

After 10 years, I will be 26 by then, I suppose I’m with my family in Australia by then. I’m working as a business associate while studying law at one of the prestigious schools in Victoria.  From then, I can continue to work at the Parliament of Australia in Melbourne. I may still be single by that time, busy building my career, and play with my cats at home after a stressful day.

This is me at the Parliament.

Let’s talk about the 2019 Corona Virus disease that had struck our world last months. I can say that it’s getting a lot worse that I had imagined. I know that our scientists have done great work in finding solutions to this. Money isn’t everything once you’ve get a hit by this virus. I myself can prove that.

I have this auntie who is a doctor and she’s very successful in her field. She even had one of the biggest shares at a hospital but then things got out of hand, she had the disease. There’s nothing she can do except to lie down her bed, get better, fight for it so that once she gets better, she can continue curing her patients.

My grandfather’s cousin, a former senator of the Philippines, also died from this virus. I’m proud to think that he had served our country well, but I’m devastated that he had to die this way, I didn’t even saw his last moments nor his dead body. He is immediately cremated and left the hospital bill with millions of pesos.

This shows that even the strongest person, the most kind, the rich, the nobody – can’t get away if we all are not taking care of our own health. We should love our body more! Think about ourselves more!

Before this pandemic, I did not have this realizations yet. I realized that more than taking care of our body, we should express to our loved ones how we care and love them dearly. We never know when death comes our way. Yes, we do know that we can’t escape it but the thing is, we know that it’ll happen and we can’t accept the fact the God will take them soon. I think that’s the problem, we, people, tend to just shrug it off and don’t make the best out of someone that we love because they will stay, what we can’t accept is that they will stay but not forever. That is why we have regrets.

(one of my best times before this outbreak)

Indeed, life is short as they say. If you’re dealing with your what ifs’ I recommend you don’t. Just make it happen. If you don’t, you’ll spend your life thinking about that `what if’s’ it’ll only make your life nonsense. So for me, I’d rather do it. If it fails, stand up again, fix yourself, and go on. Instead of letting yourself not doing it because of what might happen on the way. Your happiness depends on you. Choose it. Don’t wait for the things  to happen right before your eyes. Act on it and make it happen.

My first blog is a bit long now and I’m getting emotional, I’ll have to say goodbye for now. I’ll see you on my next one. Ciao!

[etherealwaifgoddess]

Memories

Characters: Steve Rogers

Summary: Steve thought he could outsmart the soul stone to get Natasha and Gamora back. He should have known better.

Content Warning: Heavy angst and Steve pulling a repeat of the stunt he pulled with the Valkyrie. I still feel like an asshole for writing this. 

Word Count: 1.8k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies. Please don’t hate me for this one. I’m still bitter AF over how Endgame played out for Steve and an evil little part of my mind conjured this up as an alternative. Which honestly, is kinda worse than what the Russo’s did. Sooo... whoops? If you’re here for some Steve angst, saddle up. If you need fluff in your life, maybe check out one of my other Steve fics, mmkay? I’ll be here for virtual hugs when it’s over, lovelies! XOXO - Ash

Memories

The twilight rays from Vormir’s dying sun cast a haunting glow over the barren wasteland. Steve looked off into the distance, his mind quiet for once. He’d made his decision before he left to return the stones, he couldn’t go to Vormir without at least trying to get Natasha and Gamora back. Steve had done a little poking around, some seemingly innocuous hypotheticals, trying to figure out a way to return the stone and bring one of his best friends back from the dead. Natasha shouldn’t have had to sacrifice her future for theirs. They didn’t trade lives. Except, Steve thought, when it was his own.

Steve had found a grim satisfaction that his old nemesis was trapped for eternity in such a desolate place. It was close enough to what Steve thought Hell might be that it seemed like a fitting end for a monster like Johann Schmidt. He had only seen the man briefly as he hurried into the shadows but Steve knew exactly who he was. 

Looking down at the glowing orange stone in his palm, Steve sighed. It was his last stone to put back and he figured it would all be worthwhile if it worked. Natasha and Gamora would get to return home to their friends and loved ones, and he would finally be at peace. He’d almost stayed back in 1948 with Peggy, it had been a close thing, but in the end he knew she went on to have an amazing life that he wasn’t destined to be a part of. He would always love her, and he would cherish his memories of her for the rest of his days, but it just wasn’t meant to be. So Steve got his long overdue dance and wished Peggy all the best in life before hopping forward through the decades to his last stop, 2014 - Vormir. 

It was because of Peggy and all that he’d been through that Steve was uniquely qualified for his last mission. Leaving Peggy to the life she was meant to have, left Steve with nothing else to lose. He was a man out of time, destined to forever feel like a stranger in his own modern life. He couldn’t think of a single thing that he could sacrifice to the cliffs of Vormir, and that was why he would be the perfect person to carry out the exchange. He set his wristband and the remaining Pym particles on top of a white envelope on a nearby rock, the envelope containing a letter saying goodbye and explaining how to get back to 2023 should Natasha not remember. He’d planned it all out for so long, he ran through his checklist like a mantra.

Steve pulled out his compass, wanting to see Peggy’s face one last time before it was all over. If only the world had been different, maybe things between them could have been different too. His mental checklist complete, Steve knew it was time. With no unnecessary flair or delay, Steve took four long strides to the edge of the cliff, and then over. His last thought was that falling off the cliff felt almost exactly like going down in the Valkyrie. There was a peaceful sort of deja vu to it and Steve found a smile tugging at his lips as he collided with hard stone. The world went black.

xxXxx

The sky was glowing red and pink, casting purple shadows over the shallow lake Steve woke up in. He sighed, defeated, realizing he’d failed. Natasha and Gamora were nowhere to be found and the damnable glowing orange stone sat in his hand like a beacon. Steve whipped out his compass to help locate where he was in relation to the cliff, squinting in the dim light to see the dials. Figuring out where he was, he snapped it shut, tucking the old compass back into his pocket and heading north.

“I am surprised to see you again, Captain Rogers.” Schmidt hissed from behind a pillar of rock. He had been slithering around, wraith-like, since Steve arrived atop the cliff for the second time. 

“You and me both.” Steve grit out, frustrated by his complete failure. Schmidt laughed, a high pitched, crazed sound, and Steve snapped, “What?” he demanded, “Enjoying my failure?”

“What failure? You completed your sacrifice, the stone is now yours to wield.” 

“What sacrifice? There’s nothing I love to sacrifice. That was the whole point.” Steve huffed.

Schmidt chuckled again, “You always were deluded, Captain.” 

Steve swore under his breath, storming off. He couldn’t deal with Schmit’s nonsense on top of everything else. He gathered up his wristband, tucked the letter in his pocket, and activated the particles to get him home.

xxXxx

“It’s good to see you back in one piece, pal.” Bucky said, clapping Steve on the shoulder. 

“Thanks, Buck. It’s good to be back.” Steve leaned in to hug his best friend.

Bruce joined them, still uneasy about the whole thing. “Did everything go as planned?” he asked nervously. 

“Yep,” Steve nodded, “Not a hitch.” He certainly wasn’t going to admit his failure to his friends, not when that would have included having to explain his second failed attempt to sacrifice his life for the greater good.

“Glad to hear it.” Bruce told him, finally breathing a sigh of relief. He collected the wristband from Steve and then hustled back to start shutting down the time travel launch pad. 

“How was it going back to our time? Did you finally get that dance like you’d hoped?” Bucky asked him as they walked back to the car. 

“It was nice being back in the Brooklyn I’m used to. No dance though, I never did have any luck with the dames. Not enough time while I was there anyway.” Steve shook his head with a chuckle.

“Really?” Bucky stared in disbelief, “I thought the first thing you would have done after returning the stone would be to track down Peggy.”

“Peggy who? Was that Dot’s sister? The redhead you were always setting me up with?” 

“Peggy, Steve.” Bucky drew her name out slowly for emphasis. 

Steve shook his head, “Not ringing a bell, Buck. Now, what are we doing for dinner? I’m starving. Didn’t have any free time to grab a bite while I was running around time and space, and it feels like it’s been days since I’ve eaten.” 

“Steve,” Bucky changed tactics cautiously, “Can I see your compass for a sec?” 

“Sure thing.” Steve pulled out the black metal disc and tossed it to Bucky. “I think we’ll find our way to Burger King faster with GPS though.” 

Bucky stopped mid-step, staring at the old black compass. It was familiar but also, not. On one side of the interior were the dials and white face he knew like the back of his hand, but on the other side was glossy black metal where the face of one Margaret “Peggy” Carter used to be. 

“Steve, what happened while you were putting back the stones?” Bucky asked, his voice low and commanding. His tone had Steve pausing and turning back to face him. Steve knew that tone, it was the same one Bucky had used when they caught Jimmy Tammlin pocketing candy at Mr. O’Malley’s shop. They’d known what he’d done, but needed to hear him admit it. 

Steve sighed, rubbing a large palm across the back of his neck. “I put the stones back and came home.” 

“Bullshit,” Bucky grabbed Steve’s wrist, lightning quick, and started dragging him across the yard away from the car. “Bull-fucking-shit, Steve. You changed something, you stubborn asshole. I don’t know what you did, and clearly you don’t remember it, but we’re gonna have to figure out what it was and what other damage you may have caused.” 

Bruce heard Bucky calling his name as they got closer to Pepper and Morgan’s house. The look on Bucky’s face was all Bruce needed to know that the mission hadn’t gone off without a hitch after all.

xxXxx

It took three days of tests and repetitive questions, of Bruce and Bucky taking turns grilling Steve about every single moment of his time travels. Steve did finally admit to walking off the cliff in Vormir, knowing it was inevitable. Bucky had stormed out at that point to god only knows where. When he came back halfway through the following day he looked ragged but significantly calmer. Sam accompanied him upon his return, looking equally ragged but supportive. He was never more than a few steps from Bucky’s side, occasionally leaning into whisper something to the brunette that would have him nodding and taking a steadying breath. Steve felt awful he had caused everyone so much distress but as he kept telling them, if it had brought Natasha and Gamora back it would have been for the best. 

By the end of the third day Bruce seemed to have figured something out, though it still didn’t make any sense to Steve. They told him it was fine, no further damage had been caused, and let him go back to his hotel room on his own. Steve sensed something was up but if they weren’t concerned enough to tell him, it wasn’t worth worrying himself over. The battle was over, at least for what he hoped would be a while, and Steve needed to get back to New York and start putting the pieces of his new life back together. Again. It was far from the first time, but Steve hoped that maybe it would be the last.

“No one tells him, ever.” Bucky demanded after Steve left the lab and was far enough away not to overhear them.

“I’m not entirely comfortable with…” Bruce whined lightly. 

Sam shook his head, unable to believe he was about to agree. “Bucky’s right. We’ll tell the others, make sure no one says anything. Though mentioning her to him doesn’t seem to stick, so it’s not like if someone says something that it’ll matter.”

Bucky nodded, gesturing at Sam as proof. “See! All we’d be doing is hurting him. And that man has had enough hurting for five lifetimes. No. One. Tells. Him. Agreed?” 

Bruce hung his head in defeat. “Okay, he never finds out.” 

Sam nodded solemnly, knowing it wasn’t the best option but the only one they had. 

Bucky stormed out, his heart aching for his best friend. He couldn’t really be surprised, Steve always had always been a self sacrificing little shit. He should have known better than to try to outsmart the stones. And now, because of that, they had taken the very last bit of love Steve had in his life: his memories. 

[satansagittarius]

🥠 2020 🥡

Changes:

🥟 I got a 2018 Nissan Sentra that I pay for myself and I can finally go everywhere

🥟 I gambled, I lost, I found myself again

🥟 My confidence is at an all-time high

🥟 I started going on dates for the fun of it when I used to take things too seriously, and it’s been a trip

🥟 I found my inner value of people coming and going, and I have absolutely loved everyone I’ve met in these last months

🥟 I lost a person who I thought would be in my life forever, but it was such a beautiful lesson about what I deserve or wished for, versus what I was actually getting. And even though it hurt to let them go, it’s better for me in the long run to have someone who truly puts effort into my being.

🥬 I realized I was trying to convince myself I am over them and don’t love them, and it was all fake.

🥬 Instead I realized I do love them more than anyone, anything, and it’s okay to love someone and let them go.

🥬 I can always hold them in my heart, but I have to love myself first and know what treatment I deserve. I wish it could’ve been them still every day.

🥬 This sat with me so much better than just ignoring my feelings. I realized it still could be them one day, but I don’t hope for it anymore because way too much would have to change. I instead just leave my heart to heal and be open to any possibility, and my mind to be prepared to evaluate whatever comes next.

🥬 Though I wanted this person to be my person, it seems as though they were a lesson. They taught me so much. They mirrored things I didn’t like about myself, taught me love existed, and also showed me how far I would go for someone I truly love. For example:

⚡️ We were long distance and it didn’t even phase me. I was so convinced we would figure it out, I didn’t mind not having someone physically if I got to fall asleep on the phone with him. Everyone, including him, would tell me to find someone close that could hold me but truth of the matter is is I fall in love with someone for who they are, not their convienence. As long as I fall in love with someone I just need their open, honest, communication and affection.

⚡️ I was willing to hash out any issues, and problems. I always wanted to fix things. In turn, loving someone so much hurts as well. His distance and silence crushed me, and I realized it was just because I wanted all of him and to actually share things / melt with someone else. I’d never felt like that before.

⚡️ Even though I didn’t mind the distance because I love him I realized I loved affection, and would always miss just his touch. I realized when I love someone all the things I miss are person specific, I’m completely devoted.

⚡️ I actually dreamt of a family and marriage and forever, for once! I just know it has to be with the right person.

🥟 I stopped caring what people thought of me, and only do things that make me happy

🥬 This was achieved by being really straight forward with my communication, stopped lying, said “no”, wouldn’t make promises or commitments I can’t keep

🥟 I started calling my mom just to say I love you

🥟 I got into a fist fight with my brother on Christmas which lead us to sit down and him actually listen to what I had to say. He’s started changing his life for the better and I’ve started to lean on him for support.

🥟 My hair is purple and I think that’s how it will stay

🥟 I don’t work at the salon anymore, they fired me for being unreliable when I stood up about not getting paid as much and refusing to cover shifts for the manager anymore. It was such a blessing.

🥟 I have 0 (ZERO!) unread texts, emails, notifications when my screen used to look like hundreds. It was an avoidance thing and sometimes it’s hard but I make myself read, respond, or delete them every morning.

Uncharted Waters

🍡 I failed every single class last semester, and had to own up to my parents. In turn, they loved me and told me I could slow down.

🍡 I don’t like just sitting at home anymore, I’d rather go out and explore and be with people

🍡 I deleted reddit off my phone as I was using it too much to try to explain situations, look at toxic things, etc etc.

🍡 I feel all my feelings now and it feels odd to check myself

🍡 I started owning up and apologizing for the way I’ve hurt people

🍡 I made boundaries for myself and sometimes it’s uncomfortable enacting them

🍡 I’m more quiet now, I don’t talk as much, and I think it’s because I found inner peace that doesn’t need to be fluffed with bullshit or unnecessary explanations on deaf ears

🍡 I found the beauty of humor and authenticity again. Vulnerability and softness, connectedness and honesty. I found the beauty of being as human and honest as can be.

🍋 Even though I’d love to say I’m a completely soft, gentle, being, I’ve also learned to absolutely love my firecracker anger, my excitedness, my loud and obnoxious traits. I’ve learned to appreciate my convictions and needs.

🍡 I truly love myself and am so confident in the way I look, act, and feel. I haven’t ever been like this and it’s crazy

🍋 I found that once I stopped thinking that everyone’s behavior was a direct reflection of my behavior, or my influence, I stopped judging myself and others as harshly. Everyone just needs understanding. And just because you understand, doesn’t mean you accept burning yourself to keep someone warm.

Random Bits

🍳 I took acid on NYE and saw Zeds Dead which made me melt

🍳 My NYE kiss was the first guy I ever really really really dug in college, but he ended up being unemotional so we separated

🥞 We planned to see Galantis together 5 years ago just to see Runaway (U & I) and haven’t able to find each other in 5 years. We were always at the same shows and couldn’t connect, and he found me right when Galantis asked if everyone was ready to Runaway. It was like the matrix!!

🥞 He apologized for everything and said he feels emotions now, and we told each other we’d always have a soft spot. He said he worries about me and since we’re neighbors (two houses down) he started bringing me little food and hanging out with me.

🥞 People can and should change, and now I have a beautiful friendship with him.

🍳 Scout, Vinh, and I are going to Montreal in February for the Rainbow Six Siege invitational and I’m STOKED

🍳 Noah came back into all our lives and I’ve missed him, and he, Scout, Conway and I have the beginning of a master plan to buy a trap house in Southern California.

🍳 I realized my dream job would be to be a NASA pilot and hit g force and go super fast and thrilling all the time.

🌶 This has not been anything I’ve wanted before, and it’s unattainable. But it felt good to realize a dream, a solid dream, for once.

🍳 I revitalized my passion in communication and the mind, and feel confident with my path. I love school again.

🍳 I’ve grown so much with astrology and even if I look like a witchy bitch it really helps point out the good and bad in me, and is a guideline (not predictor) for how to adjust.

🍳 Karma is real, and I’ve learned that even though I’m blessed with being extremely lucky, how much you gamble is how much you’re willing to lose. How high you climb is how far you can fall.

Xoxo, always 🌙✨

[robertdowneyjjr]

any mcu (Tony centric) fic recs? xoxo

I wasn’t too sure if you were looking for any specific pairing or time period within the MCU, so I’ve sorted this list out into a few different pairings, and for stevetony’s case, uhhh several different ~eras~

This is mostly stevetony though. With some pepperony, irondad spiderson, and various other pairings sprinkled in. Under the cut, because this got ridiculously long.

Steve/Tony – CACW // IW

almeno tu nell'universo by @silkspectred50/50 Steve/Tony POV, but very much Tony-centric as it’s set in Italy, where Tony goes to discover some things about his mother’s past that he never knew about. Steve goes along with him in hopes of winning Tony’s forgiveness.

shelter from the storm by @silkspectredTony adopts a baby. Guess who’s Majorly Fucked Up™ about it.

A New Way For Us by ann2who (@stark-spangled-lovers)(Time travel) They fight Thanos—and they’re losing. And before Tony knows what’s happening, he’s standing with Doctor Strange in front of the Eye of Agamotto and gets send back in time. Can he find a way to fix things this time around, or are they doomed to fall apart all over again?

System ID: J.A.R.V.I.S. by @cptxrogersAfter Civil War, Tony is struggling with heading up the team and dealing with the emotional fallout of being betrayed by those closest to him. Luckily, an old friend is back to help protect Tony and ensure he comes to no harm. A Jarvis lives AU.

Leaving Promises Against Your Skin by @nostalgicatsea(Soulmates AU) “Someday, someone will choose you, Tony,” his mother had said, her hands back to cupping his. “And no one, not your father, not anyone, can ever take that from you.” (second in series but can be read as a standalone fic)

(Un)stuck by @navaanwritesHe finds himself in different places, living different lives. And yet it all comes back to Steve.

Things We Learned at the End of the World by JenTheSweetie1. Even the apocalypse can’t keep people away from Olive Garden2. Smoothies do not replace conversations3. Tony has really obvious sex hair4. Home might be a little different, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back

between dust and despair (series) by @rudderless-in-an-ocean-of-starsIn the aftermath of the apocalypse, Tony Stark does the one thing he knows how to do better than anything else.He builds.

Steve/Tony – AOU // post-AOU

Language by @sailorchibiThis is how Tony fixed the team and the damage he’d done, and in the process learned how to start fixing himself. Well, maybe the latter might take a little help from Steve.

Fixer-Upper by @imafriendlydalekTony leads the way up the steps to the house, and as the door swings open with a long creaking sound - note to self: oil door hinges - Steve’s eyes widen. He steps inside, turns slowly on his own axis as he looks around.“Tony, this place, it’s…” There’s a sense of wonder in his voice. Tony smiles inwardly. It is just the kind of thing Steve would like. Steve, who has a keen appreciation for fine aesthetics, who has a healthy - okay, sometimes more than healthy - sense of history and an acute desire to preserve things he deems worthy.“This place is a dump.”Well, so much for that, then. Tony shifts his weight to one leg as he takes an appraising look. “It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, yeah, I’ll give you that, but it’s not past saving. Just needs some TLC.”Steve uncrosses his arms and shoves his hands in the pockets of his pants. “Well listen, you ever want an extra set of hands with some of the work, just give me a call.”

Caesura by @ylixiaTony’s gotten maybe twelve hours of sleep in the past four days, and he’s been carrying the deaths of everyone that matters to him like a rock in his gut.

The Path I Started by JayEz (@multifandom-madnesss)Tony rebuilds, modifies. Takes fragments and gives them new order. He does not create. He can’t, not anymore. Not after this. Or: After the events of Ultron, Tony rebuilds the tower by himself and shuts everything out to the point that Pepper takes desperate measures and asks Steve to come and help.

Steve/Tony – post-Avengers // canon divergence // pre-AOU

Master of Communication by somanyfeels (@aceofultron)Tony didn’t like being touched, on the rare occasions he wanted physical contact he would initiate it. It was how things were, how it had always been, and he was fine with it. His new team didn’t know, they just kept touching and Tony wasn’t quite sure how to ask them to stop.

Untitled Playlist Number 5 by dapperyklutzThe many times Tony Stark plays BAMF-ing music while the team fights their Baddie of the Week. And somehow, along the way, between sleepless nights, game nights, movie nights and saving the world every other week — plus looking out for his wayward protégé whom he cares for very deeply -— he falls head over heels in love for a certain super soldier.

Who’s Your Caterer? by Bandearg_Rois(Mainly Steve POV) After moving into the Tower, the group starts taking meals together. This is a story about food, and about love, not necessarily together. Also contains physics and old movies, not at the same time.

Run Program: {x} (series) by Amuly (@everybodyilovedies)Taking care of Tony is a lot of work. Especially when you’ve only got one arm. And your code dates back to the 1980s.

Best Kept Secret by @alchemyaliceIn which there is a secret friendship, and Tony can’t deal with feelings, so Natasha has to do it for him. These two features may or may not be related.

honey, you’re keeping me afloat by mmotionEvery so often, on evenings with nobody else, Tony and Natasha drink some wine together and talk about everything and anything.

five times tony stark was kissed by a teammate (and one time he kissed a teammate) by colourexplosionin which people kiss tony a lot and he doesn’t get it

grey and other colours by @theappleppielifestyle(Demisexual and Demiromatic Tony) Distantly, Tony hears Clint say something like, “No, I definitely heard he was an equal opportunist. Like, equal-equal, no preference. Hey Tones, who are you attracted to more, dudes or chicks?” He calls the last part out to Tony, who runs the words over in his mind and unthinkingly says, “I’ve actually never been attracted to anyone, it’s really worrying.”

Reasons Why (Whether They’re Real Or Not) by infinite_wonders (@thetwowriters)Tony is slow, has very little self-worth, and thinks that the universe hates him as much as he hates himself. Everyone else is long-suffering, especially Steve, because disproving that notion could take a while.

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful Boy by mybrotherharry (@baffledkingcomposinghallelujah)The first time Jarvis holds little Anthony in his arms, he is overwhelmed by emotion that is surprising in its intensity. When little Anthony’s palm curves around his finger, Jarvis ducks his head to keep the others from seeing the wetness in his eyes. “Hello Master Anthony,” he whispers into the little ear, tugging the bundle of blankets closer to his heart.

Pepper/Tony and/or Iron Dad & Spider Son

call every girl we ever met maria by irnan“You’re telling me,” Rhodey said, gleeful, “you’re telling me that you’ve been shot, stabbed, sewn up, been riddled with shrapnel, had a magnet implanted in your chest, spent two years poisoning yourself with palladium, spent twenty years as a functioning alcoholic and had a vasectomy and you still managed to knock Pepper up?”

with arms wide open by @parkrstarkTony and Pepper are expecting a baby and Peter may be the one most excited…just maybe…

yet turning stay by irnan“Tony - you’re all I’ve got too, you know.”

The Right Thing in the Wrong Way by igrockspockPeople don’t ask why Pepper sticks by Tony as often as they should, and if they did, she probably wouldn’t tell them the truth:  that he’s never left her alone on the one day she actually needs him.

Twist of Fate by nikki_ofshadows (@karenninaaa)A single picture triggered Tony Stark to suspect that Peter Parker was his son, biologically.

i’m the satellite (and you’re the sky) by CamelotQueen (@missmgann)When Tony went to the Parker household to recruit Spider-Man, he had no idea what he was signing up for. AU where Tony is Peter’s biological father and neither of them know.

Welcome to the Family by FriendLey (@peppertoyourtony)Peter Parker spends time with Tony’s family. Happy is annoyed, Rhodey is amused, Pepper gets an assistant, and Tony feels betrayed.

The Publicity Verse by @xmypandabear A main of SpiderSon and IronDad with a side of social media and the internet (and healthy puddings of Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Vision, FRIDAY, May, Ned and MJ) 

Exploding Head Syndrome by foolscapper(Mainly Peter) Everyone comes back, when the snap is undone. Or, well — almost everyone.

Gen + other relationships/pairings

Twenty-Five Years by @notfknapplicable(Tony/Rhodey) Nobody knows how long this has actually been going on. (Tony Stark has pretty much been in a monogamous relationship since he was 18 years old.)

The Years In Between by @notfknapplicable(Tony/Rhodey) A follow-up to Twenty-Five Years (best to read that one first). All the years we missed.This is it, okay? This is forever, you and me.

Sound of Madness by martianwahtney(Post-CACW, Tony/Rhodey) After the fight in Siberia, Steve takes Bucky and vanishes, leaving Tony to pick up the pieces. Tony does everything in his power to bring the Rogues home, and still, somehow, things go to shit.

Helpless in Love by Avengerz(Tony/Rhodey) Rhodey and Tony being together since their MIT years. They married as soon as they could, and are still hopelessly in love after ~30 years. One of these perfect, almost sickeningly sweet couples.

First Choice by @sailorchibi(StarkQuill) Two years ago, Tony’s heart was broken when Steve picked Bucky over him. Now, he was certain that the past was repeating itself with Peter and Gamora.He was wrong.

Placeholder by @sailorchibi(StarkQuill) In the days leading up to his birthday, all Tony could think about was last year. Last year, when he and the Avengers celebrated together. Last year, when he had a family. He’s not as alone as he thinks he is.

Paths Are Made by Walking by @potrix-the-queerschlaeger(WinterIron) The road to recovery is long, winding and a different one for every person walking it. Bucky chooses to help himself the only way he knows how; by doing what he does best. Or, alternatively; the one in which Tony is a mess and accidentally kick-starts Bucky’s protective mother hen instincts.

Scars by @arvensis5(WinterIron) When Tony tried to urge the homeless guy sleeping on the steps of the Tower’s loading dock to move, he never expected that he’d found Hydra’s pet assassin—James “Bucky” Barnes. Now, after months of keeping his presence a secret from the Avengers and helping Barnes learn to cope with both his returning memories and the modern world, Hydra is back for their favorite toy and Tony must call in old friends to save the life of the man he just might have come to care for a little too much.

potato guns and repulsers by gossamernotes (@brooklynboystosupersoldiers)(Tony & Harley) The story wherein Harley Keener thinks over his life and watches where it goes after he meets the one and only, Tony Stark. It doesn’t really go the way he planned.

Amend by ancalime8301(Post-CACW, Tony & team) Negotiating the Accords, dealing with Ross, the end of his relationship with Pepper, Steve’s faction coming back to the Avengers compound … the stress finally catches up with Tony in dramatic fashion. The team has to decide to step up and handle things while Tony can’t. Tony has to decide if he’ll let them.

That’s it for now! Let me know if you’d like more recs later :)

[thestarandskullshow]

The Hunt: Chapter One

Author:  ✨Star✨ Pairing: BTS x Reader (no specific pairing) Word Count: 1.8k Warnings: None? (Ask to tag if needed) Authors note: Ah! The first installment to The Hunt, which is my first multi-chapter fic, is finally here. I hope you all enjoy this little labor of love I’m putting together. Please send me any and all feedback via the ask box! I can’t wait to hear from you. xoxo - ✨

Read this first!

Everything was dark. Your body felt weighted with something, yet nothing at the same time. Straining against the opposing force holding your body still, you heard a muffled voice speaking somewhere to your left.

“I think it’s awake, Ma’am.” the voice was low, almost a growl. “It’s heart rate is speeding up. Should we put it under again?”

“Of course, we still have a while to go before we’re there. Just a small dose will suffice.” A feminine voice, more regal in nature, agreed with the former.

Your breath hitched as you started panicking. A small dose of what? Where were you headed? More importantly, who took you, and did they take Jimin too? You heard a sharp metallic click to your left, accompanied by a soft hum from the first man who spoke. Suddenly, your left arm felt as if it had been submerged in near sub zero water. The cold only spread from there, enveloping your whole body in its icy grasp.

You slipped back into unconsciousness .

When your eyes opened for the second time, everything was a bright and brilliant white. Slowly pulling yourself up into a sitting position, you let your eyes scan around the small room.      

There seemed to be no visible exit, but you clearly made out what appeared to be a showering area to your left. A showerhead hung from the ceiling, high out of arm's reach, a single knob protruded from the wall, and a drain adorned the floor beneath it. A simple cream colored curtain separated the shower from the rest of the room, with a small hook beside it for what you assumed would be a towel.The only furniture in the room were the bed you were currently occupying, and a small ivory dresser in the far right corner.

Taking your first look at yourself, you take notice that your jacket had been removed, as well as your shoes. Taking a deep breath, you swung your legs over the side of the bed, careful to ensure your footing was solid before you stood. You wobbled only a little as you made your way toward the dresser. On top of the dresser sat a folded white towel, a new bar of soap, and two bottles marked ‘Shampoo’ and ‘Conditioner’ in warm amber letters. As you reached for one of the bottles, a loud buzz sounded above you, followed by a warm, silky voice.

“Welcome, Y/n. Please make use of the facilities provided, when you are clean, you will find clothing suited to you in the dresser. After you are dressed, a guide will be sent to retrieve you. Do not make us wait.”

You waited for a moment, but no further instructions came.

“And what if I don’t?” you called to the ceiling. No answer. “What if I just sit here instead?” You folded your arms over your chest defiantly, letting your gaze sweep across the ceiling tiles. Still, the voice did not return.

Narrowing your eyes, you tapped your foot against the cold floor, unwilling to cooperate. After a few moments, a softer buzzing sound resonated from behind you. You whipped your head around just in time to see a panel in the wall open up beside the bed. Two expressionless men entered the room, and the panel slid closed as quickly as it had opened. The men both wore simple, yet elegant black suits, paired with equally simple black shoes. Their dark hair was neatly slicked back, and their deep brown eyes appeared to see right through you. Everything about them appeared sharp and precise, much like the room around you.

“Please remove your clothing, and make use of the shower.” one of the men spoke, his voice monotone.

“No.” The two men looked at one another, nodded in agreement to something, then started to move toward you. You take a step backwards, but the dresser hindered your attempt at a retreat.

“We have been given orders to assist you, should you resist. We do not wish to resort to that. Remove your clothing, and use the shower.” The second mans voice had a slight edge to it. Though it remained monotone, there was an undeniable hardness to it that made you uneasy. You didn’t like the idea of them ‘assisting’ you, but you had too many questions that needed answering. Perhaps you could bargain with them.

“I’ll do it, but only if you answer my questions as I do...and you will not watch me change!” your voice was stronger than you intended it to be, yet the authoritative tone seemed to gain you a little admiration from the men. They take one step back, and turn on their heels to face the direction they had come from.

“Answers to your inquiries fall upon the guide who will meet you when you are finished, we do not have orders to do so. This is your last chance to do as you have been instructed.” Knowing better than to push further, you turned to face the dresser. Making quick work of your clothes, you make sure to wrap the towel around you as best as you can before holding your discarded items out towards the men.

“Where do I put my clothes? The instructions didn’t say.” one of the men reached behind them, prompting you to place your clothes in his hand. Sighing, you did just that before gathering up the bottles of shampoo and conditioner, as well as the bar of soap and finally making your way to the shower. You pull the curtain around you, reaching through it to hang the towel on the hook. You’re surprised to find a small shelf that had been previously hidden by the curtain. After placing the bottles and soap there, you turn the shower knob only to be met with freezing cold water assaulting your skin. Jumping back, you suck in a deep breath and hesitantly reach your hand beneath the water, waiting for it to warm up before stepping under again.

You make quick work of washing your hair and body, not wanting to take too long for fear of any repercussions from the obvious hired help waiting for you to finish up. After drying off, you wrap the towel around yourself once again, and pull the curtain back only to find the men have disappeared. In their place stood a young woman, who turned to face you as you exited the shower. Her silver hair was pulled back into a loose bun, a few stray strands hanging to frame her face. She wore a delicate black cocktail dress with matching heels.

“Hello Y/n, welcome to Gongpo Castle. My name is Min Hyunju.” She smiled warmly, bowing her head respectfully as you stepped closer to the dresser. You eyed her suspiciously for a moment, then turned and pulled open the top drawer.

“I take it you’re my guide? I thought you wouldn’t be here until I was finished changing.” You mused, removing a pair of white boyshort underwear from the drawer and slipping them on, closing it after. “Not to say I don’t appreciate your company more than the robo-twins of course.” This made Hyunju laugh, and you felt a chill creep up your spine as you opened the next drawer.

“They are quite emotionless, aren’t they? Unsettlingly so. That’s how the lords prefer them, though. Quick to follow orders without question.” All this explained as if it was a normal occurance for people to behave like robots. Placing the towel on the dresser, you removed a pair of grey pants, and a long white t-shirt, slipping into them with ease before closing the drawer and turning to face the woman. Her amber eyes caught your gaze and you instantly felt an uneasiness settle in the pit of your stomach.

“I have questions, they said you would answer them.” your fingers raked through your hair as you spoke, and she tilted her head with curiosity.

“Of course, Y/n. but we should make our way to the grounds. The lords do not like to be kept waiting. Shall we?” Hyunju gestured to the wall, and the same panel as before slid open to reveal a white corridor. She clasped her hands behind her, smiling again as she started walking confidently through the doorway. You take one last glance around the room before following close behind.

“Who are the lords? Why did they bring me here?” The white walls seemed to stretch forever, with no doors in sight. They must be hidden in panels like the one before, you thought, I wonder just how many rooms there are.

“You’ll meet the lords in due time, Y/n. As for why you’re here,” Hyunju’s pace slowed, matching your own. “The lords gather once a year to hold a game amongst themselves, and you just so happened to be the perfect prize, offered by one of the lords himself.” You felt yourself freeze, a prize? You were merely a prize to be won by someone? Shaking your head in disbelief, you regain your composure and continue walking. You take a moment to think before asking your next question.

“Who offered me?”

“I’m not at liberty to tell you, that would go against the rules.” Hyunju stated. The small smile she wore causing the unease in your stomach to grow. “I can tell you the rules you must follow during the game however. One; the game only ends if the prize is caught, or the time limit has been reached. Two; there are two safe zones, but you may only use them for a total of four hours at a time before you must move.”

The onslaught of information was budding a monstrous headache, but you didn’t have the choice to stop listening. “Three; when you are in the safe zones, the lords will be alerted, and will have to stay exactly where they are until you leave. This is to prevent them from crowding around the zones. Four; you are not to harm the lords, but they are also not able to harm you.” as she finished speaking, Hyunju stopped and turned to the left, she waved her hand and a panel opened.

You leaned forward, yet the light spilling through the opening revealed little to your eyes other than grass occupying the ground just beyond the threshold. Suddenly, you felt Hyunju’s hand press to your back and push, the force sending you stumbling forward into the darkness. You whip around just in time to see her smile wickedly, and for the first time, you notice the sharpness of her canine teeth. Hyunju’s amber eyes appeared to glow like embers as her head tilted to the side.

“Welcome to The Hunt, Y/n. You have seventy two hours to outlast the lords. Good luck.”

The panel slid closed, and once again you were enveloped in darkness.

[x-rambles]

06.18.21

Gratitude: 1. I got the summer schedule that I want!! Extra $$ is a dream! 2. My birthday is NEXT WEEK   3. I’ve been walking outside consistently!

So...this post is definitely a brain dump! Essentially, I want to talk about fear. I am feeling so much fear & I am, afraid...ugh it’s drama because I shouldn’t be operating from a place of fear! I need to have an abundance mindset! It’s just upsetting that I feel lost in the sauce, like I don’t know what to do/what to focus on.

As of late, and I think the root of my entire quarter life crisis is a fear that my time is being wasted! For example, with A! I’m pissed I’m not meeting his family/people in his life because if the relationship isn’t progressing a certain way my time may be wasted!!! Do I want to share my life with him? Do I want to marry him? I just don’t want to waste my time! 

This shit with not seeing each other has just been weird as fuck though. Not seeing each other, not really communicating, no bueno! I know I’m not initiating any more communication.....I’m just not exactly too sure about opening up my options. Opening my options would be to A-make me happy! I like dating, I like being treated a certain way. I deserve that, so if he’s not giving it I would have to get it elsewhere! B-ensure my time is not WASTED! My sis said the sad truth is I’m single until marriage & it’s true. IDK if I want to be married by 25, that could be a bit much...but I am positive that I want to be in a relationship progressing to marriage.

It’s odd how things with us were going great & we were more or less on the same page then BOOM-complete stop! So....ya if he’s not being the boyfriend I require I must look elsewhere. Maybe I wont go on apps right now, but....yeah! 

I also fear time being wasted in my job! And I hate that because similarly I’m not too sure what to expect, what I want! I guess because I’ve been talking about the PhD for FOREVER & have yet to make strides toward that. I think with the PhD I just need a timeline. Transparently, teaching AND curriculum development ARE very helpful! I think teaching experience (which I love) can help w my PhD. Developing AA history helps me continue engaging w sources & docs. I’m just so afraid of staying stagnant. This year I haven’t been stagnant. This year I have grown. I need to be sure that I continue doing that! Continue following my passions, continue progressing with that in mind.

I don’t like that I’m feeling romance anxiety. It’s hard being so afraid & I think a lot of that may be my fear of getting caught up in the type of thing I was caught up in before. And like, idk...I hear about people being in relationships for 2-3 years before being engaged.....I try not to think too much. I’m trying to think step by step. I liked the progression from dating to stating goals, to exclusivity, to relationship growth. I should trust my instincts too! Why am I not more integrated into his life? Why is it so casual for him to not see nor speak to me. RED FUCKING FLAGS. I’m not comfortable addressing them as I....don’t want to be in my masculine. All that I can do is open my own options?

If I open my options I’m praying that I don’t fall into the 80-20 trap. And when we’re together maybe I can ask for help more? Ask for what I want more...ugh. There are times when I prefer more chivalry....this is damn insane man. I just want a loving relationship with a man who loves me. I am not comfortable. UGH.

I’m freaking out about if he’ll reach out to hang out this weekend! On the one hand it’s like....Me & Jenny do have plans (stupid ass plans) & on the other hand, I for sure want to hang out! SO-maybe if he reaches out I can say I’ll come over tomorrow night? If he doesn’t reach out-I’ll be pissed as fuck like I have been, It’s hard being me because I get so emotional about hypotheticals lmao. It’s rough because I just like having plans! 

I wonder how I’ll feel. On the OFF chance he reaches out to hang out at his/my home this weekend (one day)-NO SEX If we do his house Saturday-Sunday? I have to feel the vibe out. I’m nervous because I love & miss him...but I don’t want to pretend his being MIA is okay! Maybe the first attempt I’ll express that I’ve been feeling distant lately & want to enjoy our time together. If he attempts a second time & I feel receptive to it I may go along...Communication is so hard, & I do want to prepare incase I have to initiate discussing this. It’s also a mess because I feel distant from lack of communication/seeing each other AND about not being more integrated into his life/not being too clear on the progression of our relationship. 

These hypotheticals are all hinged on whether or not he even reaches out...if he doesn’t reach out until next week (Bday get away) I’ll be pissed asf. I guess I’d have to just feel stuff out & ask his thoughts about our lack of time together when I see him bcus that’s crazy asf.

Is everything okay with his cousin? Even if not, I just feel like he’s responsible to take care of it, or communicate that. I’m nervous because part of me really doesn’t know if I’m ready for this conversation.

I guess when I say something (because I cant hide it) I’ll have to be transparent about expressing how I feel & genuinely wondering about his thoughts. That’s about has far as I’ve gotten...& thank him for sharing his thoughts...because it’s some bs.

Unfortunately, If a valid prospect presents itself I will remain open to it because I am not messing myself up with this clownery, I’m just not. This cousin shit needs to be over by my birthday and/or he should be taking me out on weekdays. I am not going to continue putting up with just never seeing each other. I’m not in the business of having myself unavailable yet being single in my own relationship. I’m not interested in doing that & I will not do that.

Action Steps:  -NO SEX for 1 day visits -MUST gather thoughts/perspective before sex on weekend visit **praying we don’t have to discuss this over my bday...it may be good to discuss in the car? Or maybe the Friday before....but I...I’ll flesh out that action plan when it gets closer.

Keep your eye on the prize-and baby, YOU are the prize! XoXo, C.

[unkindnessofone]

5SOS. Up We Go

This is the idea that won the vote. I hope you enjoy. I would love some feedback. There was going to be more beyond the end, but I thought I might leave this one on a happy note. Let me know what you think. xoxo

*******************

“How nice of you to join us.” Simone mused from the shallow end of their suite's pool where she was floating very slowly in simple black one piece. Against her chest, in a very small bathing suit with blue stripes, yellow sand dollars, and pink flamingos all over it as well as a very floppy matching cotton hat, she was holding four month old Molly Irwin, just letting the her chubby little legs feel the cool water as they traveled around with no real place to go. Her tired eyes matched her young husbands as he slowly sat down at the edge, dipping his legs into the pool and waving silently at his two favorite ladies. Ever since Ashton became a father, his hangovers had hit him harder. They were fewer and further between, but they felt like being smacked over and over again by a swollen iron fist. He used to be able to work out through them, but it was bad painful just to read his texts in bed when he woke up. In his defense, one of his best friends did tie the knot the night before and that was a special occasion worth celebrating. Plus, there was an open bar with an incredible selection. “The water might help your head.” She suggested, shrugging her shoulders as she moved a little closer to where he was. Ashton shook his head as an answer and reached out his arms for Molly. He had been awake a grand total of ten minutes and he hadn't had a single second with his little one. It was not okay.

“Hey Miss Molly....” Quietly, for his own head and hers, he greeted her while carefully taking her from Simone's embrace. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally drop her into the water. “Are you hungover, too?” Jokingly, he asked her, adjusting the wide rim of her hat so he could actually see her face: expressionless,  but still charming.

“She might be kiss hungover.” Simone added, her wet shoulders against Ashton's legs that were hanging in the water. “When I picked her up from your mum's room, she had the biggest lipstick stains on her. Bright red right on her forehead and cheek.” Simone would have been amused if it hadn't taken three baby wipes to fully remove the makeup from her child's face. Still, she was grateful that Annemarie left the reception early to watch over Molly while Ashton and Simone partied like they were teenagers with their friends.

Ashton held Molly out, just above the water, and let her feet kick clumsily in the water. Simone swam a little bit ahead of her, cheering her on as she watched Molly smile. It was one of the few ways she could indicate her mood to them at all.

“Did you talk to anyone this morning? Is anyone else up?” Ashton asked his wife, prying his eyes away from Molly's legs as he held her. Most of the invited guests to Cagney and Luke's wedding had stayed in surrounding hotels in Brisbane, but there were still some of Ashton's friends who had crashed at The Stamford Plaza or who could also afford a room there. He couldn't remember for sure if he and Calum made morning breakfast plans or if that was just silly drunk talk in between celebratory shots.

“Just Grace and your mum.”

“Ah, I can't remember as much as I'd like to after our first round of shots...” Chuckling, Ashton admitted before handing Molly back to her mother so that he could slide into the pool to join him. He hadn't put on any sunscreen yet even though it had been resting on the night stand by their hotel bed. “I was thinking, maybe, someone could fill in the blanks.”

“You danced a lot.” Simone informed him, a Chesire cat grin spreading across her face as she told him that suggested perhaps his moves on the dance floor hadn't been all that smooth. “And cried. You were very happy for Luke.”

“I like Keg, you know that. She brought us together.” He shot her a wink that he instantly regretted since it poked at his headache.

“You called yourself 'a fountain of extreme feelings'.” Simone wiggled her brows at him with a small chuckle, recalling how emotional the night made her husband. “I'm sure Grace could fill you in.” Simone mentioned. She hadn't exactly stayed stone cold sober either and since she was still pumping and breastfeeding, it had been her first night drinking in over a year. She was as light a weight as she had been on her eighteenth birthday. “She didn't drink last night.”

“What?” Ashton's whole face contorted until it looked like a honey crueler. That wasn't the party girl he knew. Both Michael and his wife could polish off a whiskey bottle to themselves and still walk in a straight line. As Ashton took a minute to consider what Simone said, he realized he hadn't seen Grace drunk in a little while. She had been sipping a glass with lime slice in it all night, but Ashton just assumed it was gin and Sprite.

“Do you want some juicy  gossip? You'd be the second person to know. Well, I told Molly, so third.”

“What do you know?” Ashton didn't know if they were talking about his antics the night before or Grace, but either way, he was interested.

“Grace is pregnant.” Even though no one else was around, Simone still whispered the news.

After inhaling a huge breath of fresh morning air, Ashton lunged closer to the little girl in Simone's arms and poked at her tummy, “Do you hear that, Molls? You're going to have a little buddy!”

“Michael doesn't know.” Simone jumped in quickly, speaking from behind Molly to make it seem as if her daughter was the one dropping the hot gossip mom.

“Alright, start from the beginning.” Moving away from Molly and Simone, Ashton went closer to the pool wall, resting against it to focus on his wife. He really wished he had thought to bring his sunglasses out from his suitcase.

“She told me yesterday when we were in Cagney's suite because she was having a hard time staying awake. She wanted to know my tricks.” Unfortunately, Simone didn't have any. She hadn't gone through the exhaustion a lot of women feel during their first trimester. In fact, she was full of energy until the last month. “She's not really sure how to tell Mike.”

“She wants to some kind of special reveal?” Ashton didn't quite understand.

“They've been at each other’s throats lately. Yesterday was the first time they hadn't fought in a long time and I think that's because they were too busy.” Michael had been in Luke's wedding party and Grace was helping the girls get ready, looking after guests from out of town, and trying to lend a hand where she could. Ashton nodded as he listened to Simone. He remembered Michael telling him as they were drinking with Luke and the rest of his buddies in the limo that Grace had told him to go fuck himself the night before, leaving him to sleep in the hotel bath tub with a blanket and pillow that a maid brought up.

“They love each other though.” Shrugging it off, Ashton said without a care. Nobody ever questioned the affection between Grace and Michael. There had been times where they were threatening to break up with one another and then five seconds later Michael was cursing out a random guy in a club for looking at Grace the wrong way or standing too close. Their relationship was hot to the touch, but Ashton assumed they wanted it that way. “Michael once said he likes when she's angry because then she wants to be on top.” Ashton had no idea why he remembered that. He was a little embarrassed that none of them had been classy enough to keep information about their sex lives to themselves except for Calum.

“Well, she's worried.”

“They weren't trying?”

“She said they've just stopped using protection, but that was before they started fighting.”

“Mike's wanted to have kids since he met her. He'll be so happy.” Ashton really wasn't concerned in the slightest, but he could read on Simone's face that she wasn't as optimistic.

“Yeah, it's not about him and his feelings.” Forever a feminist, Simone shot with a little spice on her words, earning a little kick in the water from Molly. “Grace doesn't come from a supportive household. She didn't have a mother figure. She's very scared she will fail at it. Oh God, Ash, it was awful. She literally said, 'What if I'm as bad at it as I was at acting and everything else?' My heart would have broke if Cagney hadn't come out two seconds later in her dress.” The hairstylist really had looked like a vision. Nobody thought Luke would cry, but the moment Simone saw her friend in white she texted Ashton and told him she was changing her bet. A hundred dollars that the groom would weep – and she was right.

“How far along is she?” Ashton asked, knowing Simone had all the details. His wife never got involved in anything without gathering all the information. He always thought of her as a squirrel when she was in work mode, collecting everything and anything she could get her hands on.

“11 and a half weeks.”

“I would kill you if you waited that long to tell me.” Without any thought or regard for Grace, Ashton said with an eye roll that almost went around twice.

“Well, good thing she isn't your wife. She can handle this however she wants. I won't fault her for any decision she makes. We are supporting her, Ashton.”

“I feel like I should tell Mike.” A few seconds of uneasy silence drifted between them, but Ashton pushed off of the wall and waded closer to Simone and Molly, kissing his daughter's cheek and then his wife's lips, soft from a beeswax lip balm.

“Don't.” Whispering, Simone advised. “I'm only telling you because I can't keep anything from you, not because I want you to get involved.” She knew that wasn't easy for him, but it wasn't their issue to meddle in. “They'll be fine. She's just frightened.” Even though Molly's experience had been very different, she could still empathize with her friend. For her, the fear didn't arrive until the contractions did. That was when it truly felt real

***************************

Enjoying a sip of hair of the dog from a flat beer left open on the floor from the night before, Michael laid out on the chair he moved near the hotel balcony. He enjoyed the sunlight pouring into the room, bathing him from head to toe in the bright explosion of colour. It was a gorgeous morning after one Hell of a night. He opened up his laptop on his lap and looked over at his sleeping wife while the home screen loaded. It was very strange for her to still be asleep while it was almost eleven in the morning. Usually, he was the one to crash into the afternoon while she went to an early morning spin class and ran errands about town, meeting with friends for lunch, and picking up dry cleaning and organic groceries. He just assumed she was either fully emerging into vacation mode or that she had danced herself exhausted at Luke and Cagney's reception. Michael hadn't realized yet that Grace had been napping lately. He just thought she was taking breaks from him. They had been pushing one another’s buttons a lot more furiously lately. It seemed like all he had to do was squeeze her too tight and she was jumping down his throat.

She was beautiful though. Michael still felt like he had won the lottery. For all of Grace's flaws, she was still the soft 'good morning' and 'good night' sound that he missed when they were apart. She was the first person to make him feel truly needed. It had always been him who loved fiercely and grew attached to other people, but Grace relied on Michael when she was down, she craved his jokes and his arms, and it made him feel unstoppable. She was one of the toughest people he had ever met, but yet, she genuinely needed him. They could fight like they were being paid to, but Michael never lost sight of how important they were to one another. He smiled at her completely still body until his laptop released a bright beep as his fingers mindlessly typed the wrong password.

“Oh, fuck.” He hissed at the machine, settling down his stale beer on the floor to use both hands this time. The beep hadn't interrupted Grace's slumber in the slightest, but Michael's curse did. Stirring, her eyes fluttered open and she wiped at her face, smudging the already creased makeup from the night before that she hadn't washed off. She had remembered to remove her flash lashes though. They were resting with dry glue all over them on the night stand by her side. “I was trying to be quiet.” Michael chuckled at himself and confessed.

“It's alright.” Grace pulled herself up by one side and reached for her phone that was resting by the curled up lashes. She checked the time and noted that she had missed a phone call from her doctor's office back in New York. “I should be up anyway.” She was really not used to how tired she had become. It was as if she hadn't stopped yawning the moment the strip turned pink on the pregnancy test. To be honest, she couldn't believe Michael was up. He had been rowdy the night before. She thought for sure he would sleep the whole day away like a bear would the winter season.

“Uhh...I slept in the bed next to you last night.” Michael had his laptop open on his knees, but gave Grace his attention. He liked watching her this way. It had been a while since he watched her unwrap her naked body from bed sheets, messy hair falling around her like a waterfall of tangles. “I hope that's alright. I guess, I just passed out.” They had been too busy with helping their friends get married to properly sort of their argument from the night before. Michael didn't dare say it out loud, but he couldn't remember what it was about. He knew he made an off hand comment about the wedding they were all in Brisbane for and that Grace took it the wrong way. Next thing he knew, he was banished to the bath tub since the hotel was out of extra rooms thanks to Luke's nuptials.

“Yeah.” Throwing her hair back from the front, Grace confirmed. “I asked you too.” She reminded him. Drunk Michael had been clumsy, but gracious. He was on his way to his makeshift bathroom bed when she asked him to cuddle her close.

Michael's face didn't hide any of his surprise, but a crooked smile tiptoed over his face, “I wish I could remember.” The night was a blur at best.

“We were about ten seconds into sex before we stopped because you kept saying you couldn't find me.” She informed him. “You said we were spinning.” She was the queen of messy sex, but it just didn't feel right with him slurring his words and losing track of his own limbs. “So, we just cuddled.” Grace watched as Michael just smiled at the words she was saying. “It was nice.”

“You're not mad at me?” He checked, removing his laptop from his person and closing it on the way to the floor.

“No. I love drunk Michael.” That wasn't always her stance on him intoxicated, but she was trying to put their recent troubles aside. “He thinks I'm beautiful.”

“Sober Michael thinks you're beautiful too.” Frowning at her with the corners of his mouth down and his eyebrows closing over his eyes, Michael informed her. “You seem to always forget that somehow, how in love with you I am.” Shaking his head, he rejoined her in bed. She was sitting up, but he pulled her down with his arms wrapped around her chest and curled her into him, his lips finding different tangles of hair to kiss vivaciously. “We have a couple more days here. Anything you want to do?” Michael checked in, purring in her ear as his grip around her shoulder loosened so he could roam elsewhere around her warm body. The sun had toasted them both perfectly this morning.

“I told Simone we would watch Molly tomorrow.”

“Yeah?” Pulling away from her head, Michael checked. That was news to him.

“How often do her and Ash get time together, right?” Between her company and Ashton's commitments to the band, it was a miracle they ever saw one another. Now with a baby in the mix, Grace just assumed the two of them lived completely separate lives that were forever dowsed in breast milk and drool.  It was one of the many things that frightened her about motherhood.

“Yeah, no, it's cool. I just didn't know. What do you do with a three month old anyway?” He asked and then wondered if that was actually how old Molly Irwin was.

“You don't know?” Very scared, Grace checked, pushing away from Michael and furiously studying his face as if the actual answer was written somewhere between his forehead and left nostril.  “I don't know either. I guess we just feed her and put her down and don't like...throw her around like a football.” She rambled.

“I wasn't planning to do that.” He laughed at her, shaking his head. “Are you sure you want to babysit? You seem a little freaked out.”

“Of course, I do.” Grace scoffed like  he was crazy. “It'll be fine. It won't be hard.” She said to mostly herself.

“Well, what about today? We have the whole day ahead of us.” Even though Brisbane was special to Cagney and Luke, Michael wasn't sure if Grace had been there before. He wanted to seize this moment where she was feeling calm and they were in a good place. “Whatever you want to do, okay?” If she just wanted to hang out in the room and stay naked, he would be very okay with that, but if she wanted to call some friends and go out, Michael would make that happen as well.

“Could we talk?” Grace also wanted to take advantage of the warmth between them. She had been craving the current closeness she was feeling, their legs between one another's and their stomachs pressed together. The thin grey fabric of Michael's boxer briefs that he had wrestled into that morning were the only thing between them. It felt exactly how it should feel and Grace figured if there was a perfect time to tell him that she was pregnant, it was right now.

“Yeah. What about?” He always worried when they were in the middle of a bad spell that this would be the time she grew tired of his bullshit and wanted out. He had a full on panic attack the day after she accepted his proposal that one day she would get over him and leave. Calum had to punch him in the stomach to get him to snap out of it and focus on the song they were trying to record. “Fuck, did I say something stupid last night? You know I talk out of my ass when I'm drunk...” Michael rolled his head back on a pillow and pinched the middle of his forehead. He wished he could remember, but figured if he had done or said something unforgivable it might be better that it was lost in a fog. “I know it's not an excuse, but I'm sure I didn't mean it.” He reached for either of her hands under the table, massaging her knuckles with his thumb once he had one. Michael really wanted a break from the fighting.

“Stop.” Grace rested her forehead on his and exhaled against him as he released a heavy breath. They both were in desperate need of a teeth brushing. “I'm not upset about last night. You didn't say anything stupid. Well, you told Calum that he was too scrumptious to ever feel lonely and we all thought that was bizarre, but it's fine.” Grace weaseled her hand out from under Michael's and wrapped it around his knuckles, bringing it up to her dry lips for a kiss.

“Then what is it?” His nerves hadn't subsided in the slightest.

Grace inhaled as deep as she could, just the way she did when she tried her first cigarette: closing her eyes, sucking in until she felt her ribs ache, and then releasing slow enough to worry if she looked cool or not to the strangers around her. She noticed how anxious Michael looked and knew that she had past the point of no return. It wasn't as if she could just smile, shrug, and say, 'Nothing, nevermind.' He would either force it out of her or have a pounding rock in his chest for the rest of the day.

“Are you looking forward to a day with Molly tomorrow?” Kissing his knuckles again, she asked as casually as she would ask him if he wanted milk in his morning coffee or not.

“What?” Michael's eyes remained wide while his eyebrows thickened over top of them. “Um, I guess?” She was being weird, but Michael knew better than to point that out to her. “I don't know. She's a baby. She's my best friend's baby.” Michael didn't really have any feelings about it. It wouldn't be the worst by any stretch of his imagination, but he could think of many other activities that he would enjoy more.

“I'm just checking.”

“That's what you wanted to talk about? My interest in babysitting?”

“No...” Shaking her head, Grace grew meek for a second. She was always bombastic. There was nothing shy about the aspiring actress. It was, perhaps, Michael's favorite thing about her. Even if no one else thought she was a star, she refused to not shine.

“Grace, what's going on?” He laughed and poked at her stomach as she started to fold the blanket she was under between them. Michael had to fight to find her body that he had been tangled up with just seconds before.

“I'mpregnant.” She grumbled from behind her teeth that were locked behind shut lips and covered by the top of the sheets. Her eyes watched Michael, but he just leaned his head in to try and hear her better.

“What did you say?” He squinted at her if that would help his hearing. It was hard to hear her behind all her layers of armor, but his chuckling at her strange behavior wasn't doing him any flavors either. Michael pulled down the blanket from her chin as Grace said it again, only making him laugh more.

She prepared herself with a heavy breath again and threw her hands over her face, releasing the two words together again. This time she wasn't met with any poking or wrestling from Michael. She couldn't hear a breath from him, his laughing had stopped entirely. Grace spread her perfectly manicured fingers open and spied Michael through the openings between her index and middle. He was staring at her stunned, but somewhat suspicious with his left eye widened just slightly bigger.

“Did you just say what I think you said? Did you say that you are...? Grace...?” Michael checked slowly, watching her nod. Once her chin was completely engulfed by her neck and the bed sheets, Michael laid back down and put his own hands over his face, mimicking how she was just a moment ago.

Grace sat up with fear, her hands down on her knees as she tried to study Michael's hidden face just as he had been doing with hers moments ago, “What?” She snapped. “What is it? What are you thinking?” Her biggest fear was that he had the same questions she did. Grace instantly figured that Michael thought she would be the worst mother in the world even though he once told her before they had sex that he thought she would be an incredible parent, that he hadn't known if he wanted to be a dad himself until he took up with her.

“I'm thinking I can't wait to show them Howl's Moving Castle...” Michael admitted once his hands were down by his sides, exposing his rosy cheeks. Grace didn't have a second to ask him what that was before he had her pinned down, straddling her hips and kissing her face from chin to forehead. “This is crazy!” His best friend just tied the knot the night before and now he was finding out he was expecting. Michael felt like he was going to explode. He was the sun screaming into their room, but louder. As Grace laughed beneath him, he thought about running around the room in his underwear and then taking to the halls. Michael calmed down for just a moment and rested his head on her shoulder, breathing in her natural scent as his mind reeled through different movies he was going to introduce his kid to, matching Metallica shirts he could dress them in, and teaching them all the words to his favorite songs. They would have to move out of their condo and into a house. His kid was going to have a backyard and basement. “I'm going to practice throwing Molly in the air tomorrow and catching her. That's what Dad's do.” He whispered against Grace's skin, his excitement dancing out of the softness in his voice. He hadn't noticed,  but Michael had put both his palms flat on her stomach, feeling nothing and everything all at once.

“Ashton would kill you if you dropped her.” Grace chuckled back, her head cheek resting on top of his bedhead. “If Simone didn't first.” She mused.

“I can't wait to tell them.” He said unaware that those two already knew. “Oh shit, my parents are going to freak out. Let's take them out for dinner tonight?!” He popped his head up so quickly that Grace barely had time to move her own.

“Wait. You're not scared?”

“No!” As if she was insane for asking, Michael shouted. “This is awesome. Our kid is going to have your gorgeous face, my taste in music, and they're going to be amazing. This is the best.” He couldn't believe she wasn't jumping up and down like he was.

“I'm terrified.”

“That's probably normal. You could talk to Simone about it.”

“What if I'm like my mom?” Very seriously, Grace asked. He softened again, realizing just how real her question was. They so rarely discussed Grace's family. She had once changed the subject to Charles Manson when Michael asked about her parents because that was more pleasant for her. Michael was silent for a moment before shaking his head to and fro' like a dog trying to dry off after running through the backyard sprinkler.

“Nope. No. I don't need to know that lady to know that won't happen.” Michael crawled up onto his knees and  found both her hands, curling them up in his. “You are supportive and protective, you are tough and kind at the same time. This kid is so lucky. There is nothing even remotely monstrous about you. You were built for anything.”  He watched as she believed him, her eyes adoring him while her fears were released through her lips warbling.

“You always know what to say.” She sighed. It was times like these that she understood why songwriting came so easy to her husband. He had a way with words that could calm anyone down. It was mind boggling to her that he was the same man who could make dick jokes at the wrong moment and talk with his whole foot in his mouth sometimes.

Michael leaned down and kissed her, slowly and sucking on her bottom lip before quickly letting go to pull the covers off of her and kiss her exposed stomach with a loud 'smack'.

“Can we run around naked now? Come on! Come on!” He lifted up her arms and bounced on the bed, her smile allowing laughter to erupt wildly from her mouth. Unbeknownst to her, Ashton was right. There was nothing to worry about. “This is awesome! This is awesome!”

[etherealwaifgoddess]

Birthday Gifts

Main Characters:  Bucky x Reader

Summary: Set  in the What He Wants AU, it’s Bucky’s birthday and he receives a very surprising gift from our main character, and also gets himself exactly what he wants for his birthday :)

Warnings/ Content: Tooth rotting fluff 

Word Count: 2,173

Author’s Note: We’re back in the WHW AU, my lovelies!! Our boy has been carrying around that ring of yours for a while now and it’s starting to get prettttty heavy in his pocket. I had the idea for this all the way back when I was originally writing WHW and I really looked forward to sharing it with you all one day. Well, the day is today! For anyone not familiar with What He Wants and the one shots from the same series please check out the master list HERE

XOXO -  Ash

Birthday Gifts

Bucky takes to carrying the little black box with your engagement ring in his pocket every day. It starts out because he’s afraid to leave it around the apartment where you could potentially find it, but then it becomes a comforting habit. Some days when he’s overwhelmed by his love for you he wonders if that’s the moment. Something as simple as the way your eyes light up when you’re pelting him with snowballs after you’ve shoveled out your walkway make him wonder if he should just drop to one knee and do it. But he waits, biding his time. Bucky wants it to be special and memorable when he finally proposes to you. He mulls over what he’ll say some nights when he’s having trouble sleeping and thinks he has some pretty good ideas. 

The winter drags on and it’s a brutal one, you spend a lot of time cooped up together in your little apartment when you get snowed in. Bucky feels like you’ve been together for a lifetime with all the time you’ve spent together and he almost takes advantage of Valentine’s Day to propose but decides last minute that it’s too cliche. 

March rolls around and you start planning Bucky’s birthday party and his gift. You know exactly what to get him and have the plans set into motion. Bucky grumbles at all the attention, not particularly fond of it or of his birthday in general. You ask him often what he wants, just to be sure you’re not missing something else to get him. Bucky starts just answering with a long, drawn out sigh after the third time you ask. He knows exactly what he wants, and he’s going to get it. Birthdays are for gift giving and Bucky decides that his gift to himself is going to be you as his wife. 

The closer it comes to his birthday the more anxious he is, the ring sitting heavily in his pocket. He’s set in his decision to ask you but worries all the same. March 10th falls on a Wednesday so you make simple plans to take him to dinner in town and then go up to the Avengers Compound for the weekend to have a party with his friends. Pepper has been extremely helpful setting things up and letting you throw the party there. She’s a wonderful friend and you talk with her several times a week, glad to have a close female friend in your life again. 

When the day finally arrives Bucky is a giant ball of nerves and you worry slightly that he’s going to wear himself out. The team at the center keeps things low key out of respect for him, bringing in a small cake and a single joint gift for him. He’s moved by their kindness and genuinely appreciates their efforts. He thanks each person quietly later, blushing under all the attention. 

Dinner at his favorite Italian place is an equally subdued affair, just the two of you in a back corner booth away from the rest of the patrons. Bucky wants to relax and enjoy the perfect night with you but he’s so close to proposing that it’s all he can think of and wants the night to last as long as possible. When the tiramisu arrives he nibbles at it slowly, drawing out things just a little bit longer. He notices you getting impatient, “Getting a little restless?” He asks lightly.

You try to hide your frown, worrying about his present back at the apartment. “It’s fine. I just... I didn’t think dinner would take quite this long. We still have to get home so I can give you your gift.” 

“Does it have an expiration date or something?” He jokes.

“Or something.” 

Bucky shrugs, he knows he can't drag things on forever despite his nerves. He plans on proposing as soon as he gets his gift and can’t wait to see your face when you see your ring for the first time. You hurry through paying for your meal and drive as far over the speed limit as your dare on the way back, much to Bucky’s amusement.

Bucky might not have his full super soldier senses anymore but he hears a faint tapping sound as soon as you enter the apartment. He’s lost trying to place it as you lead him into the living room and have him sit on the sofa. Setting up your phone to record and placing it on the TV stand to capture the moment, you head back to the bathroom to collect his gift. Bucky is completely unprepared for what you return with. 

The tiny brown and white King Charles Spaniel puppy is wriggling in your arms, the blue bow barely staying on its head as it tries to lick your hand. Bucky’s jaw drops open, stunned, as you bring the puppy over to him. “Happy birthday.” You say in a sing-song voice as you hand him the puppy. 

“You got me a puppy?!” Bucky’s whole face lights up as soon as the puppy is in his arms and he’s holding it close to his face, letting himself be drowned by puppy kisses. The moment is filled with pure joy and you’re glad you remembered to set up the video on your phone to capture it. “Does he have a name?” Bucky asks, settling the pup on his lap to pet him and ruffle his ears. 

“Not yet. He’s your gift, I figured you should get the honors.” You tell him.

“Hmm. What about Poe?” 

“That’s unique. I really loved Poe’s work when I was younger too. Annabel Lee was one of my favorites.”

“Uh. Yeah. Me too.” Bucky looks sheepish and his cheeks are tinged red by more than just puppy kisses. 

“You didn’t mean the author, did you?” 

“I loved his character in The Force Awakens and then he just gets even better in the next two movies!” 

“You are such a nerd!” 

“Come on! Poe is brave and loyal, what better name for a dog?” 

“I just didn’t realize what a giant nerd you were. Out of all the movies you’ve watched and all the books you’ve read getting caught up on the 20th century, and somehow Star Wars became your default?”

“It’s an epic love story! And then it becomes so much more than that too. You watched them with me, so if I’m a nerd you’re one too.” 

You’re laughing so hard you can barely breathe and it’s freaking out Poe who’s wiggling his little butt trying to go check on you. You hold up your hands in defeat and stifle your giggles. “Fine, fine. At least we’ll be nerds together.” 

Bucky is still fawning over his new pet and you wonder if the poor little guy will ever be put down around him. “He’s perfect, mouse. How did you pull this off?” 

“Well, you kinda fell down a rabbit hole of looking at puppies online last month after you saw that SPCA ad. You kept showing me pictures of this breed, remember?” 

“They just have the cutest faces. And these floppy ears!” Bucky all but smooshes his face against Poe’s and you can’t help but gawk over what a big softie he is around the pup. 

“I know... I know... So I called around the local shelters until I found this little guy who had been brought in as a newborn. He was technically ready for adoption on Monday but they agreed to hold him for me until today. Martha ran out to get him while we were at dinner. I knew the motorcycle was going to be a tough gift to top but I think this worked out.” 

“This is better than the motorcycle, he’s so perfect. You always know just what to get me.” 

“Happy birthday, babe.” You move closer to Bucky so you can give him a kiss and Poe does his best to hop up and join in. You both laugh and give him all your attention again. 

“So, remember I told you I was going to get myself a gift this year?” Bucky asks. His tone is off, suddenly low and hesitant. 

You nod, “Yeah. I told you, you should get it, whatever it was. It’s good you want to do something for yourself.”

“I didn’t get it yet. I need your help actually.”

“Okay, whatever you need.”

Bucky hands you Poe and slides down onto the floor in front of you. His hands are shaking when he pulls the small black box from his pocket and you swear your brain short circuits when you realize what he’s doing. 

“After HYDRA took me in ‘44 I stopped thinkin’ about my future. Didn’t see the point of it, even after Steve got me out. There wasn’t a chance to do more than get through one battle, then the next, and then even after that it was missions with Steve and gettin’ through one day at a time. After Steve... well, you know what happened. But then came you. And you pushed me and challenged me to stop and think about the future. You have been so patient, and kind, and unbelievably strong while I figure things out and now I can’t stop thinking about the future. Our future. So now it’s my turn to ask you somethin’. Y/N, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” Bucky flips the box open revealing the ring and your breath catches in your throat. 

Inside the box is the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen. You know it’s custom made because its pattern and metals are identical to Bucky's arm. The sizable diamond in the middle is a light grey-blue that’s reminiscent of his eyes and you wonder who made this perfect creation that is Bucky in ring form. You realize you still haven’t answered and jump, startling all three of you. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes.” You say in a rush. 

Bucky lets out a relieved, happy sigh and pulls himself up on the sofa to take you in his arms. Poe wiggles away before he’s squished and is bouncing up and down next to you as Bucky pulls you onto his lap and slides the ring on your finger. It feels surprisingly delicate and the way it catches in the light makes tears well in your eyes all over again. You’re both crying and kissing and you realize your video is still going. Laughing, you show the ring to the camera and then shut it off. 

“Now we have both moments on video.” You tell Bucky who is still grinning ear to ear. Settling back on the sofa so you can cuddle in with him and Poe you finally ask him, “So, who made this? It’s perfectly you.” 

Bucky nods in agreement, “It better look like me, it’s from me. Well, the arm technically. Shuri was able to get the metal from a few different places on my arm and made the ring from that. You literally have a piece of me now. And the stone is from the royal vault, Shuri insisted we use it.”

“I need to thank her next time we talk, it’s amazing. I love it. I love you.” You lean into kiss him again and Poe yips. “Yes, I love you too Poe. I can’t forget, we’re a family of three now.” 

“God, I love the way that sounds.”

“Me too. So does everyone know you were planning this or do we have announcements to make?” 

“Announcements are needed, I want to show off this little guy to the gang anyway. Shuri, T’Challa, and their mother know about the ring but not that I planned on giving it to you today.”

“Why don’t we make a quick video and send it to your group chat? Then everyone can find out about Poe and the engagement all at once. We need to call Pepper and make sure she’s okay with us bringing him up this weekend though.” 

Bucky grabs his phone and you make a quick thirty second video showing off your ring and Poe, and send it off to the group. A minute later both of your phones are exploding with messages from your friends congratulating you both. Pepper actually demands you bring Poe along for the weekend so that’s settled, and you get a video call from Shuri who needs more details and to ensure you love her creation. 

Bucky settles into bed that night with you curled up against his chest and Poe resting behind his bent knees. It hits him that he’s surrounded by love, by his family. He’s amazed by how quickly his life took a different turn after Steve died. It’s been six months and he’s gone from existing out of habit to really living and having a family to call his own. Bucky can’t imagine what the next six months will bring but he’s looking forward to finding out with you and Poe by his side. 

Tag List Lovelies: @my-current-fandom-is @blacklightguidesnic @amazonianbeauty@ladyemofhousestark@abswritesfandoms@rupestria @dark-night-sky-99

[stunudo]

You Don’t Know Everything

A Criminal Minds Fan-fiction

Featuring: Kate Callahan and Family      Setting:  Season 15

Requested: Anonymous

Prompt: ❝ you may leave school, but school never leaves you. ❞

A/N: I really like writing in the future! Also this is all team fluff. I didn’t use the prompt as a quote, but as a theme. Hope you don’t mind! xoxo Stu

The hallways were empty as the senior class poured from their testing in the cafeteria. Graduation was days away, so the twelfth grade students were completing their finals as the lower grades continued on their normal schedules. The athletic brunette dodged around a few groups to catch up with the curvy African American girl arm and arm with the statuesque blonde boy.

“Markayla,” Meg purposely pulled her friend’s backpack, dragging her away from her longtime boyfriend, Mason.

“Meg!” Markayla squealed, shoving the other girl back. “How’d you do? I aced the essay, but completely blanked on the section about mapping the post-Soviet countries.“

“I did alright, anyways, I already have an A. If I got my name wrong; I wouldn’t fail.” Meg grinned, sidestepping as Mason fell back in line with her bestie.

“Do you have to work this weekend?” Markayla asked the tall boy.

“Nope, but I have early morning baseball practice.” Mason admitted.

“Gross!” Markayla complained. “I want some crew time! I feel like we never get together, just the five of us anymore.” Meg laughed, shaking her head at the pouting girl.

“I have to babysit tonight anyways,” Meg reminded her.

“Ugh, fine.” She grinned, proving her whining in jest. “Next weekend for sure then.”

“It’s a date.” Meg and Mason said in unison before the three of them broke into hysterics.

The bath water was sloshing at dangerous levels as Meg Callahan shampooed her little cousin’s hair. She made sure to not let any suds slip down his face, while expertly shaping his unruly hair into a row of spikes.

“I’m a Spinosaurus!” the boy roared, while appreciating his reflection in the reflective faucet.

“Alright, Mr. Spinosaurus, you have ten minutes to play and then I’ll be back.”

“Twenty minutes?” He asked with a pouty flutter of his eyelashes.

“Ten, don’t push your luck!”

“Bye, Meg. See you in twenty minutes!” His tiny voiced screeched. Meg refused to argue further and left the damp bathroom tile behind, heading to the living room and her waiting calculus notes.

Later that night as Meg was tucking in the suddenly tired preschooler, he asked an impressive question. “Why is graduation such a big deal?”

“Because it means I am done with normal school.” Meg tried to explain as she found the exact toys he needed to fall asleep each night.

“You still have school, but you have to move there?” He understood pretty well for a four year old.

“I am going to school in New York, but I won’t move there until August, bud.”

“I don’t want you to move, Meggy-Pie.” His voice was soft.

“I know, but just think, the new baby will be here before I leave. It’s going to be crowded!”

“Can you stay and the baby goes to college?” He suggested, his plush Chewbaca tight against his cheek.

“Nice try, but not this time.” Meg answered gently, tucking his drying curls behind his ear. She sat on his bed and watched him fall asleep, memorizing him in this moment as fleeting as any.

“GUYS!” Garcia chirped over JJ’s speakerphone. “You all need to get your booties in here, it’s starting!” Spencer and JJ shared a glance, leading the way to the tech office.

Over Lewis’, Alvez’ and Simmons’ faces a confused look passed, though they fell inline behind the senior agents of the BAU. On the numerous monitors above Garcia’s desk was a single live feed: a profile shot of a young woman in a navy blue graduation cap atop her brunette mop of shoulder-length hair.

“I can’t believe she is already graduating,” JJ gushed.

“I am surprised Chris is keeping it together long enough to hold the phone steady!” Garcia added, dotting her eyes with a tissue.

“Hey, look, there’s Markayla too!” Reid pointed to the softly permed head of Meg’s best friend one row back and two chairs over.

“Guys, I am glad you’re all excited, but who is she?” Lewis asked.

“Right?” Alvez and Simmons said in unison.

The screen shifted to a little boy with black curls hoping excitedly on a gymnasium bench beside his mother’s protruding lap. Garcia squealed and clapped. A deep voice said, “Alright Callahans, say hi to our viewing audience.” The beautiful woman and hyper child gave the obligatory greeting to the phone’s camera. A microphone crackled, signalling the start of the ceremony.

“That’s Kate?” Alvez asked in a low voice, leaning towards his husband’s ear.

“Yeah, the little guy was the reason she left the bureau. That’s Kit he’ll be five three months before Michael.” Spencer explained.

“He’s gorgeous!” Garcia cooed. “Oh! Do you think Rossi knows it’s today? Should I call him?” Just as she spun for consensus a heart from Uncle Dave’s profile floated on the screen. JJ grinned, spinning Garcia back towards the monitors.

JJ leaned back, speaking to Lewis and Simmons, “Just before Kate left, we rescued Meg and her best friend, Markayla, from an online ring operation for murdering sadists.”

“Yikes,” Simmons responded, “Can’t really blame her for stepping away. Family is too important.”

“The unsubs were actually targeting Kate, so she had more reason to leave than most.” Reid added.

“How awful,” Lewis mused as the pep band ended the school song. The routine faculty speakers and valedictorian address followed. The whole process was pleasantly succinct. Once the students began lining up, the camera moved. Chris was searching for a better angle for his niece’s diploma acceptance. The awkward zoom found the stage and refocused on the podium and the waiting principal. The A’s were a small group, just a single row of seats at the front of the basketball court. They barrelled through the B’s, soon it was Meg’s turn, the BAU teammates lunged forward in anticipation.

“Margaret Callahan,” the announcer read loudly. The agents clapped and hooted in celebration.

“Hey, Spence?” Alvez whispered to his lanky husband. “I think it’s time, we really should meet with the social worker again.” Spencer grinned, nodding in enthusiastic agreement. They firmly held hands, always careful to keep their office affection professionally modest.

“I think that calls for more celebration!” Emily burst into the cramped office with Dixie cups of sparkling cider on a ramshackle tray from the break room.

“To all the BAU babies, be they grown or still unknown!” Garcia toasted to a cacophony of cheers.

It was two weeks later that Kate and Chris had been able to rent a hall for Meg’s graduation party. Coordinating party schedules with the parents and grandparents of Meg’s four closest friends (Markayla, Mason, Jian and Grant) had been a feat, but as any challenge Kate faced it head on. The guests were due any minute as the teenagers quickly put out the remaining chairs. Little Kit was half dancing/ half chasing balloons across the stage as the sound system was set up.

Meg and Markayla were hovering between the front doors and the gift table, fixing and reshuffling the decorative confetti around the gift bags. Markayla’s mom helped Chris bring out the food for the buffet, while Kate chatted casually with Mason’s grandparents, rubbing her swollen belly. The kids had maintained  such a strong bond because their parents or guardians all trusted and communicated too. The Davis and Callahan families knew all too well the dangers with not knowing your kids’ friends.

Mason’s freshman sister played with Kit, hoping to show Kate she was ready to be their new babysitter when Meg went away to school. By ones or pairs, more classmates and teachers swung by the party, all still giddy with the freedom of summer. It was about an hour after the party started when a dark haired man and his moping teenager walked in, looking for Kate. His lined face broke into an unusual smile when he saw her shuffling her swollen ankles towards them.

“Hotch! I can’t believe you actually made it!” She beamed, taking him in a deep hug. Kate then turned to the shy gawky boy, almost as tall as his father now. “Now this handsome young man isn’t little Jack!”

“Hi, Kate,” a deep voice answered back. Tears stung her eyes as she took the boy in an awkward hug.

“I am so glad you could make it!” Kate exclaimed, scanning the crowd for the woman of the hour. “Meg! Come say hi to the Hotchners.”

Meg, Markayla and Grant all moved as a unit to the small circle of mostly former FBI agents. They made their introductions and caught up. Kate sharing Meg’s plans for the fall with pride, asking what life after the Bureau entailed for them. Life was good, not perfect, not easy, but definitely worth it for these two small families that had lost so much so young.

Soon Chris brought out the projector screen and blasted Meg’s baby pictures for the entertainment of her guests. The years unraveled and they began to see the woman she was on her way to be. If one looked closely, you may have glanced a picture or two with her black hair, taken before her and Markayla shaved their heads for a fundraiser freshman year.

After the cake was eaten and the karaoke was sung, the Callahans sat in the abandoned banquet hall in a contented quiet. Little bits of streamers and confetti littered the floor and their hair, thanks to the now sleeping boy drooling on his dad’s shoulder.

“How did it go so fast?” Kate remarked in awe.

“I would say that it took forever, but you know, perspective.” Meg teased.

“I just can’t believe we won’t get another party like this until the little guy graduates, class of ‘33, represent.” Chris stage whispered. Meg and Kate shared an eye roll before laughing lovingly at the cheesy man.

“You never know, maybe I’ll get married before Kit graduates.” Meg challenged, leaving masks of shock on her aunt and uncle’s faces. Quickly she chimed in alongside them, “Nah!”

The night ended with a comedic clean up for the day to remember.