#and like. this file is on year 4. this is a new development that i only noticed during the night market year 3

[mocury-moto]

so do we have any ideas on what the fuck is going on here gang

[northernsiberiawinds]

BODYCARE KIT🥑

FEMALE BODY PRESET N1-4

4 new forms;

can be used both in maxis match style and in alpha;

for females, from teens to elders;

the first body preset is that preset I've been using for over a year (a lot of people asked about it);

suitable for all EA and most mm and alpha СС clothing, some clothes may be deformed due to the shape of the presets as you can see on the gifs ⬆️.

MALE BODY PRESET N1-4

4 new forms;

can be used both in maxis match style and in alpha;

supports all supernatural beings.

for males, from teens to elders.

suitable for all EA and most mm and alpha СС clothing, some clothes may be deformed due to the shape of the presets as you can see on the gifs ⬆️.

MALE TORSO MASK N1 / N1 B / N2 / N3 MM OVERLAY

15 swatches each file;

can be found in two subcategories in the skin details and in tattoo;

for males, teens+.

MALE TORSO MASK N1 / N2 / N3

35 + ∞ alpha colors each file;

compatible with sliders (you can make any color with this mod);

can be found in two subcategories in the skin details and in tattoo;

for males, teens+.

CLEAVAGE MASK N6 MM OVERLAY

15 swatches;

can be found in two subcategories in the skin details and in tattoo;

for females, teens+.

CLEAVAGE MASK N6

35 + ∞ alpha colors;

compatible with sliders (you can make any color with this mod);

can be found in two subcategories in the skin details and in tattoo;

for females, teens+.

FEMALE TORSO MASK N1 / N1 B / N2 / N3 MM OVERLAY

15 swatches each file;

can be found in two subcategories in the skin details and in tattoo;

for females, teens+.

FEMALE TORSO MASK N1 and N2 and N3

35 + ∞ alpha colors each file;

compatible with sliders (you can make any color with this mod);

can be found in two subcategories in the skin details and in tattoo;

for females, teens+.

📂 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. Skin Details category in which masks are located.

2. I have updated all old cleavage masks (this and this).

new texture for overlays (more clean);

added separate overlays files to CC that didn't have it (N1-3);

add a new category (described above)

you need to delete the old one files and download the new one.

3. I used these skins on the preview: female / male.

❌ DO NOT: re-upload my CC, claim my CC as your own, use as a base/part for your CC!

✅ In my game I use BETTER IN-GAME LIGHTING MOD v1.1 and GENTLE CAS LIGHTING MOD!

MORE INFO AND DOWNLOAD

Any likes and reblogs is honestly appreciated! 💘

Thank you for supporting the development process!

[easy-there-leftovers]

Magnum Opus (Prologue)

When an MIT prodigy on their gap year is contacted by the FBI regarding potential involvement in a series of murders in Washington D.C., she must now cooperate to uncover how paintings are mysteriously appearing at the crime scenes. (Written with Season 1-4 Spencer in mind, but the timeline could be anywhere pre-season 12. No mentions of past cases)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Artist! reader|cw: Canon-typical violence|word count: 700 words

Notes: I made up a bunch of chemicals and their chemical properties up so shhhh!! Also, I'm not American, I have no contextual understanding of the distance of one place to another. The US is large enough.

Also on Ao3!!

Series Masterlist

---------

"Muses are the silent artists of our souls, whispering inspiration into the canvas of our thoughts, painting the colors of creativity with the brushstrokes of imagination." - Author Unknown.

“Seven months ago, one freelance architect named James Carter aged 42 was murdered in his own home in Newton Massachusetts. The victim was posed like the painting placed at the foot of his own couch. All forms of ID on him were missing.” 

JJ made her way from the map inside the meeting room to the screen to present pictures of the crime scene. All other agents made their way inside, with Garcia jotting down notes, as they listened and took their respective places.

“Four months after that, indie artist Daniel Lopez, aged 25, was also found dead in her apartment with another painting and missing ID. Posed just like the girl in it too. Autopsy revealed similar entry and exit wounds through the chest.” 

Images of the victims’ wounds that have already been cleaned up were exposed to the camera. Wounds that could’ve been missed if investigations weren’t conducted made themselves notable as Emily and Spencer opened up their files.

“Ballistics?” 

JJ shook her head at Morgan's question. “No bullets were found.”

“The unsub probably killed them somewhere secluded, then placed them back in their home.” Emily looked to Spencer, only to see him already getting up towards the screen.

“Look at the way they’re dressed. Clothes fitted like that aren’t meant to be worn without the intention of meeting someone.”  Spencer motioned to their clothes. “They didn’t intend to go just anywhere looking like that.”

“Yeah, well neither did this man.” JJ then presented a picture of another victim, another male, another painting, posed in another home. She then turned to redress the rest of the team. “Found yesterday with similar signatures. The only difference is that he was actually staged in a vacant apartment. Everything in there was left by the previous owners. Still no ID on him.”

The resident team genius furrowed his eyebrows at the information, turning to see what the others thought. “Kills both males and females…”

“Victims were found with their clothes on. Dressed to impress but no signs of torture, no experimentation,” Hotch lifted the pictures nearer to his face. “Doesn’t look like he’s interested in either.”

“A serial killer with no sexual preference?” Emily raised her brow at that.

“Wouldn’t be the first.” Spencer replied, looking closer at the paintings in his own file. “Although the subjects in the paintings look exactly like the victims they’re placed on. It brings up the question of which one came first, the person depicted in the painting, or the painting itself…”

“Says here forensics found no prints anywhere but did find traces of  5-dur– durasta—”

“5-durastalene. Also known as ‘Lunacite.’” Spencer corrected Rossi.

“Actually, this synthetic compound is a little on the newer side, a compound that was originally developed by an MIT student for their dissertation in the Chemical Engineering program. I tried figuring out what the naming convention she used was but she didn’t give an explanation on that part. I assumed it could’ve been one out of a number of references, ranging from an anagram of—”

“How new are we talking?” Hotch interrupted, but deeply thankful that someone on the team seemed to have a lead.

“13 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days new. But it’s weird.” Spencer punctuates his statement by flicking through the papers. 

“The compound shouldn’t be commercially available anywhere and it’s meant to make other materials resistant to corrosion. No one should be using it in paint, let alone processing it.” The team let his words ring in their head before Hotch broke the silence.

“Garcia, look for MIT graduates who have worked with Lunacite and a background in fine arts.”

“Already way ahead of you chief, and deliciously, only one name fits the bill in every angle you can have it.” Their tech analyst who had been typing away then placed her laptop pointedly and turned it onto the round table for everyone to see. Everyone leans forward, but the BAU’s resident pretty boy is the one who says the name out loud.

“Y/N L/N.” On the screen is a put-together picture of you on various digital scans of your passport, driver’s license, doctoral degrees in Chemical Engineering and Anthropology, and undergrad degrees in both Philosophy and Sociology.

“Watch out, pretty boy. You may have just found your match.” Morgan’s comment is greeted with a few snickers, much to Spencer’s dismay.

------------

[ilove-adawong]

CAI BOTS - S.T.A.R.S Team Collection - ⭐️

I got bored and made a bunch of bots based off of the Stars team :) This blog may be a bit long so be warned before you open it if that annoys you!

Includes: Wesker, Chris, Jill, Leon, Rebecca (All gender neutral)

Albert Wesker - He's only soft with you (Link)

Wesker is a strict boss, not because he's 100% a cold man. He truly cares for his team, even if that means having to reprimand them for mistakes.

You were new to the team, but it didn't mean Wesker would be any less hard on you right? At least you thought so, every time you had been scolded or put to work by Wesker you would complain to your team about it. But they would tell you that you were lucky, he went easy on you. You didn't believe this because it didn't feel like Wesker was going easy on you.

Today you had woken up late, you were asked to stay last at the station last night filing all the reports that had come in, there had been a huge accident in the nearby area, so the team was busy. You practically had run into the station and into the S.T.A.R.S room, sitting down at your desk. Jill, one of your teammates gives you a knowing look, since both of you know Wesker would come out of his office anytime soon to talk to you.

Wesker walks out of his office, his eyes glued on you with an unreadable expression. The sunglasses made it harder to read his face. "[name]. You're late." He said simply.

You apologize to him, using the late night at the office as an excuse as to why you came in late. He stares down at you, as if thinking about your excuse and deeming it valid or not. "Very well, don't let it happen again." He said, walking back to his office.

Jill scoffs to herself, shaking her head slightly. "Not fair… I came in late last week and he gave me a write-up."

Chris Redfield - Crushing on the new team member (Link)

When you were introduced to the team Chris was excited, they hadn't had anyone new in about a year. Your first day comes by and you're attractive to say the least, no big deal to Chris. That's until the days go by, weeks, then a few months and the feelings don't go away. In fact they get worse, bigger and he's suddenly imagining how your lips would feel against his.

But he shakes those feeling off, he had never felt this way about anyone before. He had no idea what to do about them! He told his trusted friend, Jill, about them but all she did was laugh at him. Well, she did give some advice, but it was all go flirt them or ask them out and all of that sounded a little too crazy to him.

He'd rather keep staring at you subconsciously, or try and start conversation with you but instead it gets all awkward because Chris is stumbling over his words.

Today, Chris was on coffee duty, he had the list of coffee's in his hand. He delivers yours last so he could talk to you and hopefully say more than a couple sentences. "So… you a big coffee fan?" He said, awkwardly hovering by your desk.

Jill Valentine - Giving you a hard time (Link)

Today the team was gonna go into the shooting range to get some practice, of course Jill was already talking about how she was gonna do so much better than you.

You guy's had developed this playful rivalry where anytime you guys train, you try to outdo each other. Most of the time Jill comes out victorious because of her competitiveness. Not only is there competition between you guys, there's this unspoken tension, neither of you are bold enough to make the first move on each other but there's obvious attraction. You both know it, maybe it's another mini competition. Who breaks first and asks the other out? Well it was not gonna be you, she already beats you at most things, you had to win with this.

Training went by quickly, Jill again wins by beating you with 4 clean shots to the middle target. "Not much of a sharp-shooter are we…" Jill taunts playfully as you guys walk back to the station.

Leon Kennedy - Admiring the S.T.A.R.S team (Link)

Leon was very excited when he got accepted into the RPD, his dream was to be a police officer even if he had to move away from home to fulfil that dream.

The first month of him being there was going pretty good, everyone was nice and Leon figured he was doing a good job. What he wasn't aware about before joining was the S.T.A.R.S team working in the same station. It was full of ex-military personnel. This location was one of the 2 they worked in! And Leon felt lucky to be able to see them, he admired them. He found them insanely strong and hardworking. So much so he may have developed a little crush on of the team members.

[name], he saw you there a few times, getting coffee, walking the hallways, or coming into work. He thought you were attractive, and he also may have looked at your file. Your experience was no joke, and Leon couldn't tell if he wished to be with you or be you.

Today was a late night, some cops gave Leon their unfinished work to finish. And of course Leon wanting to please, said yes. This didn't go unnoticed by you, since you often worked late nights and found it weird to see the same blonde cop during the night. You knew it was the rookie since you'd never seen him before. And you already found the cops who worked here lazy and annoying. You took the opportunity to talk to him when he was in the break room making a coffee. "Hey, your name is Leon right?" You asked, although you already knew it was.

"Yeah! Tha- That's my name." He said, looking shocked, he didn't even hear you come in and his brain was fried from exhaustion. He didn't really expect you to talk to him, let alone right now.

Rebecca Chambers - Your friend helps you out (Link)

While you are a skilled solider, that doesn't mean that you aren't a bit clumsy. It's a well known fact by the entire team, during training or missions somehow you will manage to get hurt. Let it be a small cut or a huge bruise, luckily it hasn't been anything worse but that's only because Rebecca keeps you in check.

Even with her on your side protecting you, you will still manage to get hurt. She will still be there to tend to your wounds though.

Today the team was training, although it was more like playful fighting. Somehow you slip and you get a nasty scratch, blood and all. Of course Rebecca steps in, pulling you aside to properly clean your wound. "You haven't even let the last cut heal, and you already got a new one?" She says shaking her head. "Do I need to wrap you in bubble wrap?"

[royalsweetteaa]

Timeless lovin’ - pt. 3

Pairing: CATFA!40s!Steve Rogers x present!reader

18+ ONLY | MINORS DNI

WARNING - The following story contains: explicit smut, oral sex (F receiving), boob groping, dom!reader, Steve calls reader ma'am, sub!Steve, virgin!Steve, pet names, Steve has a praise kink, angst, fluff, developing feelings, spoilers, time skips, alternative reality, wingman!Bucky Barnes.

Pt. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Summary: Steve left for Peggy in the past, and you were determined to travel back in time and get answers after he left your relationship of 4 years behind him just like that. You get a little ahead of yourself and travel past where your Steve left off, and you meet Steve Rogers, - the man before he hit the ice and was frozen for 70 years.

Y/N’s POV

For the night, I decided to give it a rest and leave my issues for tomorrow, seeing as there wasn’t much else I could do now that I had walked away from Steve. It was a good thing that I was exhausted anyway, and a good night sleep was very much needed.

Throughout the night, I was a bit tempted to leave back to my time before the morning rose, but it felt like it would be too wasteful. I acknowledged I was extremely privileged for receiving the opportunity of traveling through time, and so why leave when I could spend one more day to witness the life of the 40s myself?

The next day I woke up earlier than most and set course to the nearest town from the military base. Soldiers greeted me along the way of getting to the gate, as news had spread that a new female 'soldier' had joined amongst the Howling Commandos and had been of great service for the previous mission.

It felt good to be acknowledged with smiles and nods as a form of respect, but there was also the whistles which still put me off guard. I wasn't quite used to it yet but it wasn't like it surprised me. Due to people's acknowledgement of me, I didn’t have to show my ID when I left, which was convenient.

I took the bus downtown and walked out at the stop of the plaza. It wasn’t busy this early in the morning, but thankfully some shops were open for me to explore.

For me it was mind boggling to think I was the only one in the whole world with the knowledge of what would happen the next 70 + years. Everyone was walking around with the war as their only concern, - not robot and alien invasions. I envied that a little.

40s!Steve POV

I knocked on Bucky’s door and rushed inside once I heard his voice of approval. He was sitting on his desk, going over some of his files. Cutting through the chase, I asked him, “Buck, have you seen Y/N?” hoping he would possibly know something.

Bucky turned around, “You mean the girl you haven’t told me a thing about? I may have overheard someone mentioning her whereabouts. Why?”

I felt a sense of relief when Bucky said he had heard she was still around. Good, she hadn’t returned to her time then.

But who knows when she will.

“It’s urgent…I need to talk to her.”

“Steve, you’ve never been this secretive with me. Have I done something to break our trust or what?” Bucky asked with confrontation, his arms crossed as he expected an explanation.

I sighed, understanding why my best friend was feeling left out, when it was just too complicated for me to bring him into it. I had promised Y/N to not speak of our situation, and while it was tempting to share it with Bucky, I knew it wasn’t the right time for that yet. Not when there was too much going on from before.

“I…listen, I can’t go into details right now but let’s just say this woman is very important to me and I have to find her cause she left me yesterday before we could clear things up, and I’m risking on loosing her if I don’t leave right now…”

Bucky’s eyes widened with surprise, “Woah, hold on, what happened last night?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I was growing more impatient, and luckily Bucky retorted immediately with, “Fine, we can save it for later. I overheard some guy by the gate say he got to have small talk with her and she told him she’ll be exploring downtown today cause she’s curious about the area, - something like that. Don’t know what could be interesting in downtown Dover but -!”

“Thanks Buck, I’ll see you later!” I interrupted him from finishing his sentence as I left to head for the gate and take a ride on my motorcycle.

Second person POV

You had bought an ice cream sundae and had a taste of delicious apple pie at a cafe, - something that tasted so fresh and homemade, it couldn’t compare to your time’s desserts. Why didn’t they make them like this anymore?

Oh right, because in present time, all they do is put chemicals in every single ingredient because it gives a ‘better colour’ or ‘makes it last longer’ despite increasing risks of cancer. Lovely.

As you were carrying your bag of bought items and walking around for some more, you heard the rumble of a motorcycle catching up to you from behind. You turned around out of habit to make sure you weren’t in the way, but when you saw who it was, you turned almost panicked.

You had at least wanted to be mentally prepared to be approached by Steve or approach him again, - not like this where you were halting with shopping bags in your hand as Steve parked his motorbike by the sidewalk to come over to you.

Out of grudge and stubbornness, you decided to keep walking, even when Steve was calling after you. Once he inevitably caught up, he had you confronted.

"Y/N, please stop running away from me." Steve called you out, and you eventually went full stop.

You wrapped your arms around yourself, feeling conflicted about the whole situation but you didn't want to be a coward anymore. You were going to tell him what was the issue.

"I’m not running away…- Steve, this was all a big mistake. I should have returned a long time ago before we..before all of this happened...” You gestured at the space between the two of you. “We’ve been around each other long enough. There's nothing else for me to do here."

"No, come on Y/N....don't say that." Steve pled, sadness spreading on his features. He reached out with the extra motorcycle helmet to you, “Come back to the base with me, please. I’d like to take this conversation there instead of here in the open. The last thing I want is a HYDRA spy listening in on us.”

You huffed but agreed, and took the helmet from his hands before sitting behind Steve on the motorcycle. He put your items into the trunk, and had you wrap your arms around him as he drove back, being welcomed with an open gate at the base.

Once you got off, he led you to a secluded area, behind the wall of a bunker, where no other person would have a reason to be at the moment.

You met his eyes when you turned to look at each other, expecting him to talk first, - and that he did.

“Y/N, I…I don’t want you to leave. Not like this anyway. Yesterday was…well, I quite frankly enjoyed our time spending together, and I didn’t see why…you had to leave so abruptly after we…you know…” Steve trailed off as his cheeks became red, “I-I thought we had a good time. Didn’t you?”

“You’re with Peggy.” You started off with your reasoning. “It isn’t…- it wasn’t right for me to do that. I’m sorry I did that. I really don’t want to be the other woman anymore..” You said the last part above a whisper, biting the inside of your cheek as you tried your best not to cry.

“…You’re not the other woman.” Steve said sternly. “Me and Peggy…we aren’t official. Never were. She’s always given me mixed signals, and while we’ve shared a few romantic moments, it hasn’t been remotely the same as the ones I’ve shared with you. I’ve never…we haven’t done anything like I have with you.” Steve put it in his own way, trying hard to speak without crudeness.

You scoffed, “Okay, so you haven’t had sex. So? That doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, you left me for her. How can you be so sure this will be any different?”

Steve’s body turned tense, and he slammed his fisted hand onto the iron wall of the bunker, causing it to bulge. That had really caught you off guard. “I didn’t leave you! He did. Everything you’ve told me about my future self, - I don’t recognize myself in him at all. He obviously went through certain things that changed him. That made him miss what he once called home and made him forget of what he had right in front of him! You can’t keep on pushing me away just because of his mistake.”

You couldn't look him in the eye as emotions were once again bottling up and you were scared it would spill out. Steve’s face softened, regretting he had been harsh with his tone, but he felt like it was necessary this time. He took your cheeks into the palm of his hands carefully.

“Y/N, please look at me…” Steve plead. “I used to think I loved Peggy too, but with you, I’ve learned it was purely platonic. I only have fondness for her because she was the first woman apart from my mother to care about me despite being the puny kid from Brooklyn. I was practically all alone before the serum, with everyone else being way ahead of me. Including Bucky, no matter how supportive he was of me. I don’t expect you to understand...” he said, his eyes trailing down to the ground.

You gathered the courage to look him in the eye again as you spoke, “…Yes, your experiences are yours only…but you were the first man to take me seriously and care about me too. I used to think I would stay single for the rest of my life because no man would look my way, but then you did. I guess that’s one of many reasons I haven’t been able to let go. I’m upset he made me believe I had a shot in ever lasting happiness.”

Steve stared at you then, not believing what he was hearing when he was taking in your appearance. “You do deserve ever lasting happiness as any other good woman...I don’t know what kind of light is blinding the men of your time, but your beauty is beyond graceful.”

You chuckled lightly, “....That’s...sweet of you to say, -”

“I’m serious.” His voice sharpened. “I want to get to know you. It has only been a few days and I’m feeling things I’ve never felt before. A feeling I don’t want to let go of, and if you feel the same, you will not go back.”

You sighed with stubbornness, not willing to easily let yourself go defeat. “I…-”

“Captain, I’m so sorry to disrupt, but Miss Carter has just returned from London and would like to meet you.” A soldier said out of breath, as if he had wandered around for some time to find Steve, and Steve cursed under his breath for the bad timing.

“I’ll be with her in a minute, thank you.” Steve politely responded, and the soldier left. He looked at you again and held your shoulders. “Please listen to me. Don’t leave for the future while I go talk to her, okay? I’ll tell her about us.”

You sighed once more, “Steve, I can’t stay here, -” You were disrupted from speaking when his lips connected with yours for a kiss. It was unexpected, but you easily melted into it as his soft lips made it impossible to resist. He was gentle as he held your body close to his, showing how much he didn’t want to let you go.

Once he actually did, he whispered, “Please,…stay.” Steve pleaded once again, his cheeks turning pink at the bold move he had just pulled, but he desperately wanted to prove to you his worthiness.

You held your gaze to his and accepted your defeat, “Okay, fine…It’s a bad idea but fine.”

“Thank you. You won’t regret it. And I’m sorry for…not asking for permission to kiss you. I just,…you know…I really want you to stay.”

You laughed while shaking your head. “Fine. I’ll be waiting for you then, Captain.”

Steve went on his way after that, letting out a huff as a proud smile formed on his lips.

His heart rate had increased and it wasn’t just because he had kissed you moments before, but because he left you wanting to get back to you as soon as possible. You had laughed at his awkwardness, - not mockingly but out of being charmed, and he felt confident on being himself around a woman for once.

He couldn’t say he’s been able to be himself like this with any other woman without receiving a weirded out frown, - including Peggy.

Speaking of Peggy, - Steve spotted her by the mechanics, and before Steve could even think out what he should say, her eyes had caught him and she waved at him with a smile. She had her suitcase in her grip and a folder under her other arm, which told Steve she had quite literally just arrived to the base.

When they got close enough to each other, Peggy greeted him, and Steve returned it, “Hi Peggy, welcome back.”

“Steve, how nice it is to see you again. It’s been a moment but I’m sure they won’t be needing me in London for a while, - not until we go through the next big mission anyway.” Peggy informed contently while placing her suitcase and folder on a nearby table.

“That’s good. Things aren’t the same when you aren’t around.” Steve said.

Peggy snorted at that. “I’m sure it isn’t. I heard the last mission went swiftly though. You’re getting the hang of it and it has only been, - I suppose a year? It’s impressive really.”

Steve smiled as he made short eye contact with her, “Thank you, and yeah, I take pride in my progress. But of course there’s always room for improvement...”

“You’re right about that.” Peggy said, and pulled a frown when she looked to the side at her folder, taken aback at how simply Steve was responding. She was used to his rambles whenever she initiated a conversation, but now he was being awfully reserved.

When she looked up again from her documents, she continued, “Something’s on your mind. I can tell. Is there something you want to tell me? Something that has happened?”

Steve's eyes didn't know where to stay a-put as he grew nervous, and it didn't help with how he knew Peggy could tell he was.

Peggy sighed, realizing she would have to take initiative to get whatever picked Steve's brain to come out verbally to her. “Come, let’s sit down, Steve.” Peggy proposed, and Steve accepted.

They sat down at whatever place was available since there were no chairs outside by the mechanics. Steve cleared his throat, not sure where to begin, but he found what he could start with before he spoke.

“Peggy…you know that you’re very important to me, and that I would never purposefully push you away, or hurt your feelings, right?” Steve asked, as he fiddled with his fingers.

Peggy slowly nodded as she looked at the man who could only maintain his eyes on the ground. “There’s a ‘but’ to this, isn’t there?”

Steve swallowed a lump down his throat as he hesitantly looked up at her, - his 'first love'.

“I may have fallen in love with someone else.”

Peggy blinked, “Oh..is that so?” She asked, surprised to say the least.

“Yeah…I guess I just wanted to let you know because I think it’s only fair. I know we were never official and all, but we didn’t exactly keep it friendly all the time so I…-…I won’t blame you if you stop talking to me or ask me to leave you alone. I know this is out of nowhere, - these feelings came to me unexpectedly too, but I’ve never felt anything like it…so that’s why I…- I want to hold onto these feelings with this woman. I wouldn’t help it if I otherwise ignore it…” Steve spoke his end.

Peggy inhaled through her nose as she stood up, quietly walking over to Steve. “Hey, look, - If this woman is special to you, I am not going to come in the way of your happiness, Steve. You will always find a friend in me if that’s how you want to maintain it.”

Steve’s face lit up as he looked up at Peggy, who had a matching calmness to her face as her voice. “Really? So you’re not upset?”

Peggy laughed as she stroked Steve’s cheek. “My skin is thicker than you think. I can assure you I will manage just fine. I’m not going to lie to you and say it doesn’t hurt me a little bit but…moping around doesn’t do any good. Winning this war will be my top priority to the end of it, and I’ll follow you as a fighter despite where your heart’s at.”

Steve’s lips formed into a smile of relief to Peggy’s response. “Thank you, Peggy...it's relieving to know I haven't lost you as a friend."

He stood up and the pair shared a friendly hug at last, one of which Steve felt going into peace with the fact that he had made this decision to follow you instead, who his heart was currently beating so hard for. Steve couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this closure would have helped future Steve to move past Peggy as he didn’t feel any regrets or as though he was missing out on something, - not when Peggy had said she still sees him as a friend in her life and that it didn’t have to be anything else.

It felt right.

So how come future Steve hadn’t felt the same?

When he left Peggy to go see you again, his mind was wandering as he tried to reason with, -…well, himself. With circumstances being so different, where he in the 40s was now aware that at one point he will be going to the future and possibly meet you and become lovers, - the idea didn’t frighten him anymore.

It led him to believe perhaps future Steve hadn’t ever been at peace with it all as it wasn’t like he was warned about it. No, he most definitely couldn’t have been.

The kind of closure he got from Peggy moments before is something he never would have gotten if you weren’t here.

There had to be something about that, Steve thought.

You waited for Steve by the bonfire that had been vacated by the soldiers as they were deployed on doing their assigned tasks till afternoon.

You stared into nothing while you were thinking of so many things, but before you could get too deep into these thoughts, a familiar voice came from behind you.

“Hey, there. Y/N, right?”

You turned around and weren’t surprised by who had greeted you.

Bucky.

Ever since you met him for the first time, you grew incredibly annoyed each time you saw his face on a news article or literally anywhere else.

You were familiar with him first after he became listed as a wanted target by S.H.I.E.L.D., but the two of you only met face to face after Steve left as you were desperate for answers. You reached out to the person who was closest to him, but he didn’t know anything of you as you and Steve had only become a couple within the years of which half of the population was gone. Amongst those was of course Bucky.

So when you finally met and you explained everything, you were so disappointed with his answer. Offended would probably be a better word to describe it.

“Look, I apologize on Steve’s behalf that he left you without at least saying goodbye, but you need to see it from his perspective. Steve had it all taken away from him of living the good life after fighting Second World War. And then he was pushed into all this mess of becoming an Avenger, saving me and fighting wars with aliens. I was involved in a lot of that so I know just how draining it was for him. Steve has always put everyone else before himself, and now that he had the chance to live the life he wanted, he had to take it. I think it’s best for you to let it rest and respect his choice. -

He deserves to be happy.”

All of your nerves were hit by the end of his ‘wise words’, yet you managed to silently leave the place in order not to loose control and choke the man. Not that you had a chance against the super soldier, but you were too angry not to entertain the thought. You tried to excuse him for seeming a bit out of it himself, but you still would have preferred a shrug for a response rather than that.

What a way to excuse him for leaving his girlfriend of 4 years with no indication of doing so instead of being, - you know, - a man and say it as it is.

Fuck my happiness I guess, you thought.

“Hello, James.” You greeted back with less enthusiasm.

“You can also call me -“

“- Bucky. I know.”

He frowned but dismissed your hinted attitude. “I have a feeling Steve didn’t tell you that.”

You narrowed an eye. “Oh?” Had Steve told him about who I really am?

“Yeah, Steve usually introduces me as James until I get a chance to introduce myself in my own charming way.” Bucky explained smugly as he sat beside you at the bonfire. "But I guess with everyone calling me that around here makes it harder for me to do that."

“Right…” You replied.

“So…It’s come to my attention you and Steve are close. Is that true?“ Bucky asked curiously.

You shrugged, “I suppose you could say that.”

“You know, Steve is a great guy. He’s got all the qualities you could want, - he's this big macho guy yet he's sensitive, as you can probably tell just by looking at him. He can be a little shy sometimes but I can assure you it’s only cause he finds you gorgeous. A gorgeous dame makes any man nervous after all. If you're looking for something serious, you can most definitely count on him, - unlike the most soldiers around here....” He said, snickering in the midst of his last sentence.

You had to chuckle. It was obvious to you what he was doing, being Steve’s best friend and all. You didn’t need him to tell you he had all these qualities when Steve was good at showing those himself, but you welcomed it as you found it entertaining.

Suddenly another someone made an appearance, that person being none other than Steve.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to disturb you two but I’ll have to borrow him for a bit.” Steve spoke while wrapping an arm around Bucky’s shoulder to lead him away. Once they got away from you far enough to be out of earshot, Steve glared at Bucky with concern.

“What are you doing?”

Bucky chuckled, “Nothing bud, I only put good words on ya. Figured I would give the lady some reassurance from someone who knows you the best. Maybe that will give the both of you a push and you’ll be sliding into second base in no time.” Bucky said, smirking at Steve who was left to blush with embarrassment.

“You don’t need to do that…I have it under control.” Steve mumbled. “I’m not a puny kid anymore. I can take hold of things myself now, including my love life.”

Bucky chuckled, “Hey, I’m sure you can but having a wingman is always useful, don’t you think? You lack experience despite how buffed up you have become. You’re still a virgin, aren’t you? Unless…?”

Steve gulped nervously, knowing full well lying out of the topic wouldn’t save him as Bucky could always tell when he wasn’t telling the truth. “I’m not about to answer that.”

Bucky laughed, “I know damn well Peggy and you haven’t gone beyond making out. I’m pretty sure I heard from someone that she’s one to wait until marriage. So come on, tell me. You’re killing me here.” Bucky begged, almost whining for an answer at this point.

Steve sighed as he tried to be as discreet as possible with his words without saying too much. “I haven’t -…you know…gone through intercourse, but I might have done something else.”

Bucky looked back at the woman again. “With her? You two did something last night, didn’t you?” Steve nodded hesitantly. “Damn, Steve I’m so proud of you! You’ve passed third base! That must mean the two of you are serious serious. Can’t believe you’ve never mentioned her before.”

Steve pushed Bucky’s arm, “Keep it down, will you? You’re practically shouting.”

“Hey, I’m just proud of you. You’re finally taking big steps.” Bucky pointed out. “With Peggy it was taking forever for the two of you to even kiss each other’s cheeks, - which speaking of which, are you over her? Have you told her?”

“I did tell her actually, only a few minutes ago…she was very mature about it and honestly, I admire that a lot of her.” Steve said, smiling to himself as the reminder that they were still on good terms was nice to him.

“But that might have been the problem.” Bucky added, “I noticed there was no real spark whenever you were together. Too much admiring and ‘looking up to’. You two were always…too polite with each other. I kind of knew by looking at the two of you that it wasn't going to go anywhere beyond friendship.”

“Really?” Steve asked, surprised to be hearing that. It was sending him in a spiral of questions and theories. Because he was aware that somewhere, there would be exactly that, - something beyond friendship. Him and Peggy being together with commitment. So why would Bucky say that? Had Bucky from a different timeline where Peggy and him did end up together share the same opinion?

Steve's head started to hurt the more he overthought it. Gosh, was it exhausting to be aware of these things, Steve thought.

Steve returned back to you after sending Bucky to the rest of the team, hoping this would be last interruption between the two of you.

“I’m sorry about that, Bucky is a bit…extra sometimes.” Steve excused.

You smirked, “It’s fine, he only said good things about you.”

“So he claimed…” Steve chuckled nervously. “I told her.” He apprised.

“Okay…so you’re done with her? Just like that?”

“We are still good friends, - but in the way you're thinking, yes..." Steve confirmed, his eyes shimmering almost nervously. "Are you now convinced you want to give us a try?”

You looked down, staring at the fire which was dying at this point. “Maybe,…I’m not sure where we should go with this. I don’t exactly belong here.”

“Is there...anyone you’ll be missing if you stayed? Family, friends?” Steve asked carefully.

You narrowed an eyebrow, "Are you implying I should stay here, Steve? In the 40s?"

"Would it be so bad?" Steve asked, expressing worry from perhaps suggesting the far fetched. "I know your time is way more advanced and impressive, but...- I'll make sure you have everything you need. I'll help in any way for you to adjust...and if it still doesn't work for you then..."

"- Then I'll go back, and try to move on. And so will you." You completed his sentence, though it wasn't the same words Steve would've used.

He gulped but nodded understandingly. "Yes. Exactly that."

You half-smiled sympathetically, hinting your sadness. "I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't want to have our feelings hurt more than necessary. We still have time to figure out and decide what we do, but you understand why we need to draw a line, right? If it doesn't work out, we call it quits."

Steve nodded again, “I understand…but that doesn’t mean I’ll promise I won’t allow myself to fall for you. Besides…I believe I’m already falling as we speak. There’s usually no return from a fall.” He said, almost poetically but it didn’t sound like he had put it together on purpose. He was just being his charming self.

“If you keep talking like that, I might stumble over the edge too.” You said with a wink. Steve laughed at that, and returned a cheeky grin.

From there, you decided to walk back to center base. There was a long silence on the way, where you simply observed the environment. When you got close to your assigned rooms though, Steve broke the appreciated silence.

“Uh, Y/N?”

“Yeah?” You asked, turning to look at him with curiosity.

“I had a thought and....- before we call it a night, I was wondering if...I could return the favor?" You stared at him, confused at what he was trying to insinuate. "I want to do what you did to me yesterday…but to you..” Steve whispered his clarification in your ear. “I-If I may..”

“You mean…you want to go down on me?” You asked as you bit your lip. You had figured as much that the concept of oral sex didn’t have its own descriptions in the 40s, which explained Steve’s lack of dirty talk.

Or maybe he was just like this.

Regardless, you loved it.

”Yes….I want to return the favor to the prettiest woman in the world.”

“Now you’re reaching it.” You giggled, humored.

“Am not.” He said with a slight pout.

You bit your lip, “Well, if you’d like…we could take this further in my bedroom this time….would you like that?” You asked innocently, but Steve knew it was anything but.

“Very…” he responded, sounding out of breath but he was simply overwhelmed.

At his reply, you hurried to your room with Steve behind you, making sure you were in the clear before you quickly entered the door and closed it behind you, locking it. You didn't leave Steve waiting as you climbed on him, Steve taking it as cue to hold you up as you started doing what he least expected, - have his neck and earlobe attacked with sucks and kisses. He whines when you suck for longer periods, but turns his head further away to give you full access. He backs over to your bed, his hands holding firmer around your ass as he lies down, leaving you on top of him to do whatever you please.

You unbutton his uniform jacket, leaving him in his white shirt. His nipples poke through the thin fabric, making it irresistible for you not to pinch them a little as you continue marking his neck with hickeys. His mouth slips out a cry, and you hush him, reminding him he has to be more quiet.

“Please, kiss me…” Steve pleaded, and you stopped what you were doing at his simple, yet heart fluttering request.

“Why should I do that, Steve?” You asked teasingly, pulling back to look at him again.

“Because I want to feel that feeling again,” he breathed out. “-- That feeling that tells me how right this is..- how right we are.”

Your heart skipped the hardest beat at his words. It was as if you were falling in love all over again, though this time there was so, so much more passion. Stronger than the first time.

And It scared you, but at the same time it pulled you closer to him. It made you think that perhaps this Steve could pull you even closer than your Steve.

No. Not your Steve anymore.

The man in front of you was becoming more ‘your Steve’ than Steve from your present could ever be, and it had only been days.

You pulled him by his collar and smashed your lips onto his, making out heavily with him. He held your waist with both of his hands, needing to hold onto something as he tried not to squirm too much. Whenever you pulled away for air, you saw for yourself how empty headed you had turned him. He was panting breathlessly, his face bright red from all of the sensations you were giving him. You smiled, pecking his lips lastly before you started to undress, making Steve's eyes go wide as he was brought back to reality.

Seductively and slowly you removed your jacket, revealing your white silky shirt. Once that was off, you removed your bra too, revealing your bare breasts. Steve was in awe, his eyes becoming relaxed for once as he stared at them.

No porn magazine could ever compare to the real deal... went a thought through Steve's mind.

Carefully you took his hands from your hips and placed them on your breasts, making his breath hitch as he felt the softness of it.

"Feel them, Steve...you're allowed to." You assured him. He swallowed before firmly groping them in his palms, squeezing them out of fascination.

He took a deep breath, trying to loosen up, "I...oh god, I can't believe this is happening.."

You made a concerned face from what he had just said, and you had to ask, "Do you want to take a break, Steve? Cause if this is too much -!"

"N-No!" Steve interrupted you hastily, "No...I just...I'm mesmerized, that's all...you’re so beautiful…you look like a goddess…”, he whispered as he took in your body in front of him.

You grinned, and watched as his thumbs curiously rubbed against your hardening nipples. You hadn't had anyone touch you like this for a long time, so you couldn't help but let out a soft moan as you felt your arousal between your legs grow. Steve groaned in response, feeling his own arousal rise at the sound that had just slipped out from your lips.

You removed yourself off of him all of a sudden, making him freeze from confusion.

"I have to take off my skirt and panties, otherwise I'll soak right through them..." You explained as you had caught his reaction, and that made him sink his shoulders with relief. Just a little bit.

Before Steve could even process it, you were fully undressed in front of him with everything on display as he got a small glimpse of your pussy with your legs closed. You smirked, not only because of his shuddering response but also from seeing his raging boner making a tent through his trousers.

When you spread your legs revealing your cunt, Steve let out a sharp exhale as he mumbled something in the lines of, ‘Oh heavens..’ He had never seen female genitalia before, - not face to face anyway. With a nod of approval from you, he bowed down and got closer to it, the arousing smell hitting him like a wave. He licked his lips, wanting nothing more but to have a taste and a feel of it.

His hopes were answered as you spoke up, “Go on, baby…make me feel good…”

“Yes, ma’am…” he responded, following the same pattern you had done on his cock which was to touch you first.

He touched your cunt lightly at first, having his fingertips gracefully stroke over the sensitive flesh. His sharp ears heard your breathing hitching when he touched particular spots, - the spots being your hole and at the top where there was what looked like a tiny pearl to Steve.

Your hand reached down to touch at the spot he had first touched, and you explained, “this is my clit…it’s the most sensitive part of my pussy, and if you keep rubbing it, I’ll get more wet..”

Steve hummed with fascination, and he mimicked the motion. When he rubbed your clit in a circular motion, he heard mewls slipping out of your mouth, making him turn flushed at the lewd noises.

"Your flower is so pretty, Y/N.." Steve commented huskily. Before you could say anything, Steve used his other hand to pay attention to your hole. He curiously spread your pussy lips apart before he carefully inserted his index finger in, wriggling his way to get it in there, - though your pussy juice was more than helpful as lube.

He began to pump his finger in a slow pace while still working on your clit, causing you to occasionally jolt. Bucky had shared plenty of advice on how to pleasure a woman, and to Steve's delight it seemed like those instructions worked like a dream based on your reactions.

He still had to ask, “I’m not hurting you, am I?…” worried your twitching was of pain, but the way you were moaning said otherwise.

“No, you’re doing so good…ngh, you're a natural, Steve...keep on shoving that thick finger of yours inside of me…” you instructed him, and he did so with quicker thrusts.

The quicker he thrusted, the more wetter you became. Steve licked his lips instinctively, and without asking, he pulled out his finger causing you to whine at its absence.

He was too eager to put his mouth on you, first flattening his tongue so he could flick it all over your folds and clit while his finger did the work below. You mewled loudly and slapped a hand onto your mouth, not wanting to let out more noises for others outside to hear.

“Y-You taste so good…I think…mmh I might get drunk on your juices alone…so addictive..” he spoke through his breaks before he dove in for more. The taste was so sweet to his tastebuds, it was driving him insane. He was leisurely humping against the mattress now, grinding his clothed dick along the sheets as he got off on pleasuring you. His tongue explored everywhere, - from the source of your wetness to around your folds and then at your sensitive nub.

“Ohh, you’re doing such a good job, baby…” you praised through high pitched moans. “…keep using your tongue…want you to tongue-fuck me..push your tongue inside of me, sweet boy…” you began to repeat your plea with desperation.

Your vulgar descriptions of activities and the pet names was only adding to Steve's maxed out lust. You were so fierce and exploring compared to him, given that you come from a society where that is more socially acceptable.

And Steve loved it. He felt confident with your praises and with your guidance. He wasn’t as scared as he thought he would be when experimenting with sexual activities such as this. He felt comfortable.

His fingers parted your folds carefully before his tongue dived into your quivering heat. You wither as Steve's tongue laves at your cunt, pushing the warm, wet muscle of his tongue into your tight core.

“Aaah! Such a good boy…oh fuck, Steve!” You fisted his hair, pushing his head closer as you began to grind against his face, and Steve happily accepted it. He was close himself, uncontrollably rolling his hips against the mattress as he pleasured you.

You whimper when Steve's finger finds your g-spot, and by your physical reaction he continues to thrust his finger at the same angle, seeing you fall apart in front of him.

"Holy shit, I'm cumming, Steve!!" You howled, quickly shoving your pillow over your face as you came, your orgasm hitting you like a wave. Steve drank you up as he hummed against your core, letting out a long-drawn moan of his own before he came in his pants. He panted against you, his hips coming to a halt as he looked up, his hair almost in the way of his eyes due to how messy you had made it.

“D-Did I do good, ma’am?” He asked, dazed, but desperate to know the answer.

You let out a breathless laugh before raising your head, “You did more than good,” you praised him as you cupped his cheeks and brought him forward for a heated kiss. He was in awe, and with his slacked jaw you slipped your tongue into his mouth, going in for another but shorter make out session. “You were perfect.” You specified further, making him squirm at the praise.

He had a praise kink alright, you thought.

As he rose up, you noticed the huge wet patch on his trouser with its sticky texture that had come on the sheets.

“Aw, did you cum?" You cooed the question. "What a mess you made…”

“Well, can you blame me?…” Steve spoke shyly, lowering his gaze out of embarrassment. “How could I not get aroused when you’re in front of me, naked, - especially after having a taste of your flower. It was beyond intoxicating..”

You chuckled, bringing Steve in to rest his head on your stomach with his arms wrapping around you as there was no pillow for him to use. You couldn’t help but snort after some silence, causing Steve to look up with curiosity as to what you found so funny.

“Why do you call pussy ‘flower’, Steve? I’ve never heard that one before.” You asked him, sharing the thought that you found amusing.

Steve looked away, turning sheepish again but he was more than willing to explain as there was a reason behind it. “Um…you see, my mother used to call female genitalia that to not ruin my innocence. I was 9 when I asked about what makes girls and boys different, and she told me girls have flowers that bloom and boys have tools that…turn more functional I guess? She never went down the details because she knew I would learn eventually. But since then, I’ve always called it that, - but it’s not like I talk about female genitalia often. Bucky mocks me all the time and corrects me by calling it a 'cunt’…but I’ve never liked that word. It sounds too crass for me…it just doesn’t sound nice. Female genitalia deserves to be called something more respectable I think,...- something pretty.” He said.

You hummed contently, “Mm, I like that a lot. Don’t stop calling my pussy a flower.” You grinned, slipping out a chuckle but it was out of adoration, not mockery. He turned to look at you, surprised with your response but glad you found it endearing.

“You know, I could never talk about this to any other woman. Somehow, you make me feel comfortable talking about anything..it just feels so natural to blurt things out to you without a second thought.” Steve shared, tightening his grip around you, and you smiled, putting your hand on his hair to play with it.

With a pleased expression, you responded with “I feel the same.”

You laid quiet for a while, until you felt Steve's weight leave you as he rose up, “I suppose I should leave to my room then…before it gets late and people start swarming in the hallway. Least I’d want is to be caught fooling around when I’m in service.” Steve reasoned, but he was making that face, as though the idea of having to leave was upsetting him a little.

“Or…” you trailed with another option in mind. “- you could just stay here with me. We can sleep together...unless you have other work to do?”

Steve’s eyes widened with surprise of your proposal, “…Um, yes, - I mean no! I don’t have more work for tonight…and uh, only if you don’t mind,..yes, I’d love to sleep with you…in your bed. - With you..”

You laughed, pulling him back in and having him beside you this time as you pulled the covers over the two of you.

You cupped his cheek, kissing his forehead which made him have to hold back a wide grin while you still chuckled.

“You’re such a big dork, Steve.”

The sun barely lit up through the closed blinds, but the commotion going around outside was loud enough to wake you up. Your eyes flickered open, and you saw Steve, already awake with his upper body risen against the headboard.

"Morning, doll..." Steve greeted you, then turned back to his sketch book he had in front of him. You greeted him back through a yawn.

“Wow, what a pretty drawing…” you murmured with your morning voice, holding an arm around Steve as you saw him adding shade.

It was a sketched portrait of you in your sleep. You could assume he had been up a while with how far he was with the drawing process.

He smiled, “The beauty comes from the motive beside me, doll..”

“Ha! You didn’t include all my flaws in the piece, that’s why.” You joked a little with your insecurities.

“What flaws?” He asked, turning to you confused, and you laughed, thinking he was trying to be smug. “No seriously, tell me what I’m missing cause I’m pretty sure I added every single detail…”

You shrugged as you pulled some hair strands away from your face. “I don’t look that pretty when I’m sleeping. My hair is usually messier and I’ve been told I sometimes drool in my sleep, which..- yep, I’m spotting a wet patch on your shirt...” you sighed. “Sorry about that…”

“It’s okay, I think it’s kind of cute actually…” Steve spoke softly. “And your mouth was shut when I started drawing, but adding a little drool could bring more life to the drawing.”

“Don’t add it, it’s fine.” You said, slapping his hand away playfully from having him do any changes.

He put his sketch book down and turned his body to you while rubbing his eye. “Gosh, I can’t believe you had me staying in your bed. I’m surprised we managed to sleep with the little space we have.”

“We were close enough to make it comfortable.” You said with a smirk.

He hummed as he started to think. “I feel like…I’ve known you my whole life, yet I don’t know a lot about you apart from things involving future me.” He said, guilt featuring in his face.

He raised his upper body up again as a sudden realization dawned upon him. “Where are my manners, I haven’t even asked you out for dinner, a-and we’ve been so intimate already…we’ve touched and….’tasted' each other’s genitals without going on a first date. - essentially I’m an awful man.”

You pulled him to lay back again and had his face in the palm of your hands, making him look at you as you spoke up, “Hey, don’t say that. It’s not a big deal for me. Well, it would still be nice to go out but you don’t have to worry about giving into your sexual cravings with me. I was the one to engage in oral sex with you first time around and what you did to me yesterday was so wonderful too…” you reassured tenderly. “You’re such a sweet man, Steve. You were such a gentleman, putting my pleasure first before you came yourself. I adore you. I really do...” your tone became more whispery with each sentence as you closed in to Steve’s lips, stroking his bicep with comfort.

He looked into your eyes through his lashes, then at your lips, hoping you will reward him with a kiss. With the way you were closing in, he knew he was getting what he wanted so much.

“I adore you too, doll…” he said, a second before you put his lips onto his.

It lasted moments until you decided it was enough to keep you non affectionate for the rest of the day as anything different wouldn’t be ideal at all. Steve was very busy that day and the week onward, but he kept his promise of taking you out when they set him free on one of the weekends. Through the lunches and dinners Steve took you out to, you had been able to connect better through temporarily leaving behind the elephant in the room. Since you were in public, you focused on getting to know each other without putting anything out there about your time travel business and future predictions. You were getting better settled into the environment in the process, and with Steve it was easy to feel like you belonged.

Steve asked you about your hobbies and interests, where and how you were raised, and about your accomplishments and failures. He seemed genuinely interested about learning everything there is to learn about you, his back hunched with his elbows on the table as he tuned in to listen about your life. It was nice how little he made it about himself, though you couldn't help but feel bad that he couldn't tell much about himself without you already knowing it. So instead, you asked him personal questions, - things the Steve from your timeline probably had forgotten to mention as it was far in the past.

After all, you had only recently learned Steve liked to draw and was a self thought artist, - a very talented one at that. Surely there was more to know about the Steve in front of you.

"Tell me...about your biggest fear, Steve. What makes you scared the most?" You asked. The question had put him on the spot, but you were curious.

After the blip and Steve had claimed you as his girlfriend, you had asked this question to him once. You had been restless like the rest of the world, wondering how you could move onward after something so catastrophic. You had a hard time finding your place in the new ordered world, and with that you developed new fears. Did a hero like Steve also have similar fears? Steve hadn't really answered that question when asked, only muttering something along the lines of 'I don't know...no possible fear of mine can top what has happened anyway.'

"That's an interesting question." Steve started, "Uh, I suppose...being useless is my biggest fear. Me being gifted with the super soldier serum in hopes of bringing justice to the world has made me think of what other importance I would have once justice is served. I want to be of good use, but what more use do I have once the world is all good?"

You gave it a thought for a moment, reaching out to hold his hand as you held your gaze, "Steve...you want the world to be a good place, right?"

Steve nodded without hesitation, returning the grip affectionately, "Of course I do. I know it might sound like I don't with what I just said but...well, it's hard putting words to how I feel without sounding a little selfish.."

You hummed, smiling reassuringly. "That's fine, I understand. Realistically speaking, the world will never be such anyway. With rising good also rises evil. There's no stopping it no matter how much we endorse good, so you don't have to worry about ending up as only a mere symbol of justice. There will always be work to do all over the world." You said. "And even if major threats such as HYDRA don't rise up again, you being there for people and giving them a reason to keep fighting will serve a purpose in itself. No one is ever useless if they contribute keeping peace around the world."

Steve smiled, looking down at your hands as he intertwined his fingertips in yours. "You're right. I think...I'm letting my insecurities get the better of me, but hearing something so reasonable helps a lot. Hearing that from you especially is...reassuring, for reasons I shall not mention in public." He said, suppressing a grin as he looked behind him cautiously.

You shook your head in midst of laughing. Steve was full of humor despite an ongoing war happening. He has made you laugh in numerous occasions and you haven't been together for that long. You really, really liked him, you had realized, - 'like' was perhaps an understatement.

The following weeks consisted of a routine of which you quickly got used to. Through most of the day you would observe what the Howling Commandos were up to, hanging around Steve's arm when you were allowed to invade space.

Thankfully you hadn't run into Peggy as she had her own separate schedule to follow. It wasn't like you were scared of bumping into her, but you couldn't handle an awkward conversation with that woman, where it would break down to the fact that you were the reasoning for Steve 'friend-zoning' her.

A wicked part of you took pride of reclaiming Steve's attention from Peggy, but you knew it wasn't Peggy who you should be mad at for what Steve from your timeline did. He chose to go back to her, and she was long dead when he made that decision. There was no way you were going to make enemies with her, - it would be too pitiful of you.

You stayed another two weeks in Delaware base, Steve and his soldiers following through their routines before you set course to Houston military base Texas, taking 3 days to get to by train. The beginning of December welcomed you in your arrival, and there you were to prepare for your transportation to Europe where the Howling Commandos would continue their mission of putting down the remaining HYDRA bases, as well as taking HYDRA down all together.

Dr Zola and Johann Schmidt - otherwise known as the Red Skull were still out there somewhere, and there was no doubt that the HYDRA ideology would be kept alive if they were left loose.

You knew that for a fact that it would anyway, knowing Dr Zola would make his way through S.H.I.E.L.D and contribute in compromising the agency.

When you were alone, you kept yourself occupied with Genesis, reading through upcoming events. While most events were insignificant, there was a particular event that had caught your eye, making your blood turn cold.

January 4th, 1945. - James Buchanan Barnes presumed death by accident mid-mission of capturing Dr Zola.

Oh no...

This was one of the biggest life changing events of Steve's life and it was approaching within weeks.

You tried not to let it haunt you too much. There was still time to consider how you were to interfere in that situation, - if you were to interfere at all. You didn't want to worry Steve either, especially when Christmas was around the corner.

The Christmas celebration was simple, yet so lively because of the soldiers. You could spot cheap, - clumsily put together Christmas decorations everywhere around the base, but it had its own charm. The real Christmas spirit came from the people you were surrounded with. You made small talk with the members of the Howling Commandos, - members such as Dum Dum who you knew was a well respected man among them. He was keen on having you share about your relationship with 'The Captain', but you only responded like a smartass, giving away little input about it. He was halfway drunk and didn't seem to mind though, - only finding you entertaining.

As you gained more attention from the members, Steve saved you by pulling you away, asking you, "May I dance with you, miss?"

You smirked, "Can you even dance, Captain?"

"If you take the lead, I might get the hang of it." Steve answered cockily, his confidence sparked from the 6 glasses of whiskey he drank. While alcohol barely affected his soberness, it sure made him feel lighter from his usual nervousness.

You found yourselves matching to the rhythm of the music being played by the musicians on stage, - classical Christmas carols being played on repeat. While it wasn't perfect dancing and unorthodox of you to take the lead as a woman, you enjoyed yourselves, occasionally laughing at how silly you were being. It wasn't like you were the only ones being silly, - half of the people dancing were drunk and making a fool of themselves too. It was all harmless fun.

No gifts were exchanged, but the free turkey serving made up for a pleasant Christmas celebration at a military base. After a couple of shots, your drunk self grew sleepy and Steve being the gentleman he is brought you back safely to your room.

Of course you didn't let him leave you too easily as your arms clung to him, begging him to stay. He couldn't resist you even if he tried.

The day after came and you were leaving for Europe. While dealing with your day after hangover, you made sure you had everything with you, most importantly Genesis and the suitcase which had the Stark industries logo removed by you for some time. Steve had you close to him, from when you first packed your stuff till boarding of the aircraft. He was also with you for the duration of the whole flight, sitting beside you and only turning to Bucky a few times who sat behind you for short conversations.

You didn't miss the exchanged smirks between the two men, making you internally laugh at how boyish they were being. It was the equivalent of two high school girls being excited for the other over a text from a crush. You decided to be bold and lean your head on Steve's shoulder, pretending you were going to take a nap. The sound of someone choking on their spit came from behind and you snorted, something that went unnoticed by Steve as he tried not to turn red again.

Snickers and chuckles from the soldiers sitting aisles back became background noise of the loud turboprop sound, and Steve couldn't do much other than bear it for the sake of you 'resting'.

The time of the long flight passed quicker than you anticipated, and you now found yourselves in northern Italy, in the very same country where the Howling Commandos made their first print.

People were held busy as, according to Steve, this area had been reclaimed from HYDRA only months ago, and now they were enforcing the place to make sure it stays that way.

Steve led you to a huge tent, which was personally set up to accommodate members of the Howling Commandos. That left less privacy than previously, but it wasn't like you and Steve had plans to go about your sexual conquests around this time. For the two of you, it only meant you had to go elsewhere to talk, to prevent slipping out confidential information.

That was why when everything was dropped by your designated bunker beds, Steve led you to a nearby abandoned church, which was only down a trail of the military base. While there was no power when you stepped inside, there were candles lighten up by the huge icons which gave the place a cozy vibe to it. Steve walked over and lit a candle himself, placing it carefully by the others before he sat beside you at the bench furthest back and pulled up his sketch book to draw. You watched as he started drawing a few lines while talking about all kinds of things, such as how it was for him to be here first time around when he was on U.S.O tour but then took the turn of rescuing soldiers and destroying the first HYDRA base; the foundation of him becoming the hero, - Captain America.

He had a smile plastered on his face as he talked passionately about how it was to finally be of use and rescue the soldiers, which also founded the Howling Commandos. How he was thankful for being able to save his best friend from whatever HYDRA was going to do with him.

Oh that's right...Bucky received HYDRA's mild super soldier serum at the HYDRA base in Anzano... Did Steve not know this now? You began to wonder. Seems like he didn't.

You moved the conversation forward before you considered speaking up about that, and a sudden question popped in your mind.

"Where has Peggy been all this time?"

"She's been around when we were in Delaware and Houston, though I believe she's in New York now, with Harold Stark. We had claimed HYDRA technology last time we were here and it was taken back to America for inspection." Steve shared the information he had on top of his head. "Why do you ask?"

You shrugged, "I don't know, I guess I'm surprised I haven't bumped into her once...she wasn't with us at the Christmas gathering."

"She was there." Steve clarified, which made you stiffen. "I suppose you didn't notice her. She only came by to wish us a merry Christmas before she went on her way."

"Does she know who I am? That it's me you're mingling with?"

"She hasn't asked after your name or any of that, but I can only guess she knows it's you since you're the only other woman here doing active service...she knows I'm not getting myself out there so she might put two and two together.." He closed his sketch book just then, putting it aside as he gave you full attention. "Why so curious about her all of a sudden?"

"No particular reason...I've been mentally preparing myself for the moment we inevitably meet each other, and I'm just surprised it has lasted so long without it ever coming." You explained.

Steve chuckled at that, pulling you into his embrace as he gave the top of your head a kiss. "She's not going to bite your head off if that's what you're worried about...if anything I imagine you two getting along well. You're both strong, highly intelligent women, it would only be natural."

You huffed and rolled your eyes, "I'm not scared of her. It's just weird you know...to be within reach of the woman I envied for two years because I learned she has something I don't have..."

"Hm.." Steve hummed quietly. His face turned sad when he realized what the meaning behind your statement was. "I'm not going to judge you if you feel...'uncertain' about yourself...but there's nothing Peggy has of her character and appearance that is superior to your own." Steve assured while stroking your back. "I have been thinking about it a lot about your situation and...I may have worked up a theory based on some logic, if I can call it that...I think the reason Steve from the future left was because the lack of belonging and familiarity, as well as him thinking too much about what he had potentially missed out on...he didn't have anyone tell him what he had to prepare himself for. That there would be a matter of time-traveling to the future. That is what makes our situation so different. I know some of the basics of what will happen and to be honest...I don't feel worried about it as much as I probably should be...knowing that I'll meet you and keep being of service, and getting to see the advanced world is...exciting? It's hard to put words on it really."

"I'll agree that is the most logical reason so far...but the more I'm with you, the less am I looking for an explanation. He left and...there's that...." Your face lit up when you processed what he had said last, and you tilted your head to meet his eyes. "Do you really mean that though? You'd be excited to meet me in the future?"

"Of course, doll..." Steve confirmed softly, "If I do appear in the future, we can at least continue our relationship from there. Maybe I'll cheat with my knowledge and meet you a few years earlier, so we can hit it off together with a head start. You can show me around, help me get settled, just like I've helped you settle here. It'll all be the same, just switched up circumstances. That sounds nice, doesn't it?"

""...I appreciate you sharing that with me, Steve. But I hope you realize, it most likely won't be me you're meeting."

Steve frowned, although he was a little zoned out and the sentence hadn't fully registered in his mind, so he asked, "What do you mean?"

You decided to stand up from the bench just then, dismissively shaking head, "It's...I'll explain it another time...It's getting late don't you think? We should rest." You suggested with a tight smile.

"I mean, we had a long flight, sure but...it's only 06:30 PM?"

You became silent, only letting out a sigh as if you had held your breath a little too much during the whole conversation. Steve grew worried, and so he stood up himself to come over to you and touched your shoulder.

"Doll, what's going on? You have been acting...kind of strange, - more like different the past week. As if something is bugging you." Steve spoke observingly. "Is everything alright?"

"Steve, I..." You started as you swallowed a lump down your throat. "I checked up with Genesis about upcoming events and...something bad is going to happen soon.."

N/A One more chapter and an epilogue to go! The stakes are getting higher. >>

Feedback and reblogs are very appreciated to help me complete this story! Thank you for reading! <3

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello again Steph! I actually love long fics and especially series. I wanted to know whether you could suggest me some. Feels like an addict though 😅 whenever I complete a series or a particularly long fic, it fills me with a longing. I don't know how to manage these all.😐

Hi Lovely!!!!

First off, I know you sent this like MONTHS (maybe a year?) ago, and I apologize because I saw this ask, and went "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!" not realizing the SCOPE of what I just did to myself, LOL.

To start light, I've a TONNE of long fics, which you can check out on these lists below:

Single Chapter Fics Over 20K

Novella Length Fics: 20 to 25K (Oct 2020)

Novella Length Fics: 25 to 50K (Aug. 2019)

Novella Length Fics: 25 to 50K Pt 2 (July 2022)

Novel Length Fics: 50 to 100K (Nov. 2018)

Novel Length Fics: 50 to 100K Pt 2 (May 2020)

Novel Length Fics: 50 to 100K Pt 3 (Jul 2022)

Novel Length Fics: 50 to 100K Pt 4 (Mar 2024)

Novel Length Fics: 100K+ w. (May 2019)

Novel Length Fics: 100K+ w. Pt 2 (Aug 2020)

Novel Length Fics: 100K+ w. Pt 3 [MFL’s] (Dec 2020)

Long Domestic Johnlock (50K+ w.) (March 2023)

Novel-Length, Not-So-Angsty Recs for Newbies

Now for the challenge! I went through ALL my bookmarks, pulled all the fics that are part of series, and then made NEW entries specifically for Series of Fics, and I am currently putting together the MONSTER list that will be the MFL list.

This is what took so long!! I had to RE-FILE all my bookmarks that were part of series,

All the series on this list have fics I have read in them, but NOT NECESSARILY read the entire series, so take that as you will. And another heads up, in these entries below, when I mark "Series WiP" that ONLY means that the series was marked as incomplete on the Works page, chances are all the stories in the series are complete and can still be read in full.

AND FINALLY, because you asked for "Long fics" (and because I have too many links on this post to post it), I pulled out all the fic series that, as whole, jumped over 50K so you have endless hours of series goodness! So.... Enjoy???

Note, I'll be posting the short-series list next week, and as always, if you have a series you want to share, let me know and I'll add it to the monster MFL list I'm putting together. This list is ONLY for bookmarked series and will NOT be added to!!! Sorry!!!

Hope y'all enjoy!

====

FIC SERIES Pt 1: Bookmarked Full & Oneshot Series Over 50K

The Pieces that Fall to Earth Series by Itsallfine (M, 50,188+ w. across 2 works || Series WIP || Post-S4, Epistolary, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Family, Coming Out, Questioning Sexuality, Love Confessions, Implied Alcohol Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Internalized Homophobia, Developing Relationship, Past Abuse,, Happy Endings, Fluff) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most.

The Homecoming Series by sussexbound (M, 51,744 w. across 12 stories, WIP || Domestics, PTSD, Love Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling, Jealousy, Family Issues) – Sometimes home is all you need. After three years of horror, betrayals, and crushing loss, John and Sherlock find their way back home to one another, and together find new footing in a world that has changed forever.

When to Let Go Series by KendylGirl (M, 55,248+ w. across 6 works || Series WiP || S1/S2 Compliant, Reverse Reichenbach, Angst, Friendship/Love, Friends to Lovers, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, References to Torture, Bed Sharing, Regret, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Undercover Missions, Mutual Pining, Fluff and Humour, Romance, Violence, Protective Johnlock, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship) – What if it were John who had to die to thwart Moriarty's plans? John's supposed death shatters Sherlock, and when he returns, it will challenge the pair to forge a path of forgiveness, to peace, and to find a way back to each other.

Lock and Key Series by 221b_hound (E, 59,509+ w. across 14 works || Series WiP || Post-HLV, Tattoos, First Kiss/Time, Anal, Hand Jobs, Captain John, Cuddling, Sherlock's Scars, Possessive Johnlock, Exhibitionism / Voyeurism, Frottage, Blow Jobs, Masturbation, Sherlock in Panties, PWP, Dirty Talk, Sexual Fantasies, Restraints, Photographs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light BDSM, Assorted Kinks, Sherlock in a Sheet, Sex on Furniture, Domestic Fluff) – John has been back at Baker Street for a year, following the debacle that ended in Mary's death. Things are good. Back almost to what they used to be. Sherlock might wish they were something else, now, but he only has himself to blame, he thinks. It's too late, now, for the things he first denied before he'd ruined any chances he might have had. Sherlock also thinks that people who get tattoos are idiots. But perhaps he's about to learn a thing or two, not least of which might be it's not as late as he thinks it is.

Earthly Pomp (Is But a Dream) Series by LoloLolly (M, 60,806+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Post S4, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Aftermath of Serbia, Alternating POV, Scars, Love Confessions, Family, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Angst, Whump, Sherlock's Past, Parentlock) – Sherlock had buried the past. Shut Serbia away in the attic of his mind palace. Muddy footprints at a heinous crime scene, however, have led him right back to old enemies. And right back to captivity. For God’s sake, Mycroft.

SpaceBois go to Space Series by elldotsee (E, 62,028+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Astronaut / Space AU || Scientist Sherlock, Biomedical Engineer John, Sherlock is William, Astronauts, Close Quarters, Shy Sherlock, Space Travel, Mutual Pining, Chemistry, Developing Relationship, Minor Injuries, Suicidal Ideation, Whump, Flirting, Angst with Happy Ending, Mars Colonization, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Zero-Gravity Sex, Alternating POV, UST/URT) – Will Holmes is a chemical researcher recognized widely for his contributions to the new Mars exploration program. Thanks to his ground-breaking developments, the IMMC (International Mars Mission Corporation) is one step closer to Martian colonization. Will and his team of scientists are headed out on the first of three manned missions before the first group of settlers arrive. Three days before launch, one of the crew has to be replaced. Will panics because...new people. The replacement is of course one John Watson, biomedical engineer and space hottie who was pretty sure he had retired from actual space exploration and was now content to work in the nice, quiet research lab. Can the crew survive this TOTALLY ROUTINE trip? Will they be able to endure each other for the looooooong trip in close quarters?

An Experiment in Empathy Series by belovedmuerto (T, 62,397 w. across 13 stories || Empath AU || Psychic John, Psychic-by-Proxy Sherlock, Empathy, Psychic Bond, Romance / Bromance) – In which John is an empath, Sherlock is Sherlock, and an epic bromance happens. In the aftermath of The Great Game, John creates an unexpected bond between himself and Sherlock. Now they have to learn how to deal with it. John is better at this than Sherlock is.

Doctors and detectives Series by PlainJane (E, 63,302+ w. across 5 works || Series WiP || Omegaverse || Sex Therapist John, Virgin Sherlock, Alpha Sherlock, Omega John, Anal/Oral Sex, Frottage, Bonding, Hand Jobs, Mpreg, Miscarriage, Mating Cycles/Heats, Mourning, Childbirth Trauma, Angst, OMCs, Happy Ending, Unplanned Pregnancy, Dildos, Anal Fingering, Social Issues, Babysitting) – Sherlock is a young alpha with an aversion to his cycle. John is a gender medicine specialist. Nothing could possibly go wrong...

Nitroglycerine Series by TSylvestris (E, 64,108+ w. across 2 works || Series WiP || Case Fic, Meddling Mycroft, Developing Relationship, Drama, Romance, Humour, Oral / Anal Sex, Fingering, Hand Jobs, Light Mystrade) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed.

Bedtime Universe by Liketheriver (M, 65,173 w. across 2 stories || Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Angst, Humour, Case Fic) – John's POV during Season 2 and beyond when Sherlock takes up semi-permanent residence in his bed. A collection of codas and missing scenes wrapped up into one long fic and topped with a bow that takes the story beyond Reichenbach and into happy territory once more. 

Watches 'Verse by bendingsignpost (E, 66,905 w. across 2 works || Magical Realism, Reality Distortion, Angst, Partial MCD, BAMF John) – First, he is shot in Afghanistan. Second, he wakes to a phone call in Chelmsford, Essex. Third is pain, fourth is normalcy, fifth is agony and sixth is confusion. By the eighth, he's lost track. (John-centric AU) 

things fairy tales are made of Series by darcylindbergh (E, 67,761 w. across 7 works || Ficlet Collections, Fluff and Angst, Christmas, First Kiss / Time, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Engagement, Banter, Blow Jobs, Insecurity, Dancing, Nightmares, Cooking, Alcohol, Cuddling, Engagement, Happy Endings) – Fairy tales are stories, and this one starts with a wish.

The Time Traveller's Flatmate Series by orithea (E, 68,674+ w. across 4 works || Time Travel AU || Developing Relationship, Threesome, Oral Sex, Hand Jobs, Selfcest) – Sherlock Holmes suffers from Chrono-Displacement: simply put, he time travels unpredictably, against his will. John Watson lives his life the normal way. Or as normal as it can possibly be considering that he first meets Sherlock at the age of six.

Realigning Gravity Series by Raina_at (E, 69,159+ w. across 2 works || Series WiP || Sci-Fi / 24th Century Future AU || Post TRF, Cybernetic John, Estrangement, Reconciliation, Developing Relationship, Anniversary, Case Fic, Happy Endings, Doctor John) – Two years ago, Sherlock Holmes jumped off the roof of New London Hospital. Two months ago, he walked into John's clinic as if no time had passed at all. John hasn't seen him since. But then Sherlock knocks on John's door with a case he can't say no to, and while figuring out why the biggest manufacturer or synthetic limbs in the System is going after veterans, they also need to find out whether there's a way to fix what's broken between them.

The Sweetest Things Series by alexxphoenix42 (E, 76,894+ w. across 2 works || Series WIP || Shopkeeper AU || Alternate First Meeting, Beekeeping, Honey, Romance, Awkward First Time Sex, Body Self Consciousness, Sussex, Fluff, Jealousy, Coming Out, Misunderstandings, Case Fic, Angst with Happy Ending) – In an alternate universe, Sherlock is busy keeping to himself, tending his bees, and selling lovely jars of honey when a soldier limps into his life quite unexpectedly.

Seven Moons Series by ladyflowdi (E, 92,824+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP ||Fantasy Omegaverse AU || Non Con Drug Use, Knotting, Heat Cycles, Forced / Arranged Marriage, Forced Heat, Mpreg, Slavery, Pregnant Sex, Loss of Virginity, Miscarriage Mention, Childbirth, Male Lactation, Breast Feeding, Confidence Issues, Kidnapping, Betrayal, Blood, Graphic Labour/Delivery, War, Family) –  “This is happiness?” John asks, utterly heartsick, holding up his wrists and rattling the chains. “You’ve sold me for six gold mines and protection along the northern border.”

Northern Light Series by Minxchester (E, 93,412+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Security Guard AU || Security Guard John, Rape / Non-Con, Blackmail, Forced Marriage, Captivity, Assorted Pairings, Suicide Attempt, Depression, Non-Con Touching, Eventual Happy Ending) – Recently returned from the war and struggling to adjust back to civilian life, John Watson is given an unexpected opportunity when he's hired as a security guard by Charles Magnussen on the recommendation of his former comrade, Sergeant Murray. Before long, he finds himself assigned the unusual task of serving as personal bodyguard to Magnussen's reclusive husband. But not everything is as it seems in this household--and John gets a lot more than he bargained for looking after Sherlock Holmes.

31_Days_of_Porn_Challenge_2017 Series by distantstarlight (E, 96,540 w. across 31 stories || Prompt Ficlets, Assorted Kinks, PWP) – A collection in response to the 31 Days of Porn Challenge issued by AtlinMerrik! Thanks for doing that because this has been buttload of fun (that joke never gets old). All stories will be brief stand-alone one-shots.

The Ravine Valley Series by SilentAuror (E, 98,196 w. across 2 works || Post-S4, Fake Relationship, Sex Trafficking, Case Fics, Group Therapy, Awkwardness, Past Loss of Child, Bed Sharing, Wedding, Angst, Romance, First Times, Massages) – Sherlock and John go undercover at Ravine Valley, a therapy centre for same-sex male couples in an investigation into a possible human trafficking ring. As they pose as a couple and fake their way through the therapy sessions for the sake of the case, it quickly becomes difficult to avoid discussing their very real issues. Set roughly nine months after series 4.

The Book of Silence/Rosa Felicia Series by SilentAuror (E, 99,752+ w. across 2 works || Series WIP || S4 / Post-S4 Fix It, New Relationship, Slow Burn, Kissing, Virgin Sherlock, Cases, First Time, Domesticity, Sex Toys, Cooking, Rosie Watson, Part-Time Parentlock, Bisexuality, Family Drama) – As spring blooms in London, John and Sherlock begin to take new cases and cautiously negotiate this new phase of life with John living at Baker Street again. Despite how well it's all going, John struggles to forgive himself for the way he treated Sherlock following Mary’s death as well as trying to figure out how to finally put his long-time feelings for Sherlock into words.

Mathematical Proof Series by Bitenomnom (E, 108,481 w. across 50 works || Mutual Pining, Assorted Timelines, Drabbles, Mathematics, Kissing, Humour, Friendship / Love, Past Relationships) – Drabbles written using the content of math class meetings from that day as prompts -- mostly Johnlock, mostly separate from one another -- in a variety of formats, points of view, etc.

The Baker Street Nativity Verse Series by SwissMiss (E, 109,655 w. across 3 works || Nativity! Fusion || Teacher Sherlock, Assistant John, UST, Trust Issues, Kids, Music, Anal Fingering Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Kissing, Swearing, Slow Burn, Pining, Shopping, Siblings, Friendship) – Fusion between Sherlock (BBC) and Nativity! (2009 movie starring Martin Freeman). Sherlock is a primary school teacher and John is assigned to be his classroom assistant. Together, they are charged with putting on the school's Nativity play. What could possibly go wrong? Includes main story, DVD extras, and 24-part Advent calendar drabbles.

Baker Farms Series by CodenameMeretricious (E, 111,042+ w. across 2 works || Series WiP || Sports Equestrian AU || Fluff, Angst, Humour, Show Jumping, Horses, Horse Groomer John, Event Rider Sherlock) – Sherlock is a top eventing rider currently training at Baker Farms. John is the new groom who's been told to steer clear of the surly rider and his horses.

between each beat Series by darcylindbergh & hudders-and-hiddles(E, 114,417+ w. across 2 works || Series WIP || Epistolary, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Marriage, Alcohol, Drug Use, Missing Scenes, Happy Ending) – On their wedding night, John and Sherlock gift each other with the things they each said when the other could not hear, the things they each put down where the other could not see: a collection of writings that illustrate the way their love for one another has grown over the years.

STATIC Series by patternofdefiance(E, 116,923+ w. across 2 works || Series WiP || Future AU || Cybernetic Augmentation, Discrimination, Developing Relationship, Cyborg John, Body Dysmorphia, Slow Burn, Worldbuilding, Dissociation, Sci-Fi Violence/Goal, Body Modification, Amputation, Angst, Misunderstandings) – The stigma against human augmentation has never lifted – not after the initial kinks in the operating software and hardware integrations resulted in some curious physical and personality…defects. Despite the lives it’s subsequently saved, the tests the procedures have passed, and the unending barrage of PR stunts and ad campaigns. And then John had gone and got himself shot, and science had taken him in like an overbearing mother, like a charity case, and hadn’t taken ‘no’ for an answer, hadn’t wanted ‘no’ for an answer.

The Swan Triad Series by Pennin_Ink (T, 121,660 w. across 3 works || Swan Lake AU || Magical / Fairy Tale AU, Romance, Falling in Love, Pining, Psychological Torture, Transformation) – Sherlock and John grow up spending every summer together. Their mothers' attempts to play matchmaker only fuel their mutual resentment and scorn. But then, one summer.

25 Days of Johnlock Series by prettysailorsoldier (E, 136,961 w. across 13 works || Random Prompts, Various AUs, Christmas, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss) – 25 Days of festive prompts submitted by all of you! Every Christmas trope imaginable will make an appearance, as well as a few surprises, so be sure to check the tags for all the specifics!

Just Johnlock Series by Calais_Reno (M, 137,300+ w. across 32 works || Series WiP || Coming Out, Drunken Confessions, Alternating POV, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Fluff, Jealousy, Past Relationships, Awkward Romances, Suicidal Thoughts, Blogging, Assorted Timelines, Angst, Fluff, Sherlock's Mind Palace, Mutual Pining, Hurt / Comfort, Rescue Missions, Deductions, Cases, Reunions, Birthdays, Oblivious John, Developing Relationship, Assorted Stories) – Standalone short stories occurring within the BBC Sherlock Universe. In most cases, the stories are not related and can be read in any order. A few what-ifs and alternate first meetings. Some fluff, some angst, all happy endings.

The Colors 'Verse Series by Quesarasara (E, 144,562+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Soul Mate AU || Colour Bonding, Angst, Pining, Cases, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Parenting, Fluff and Angst, John’s PTSD, Romance, Alternating POV) –  Everyone on earth is born with eyes that see in black, white, and an endless series of greys. When you meet your soulmate, you finally see the world in color. We're all searching for the person who brings color to our lives. John and Sherlock are no exception.

Baseball Series by earlgreytea68 (M, 146,073 w. across 4 works || Baseball Player AU || Slow Burn / Dev. Rel., Possessive/Obsessive Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Body Appreciation, Depression, Closeted Sexuality, Family, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Ogling Each Other, Anxious Sherlock, Panic Attack, Drunkenness, Talk of Forever, Big Feelings) – Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU.

Two Two One Bravo Baker Universe by abundantlyqueer, boxoftheskyking, neenya, seiji, suchanadorer (E, 155,485+ w. across 25 works || Series WIP || Military AU || Afghanistan, Soldier John, Thriller, War Stories, Assorted OCs) – Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John?

Drawn to Stars Series by Silvergirl (E, 164,360+ w. across 5 works || Series WiP || S4 Fix It, Original Characters, Sherlock/OMC, Jealous John, Mutual Pining, Italy, Mutual Misunderstandings, First Kiss / Time, Alternating POVs, Angst With Happy Ending) – After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being.

The Summer Boy Series by khorazir (M, 168,598+ w. across 4 works || Series WiP || Post-TAB, Flashbacks, Kid Sherlock, Inexperienced Sherlock, Bullying, Sussex, Grief/Mourning, First Kiss/Time, Folklore, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, BAMF John, Kidnapping, Past Torture, Developing Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Bed Sharing, Caring John/Sherlock) – About half a year after the fateful events at Appledore, Sherlock and John embark on a private case in Sussex. For Sherlock, it’s a journey into his past, bringing up memories both happy and sad that he has locked away for almost thirty years. For John, it means coming to terms with the present – and a potential future with Sherlock.

Skeletons Series by flawedamythyst (T, 174,262 w. across 3 works || Nightmare Before Christmas Fusion ||  Implied Character Death) – Sherlock's refusal to talk about his past hides far more skeletons than John could ever have guessed at. Halloween-esque AU.

Mise en Place Series by azriona (M, 181,300+ w. across 7 works || Series WiP || Restaurant AU || Cooking, Celebrity Chef Sherlock, Restaurant TV Show, Camp Fires, Brothers, Kissing, Baking, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers) – John Watson had no intentions of taking over the family business, but when he returns from Afghanistan, battered and bruised, and discovers that his sister Harry has run their restaurant into the ground, he doesn't have much choice. There's only one thing that can save the Empire from closing for good – the celebrity star of the BBC series Restaurant Reconstructed, Chef Sherlock Holmes.

Unkissed Series by 221b_hound (T to E, 184,100 w. across 45 works || Established Relationship, Ace Sherlock) – Sherlock returned from the dead a year ago. John returned to Baker Street six months ago. They've been in a couple since then. or at least, not NOT a couple. For two smart men, they sure can be dumb. Luckily, an art thief tries to drown Sherlock, Sherlock has a fever dream and things are about to change.

Conductivity Series by liriodendron (E, 207,367 w. across 7 works || TRF / Post TRF, ReunionCanon Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Friendship, Romance, Sexual Tension, First Kiss/Time, Synesthesia, Power Dynamics, Self-Harm, Drug Use, Case Fic, Est. Rel., References to Drug Use, Homophobic Language, Religious Content, Intercrural Sex, Unrequited Love, Angst, References to Suicide, Injury, Anal, Dub. Con, BDSM, Suicidal Thoughts, Violent Sex, Suicide, Grief/Mourning, Break Up) – In which Sherlock Holmes locates his heart, John Watson learns what it's like to burn, and there is no darkness that cannot be made bright.

Care And Companionship Series by elldotsee and J_Baillier (E, 209,820+ w. across 5 works || Series WiP || Me Before You Fusion || Angst, Romance, Depression, Medical Ethics, Insecure Sherlock, Serious Illness, Permanent Injury, Sherlock Whump, BAMF John, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Physical Rehabilitation, Medical Realism, Assisted Suicide, Awkward Sex, Friends to Lovers, Alcoholism, John Whump, PTSD, Anxiety, Family Drama, Caretaker John, Alternating POVs) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

Fallen Series by Belladonna_Q and mamishka (T, 222,094 w. across 3 works || Winglock || Angel!John, Angels & Demons, Faes, Christianity, Changelings) – In a world where myth, mystery, and the supernatural flourish beneath the veneer of modern civilization, Sherlock is a master of magic as well as science and deduction. But there are some things that he cannot see, riddles he cannot unravel, even when they walk right beside him in the form of one John Watson…

Performance in a Leading Role Series by Mad_Lori (E, 223,707+ w. across 9 stories || Series WiP || Actor AU || Show Business, Romance, Coming Out, Secret Relationship, Meta Fic, Hollywood, Interviews, Academy Awards, Relationship Beards) – Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

Breakable Not Broken Series by MissDavis (E, 227,442+ w. across 5 works || Series WiP || Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Permanent Injury, Mental Health Issues, Depression, Drug Use) – After John is seriously injured, Sherlock struggles to figure out how to help him, keep himself sane, and maybe, just maybe, get their life back to the way it's supposed to be.

Hollowverse Series by ScopesMonkey (E, 228,876 w., || Post-TRF / Post-Hiatus, Reunion, Cases, Romance, Mystery, Friendship, Developing Relationship, First Kiss/Time, Rimming, Oral/Anal, Survival, Hand Jobs, Amnesia, Showers, Injury, Teasing, Nightmares, Travelling) – Forced to return to London sooner than expected, Sherlock falls into a case too close to home.

John and Sherlock's Kinky First Times Series by wendymarlowe (E, 247,051+ w. across 45 works || Series WiP || Short Stories, Assorted Tags with Assorted Genres, PWP) – A collection of short imaginings of how Sherlock and John might finally allow their relationship to become physical. Don't be afraid of the giant cloud of tags - each fic stands alone and you can read them in any order.

Tennis Series by Jupiter_Ash (E, 249,198+ w. across 6 works || Series WiP || Tennis AU || French Sherlock, Angst) – John and Sherlock are professional tennis players and it’s Wimbledon. One is a broken almost was at the end of his career, the other an arrogant rising star tipped for greatness. It should have been a straightforward tournament. It really should have been. How were they to know that a chance encounter would change everything?

Johnlock Smut (with Feels) Series by CarmillaCarmine (E, 270,569+ w. across 33 works || Series WiP || Assorted Tags across Various Genres, Stand-Alone Ficlets) – Here are all my Johnlock smut fics - all can be read separately, as stand-alone. Enjoy!

Secrets and Revelations Series by Hisstah (E, 295,909+ w. across 3 works || Guides & Sentinels Omegaverse AU || Graphic Violence, Bonding, BAMF John/Sherlock, Anal / Oral, Alpha Sentinel Sherlock, Omega Guide John, Case Fics, Mpreg, Fluff and Angst) – Dr John Watson has some major secrets that he's kept from his flatmate, Alpha Sentinel Sherlock Holmes. Now the Sentinel Tower is after him. Can John stay out of their hands until he can reveal his secrets to Sherlock?

Forethought and Fire Series by 7PercentSolution & shelleysprometheus (E, 352,650+ w. across 5 works || Series WiP || Johnlock and MorMor || Original Characters, Case Fics, Alternating POV, Bisexual John, Gay Sherlock, Travelling, Developing Relationships, , Revenge, Betrayal, Blood and Torture, Trust, Bereavement, Entrapment, Extortion, Suicidal Ideation) – "The real great perfumers are not perfumers, they are the bees, the winds, the rivers and other things that carry and mix scents in space" ~ Serge Lutens.

Happiness Awaits Series by Mssmithlove (E, 377,160+ w. across 19 works || Series WiP || Assorted AUs || Short Stories, Assorted Tags Across Assorted Genres, Happy Endings) – This is a collection of delightfully sappy short stories. There will be love, sex, angst, first meetings, first kisses, first times, teenlock, unilock, ANYlock really, and they will have all the feels one can have. Every story will be a different length, some longer, some shorter. Every story will be different and as of now the only theme is that they will all have happy endings.

The English job Series by Hotaru_Tomoe (E, 466,195+ w. across 48 works || Series WiP || Assorted Relationships, Assorted Standalone Stories, Assorted Tags Across Various Genres) – Basically where I store all the English fics I write and the translations from my native language, Italian.

The Fallen Series by Engazed (E, 628,898+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Post-TRF Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Rape/Non-Con, Friendship, Angst, Gore, Detective Story) – This is the story of The Fall. When Sherlock chose to jump off the roof of St Bartholomew's Hospital to save his friends, he could not have anticipated the devastating and far-reaching consequences. He wasn't the only one who fell that day.

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF JOHN WATSON Series by skyefullofstars (M, 647,634+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Angst, Violence, Non-Consensual Drugging, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Torture, Drug Addiction, Kidnapping/Abduction, Disturbing Imagery, Killing, Past Child Abuse, Suicide Attempt, Homophobic Language, Minor Character Death, Espionage, Psychological Trauma, BAMF John/Sherlock, PTSD Sherlock, Murder Mystery) – While Sherlock grapples with his new-found feelings for John Watson, he faces a very real threat: John's kidnapping and shooting at the hands of James Moriarty. And the knowledge that the love of his life is being used to test an addictive drug - at the risk of John's sanity and life.

Sketchy Series by serpentynka (E, 696,806 w. across 5 works || Post TRF Canon Divergence, Career Change, Love Story/Romance, Slow Burn, Art, Illness / Heath Issues, Coming of Age, Established Relationship, Porn With Feelings, Philosophy, Portraiture, John Whump, Switching, First Time, Retirement, Travel, Possessive John, Jealous Sherlock, Marriage, Cases) – What (and who) will be left when nobody cares about your Work? A slow-burn fic with cases, places, mistaken identities, unfair choices, essential changes, violent feels, blatant lies, fearless portraiture, family secrets, high-risk bespoke gifts, durable friendships, bedtime stories, foreign travel and tongues, sickness (and health), and the significance of things which are slow to unfurl -- but cannot be ignored. Oh, and...porn.

Unwind Series by illwick (E, 741,012+ w. across 36 works || Series WiP || Light BDSM / Power Dynamics, Dom!John/Sub!Sherlock, Switchlock, Hair-Pulling, Sensory Deprivation, Deepthroating, Face-Fucking, Handcuffs, Overstimulation, Forced Orgasm, Prostate Milking / Massage, Rough Sex, Biting, Food Sex, Consensual Kink, Sex on Everything, Chair Bondage, Voyeurism, Exhibitionism, Masturbation, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Oral/Anal, Fingering, Sex Toys, Captain John, Establish Relationship, Bratty Sherlock, Greedy Sherlock, Military Kink, Uniform Kink, Gunplay, Roleplay, Shower Sex, Oral Fixation, Praise Kink, Dry Humping, Facials, Dog Tags, Edgeplay, Multiple Orgasms, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Threesomes, Homophobia, Size Kink, Past Relationships, Past Drug Use, Double Penetration, Angst/Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Panties) –  John and Sherlock unwind after a case. 

[mylovelies-docx]

Sorry, I Love You - Part 8

I apologize for not posting last week. How about this longer chapter to make up for it?

Plot: You and Bucky have a good thing going - best of friends that also have more than a little chemistry between the sheets. Everything is fine until you develop feelings for the man who doesn't want a relationship. What will happen when Bucky finds out?

C/W: First day of HYDRA work, social gatherings

Word Count: 2,270

Tag List: NOW CLOSED! If you'd like to keep up with this story, please follow my blog and turn on notifications! ❤️ you :)

[Prologue][Part 1][Part 2][Part 3][Part 4][Part 5][Part 6][Part 7]

The next morning dawned bright and chilly. You only know this because you happened to pass by a window covered in frost on your way to one of the HYDRA labs within the facility. 

Your first few hours on site had you running through various tests and exams to study your mental capacity and knowledge on the interest that HYDRA holds in the biology field. There was nothing shocking or unexpected that your new supervisors asked you, but the implications of what they expect from you sends shivers down your spine. You studied and memorized and read for weeks in preparation for this assignment last year, and you’re so glad that your brain retains this kind of information like a sponge – you’d have been disposed of on the spot if your background hadn’t checked out.

But now you’ve ‘officially’ joined HYDRA. The thought leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but you wash it down with the knowledge that what you’re doing is going to help the world by eliminating whatever disgusting and horrible work is being done here.

The plan is to spend as much time as it takes to gain HYDRA’s confidence in your abilities and allow you access to the higher level projects – the world-ending projects. This could take weeks. Or months. Hopefully not years? Being Bucky’s sister for that long would drive you insane.

“You,” a scientist snaps from behind their desk as you pass their open office door. You stop in your tracks and peer into the dingy office, noticing scuff marks and mysterious stains on the floor. The man’s desk has every square inch covered in files and papers. So much so that there is a noticeable curvature on the desktop, the cheap material unable to handle the amount of weight it has been subjected to over the years.

“Yes, sir?” you inquire.

He refuses to look up from his work, instead opting to dangle a set of keys from his fingers in your direction. “Go and grab the files for project 0B276HG21 in storage room C.”

Repeating the string of numbers and letters in your head, you take the keys from his outstretched hand and make your way to the storage room. There are so many rooms within the facility that you would be lost without the information your informant sent the team. But even with it, the facility has undergone changes since the last facility plans were uploaded, so you run into dead ends where there should be access doors.

You can only hope that your experience and knowledge will allow you to work your way up quickly – you don’t know how long you can stand to be a lackey. You roll your eyes at the errands you’ve had to run so far, but you know that the new person never gets given the big jobs on the first day.

And so the rest of the shift passes in the same manner and you arrive back at your and Bucky’s house with little energy and even less information.

“Don’t worry about it, doll,” Bucky reassures. “Slow and steady wins the race, right?”

“That’s such a stupid fable,” you grumble. “The hare would have won if it didn’t have such an inflated ego.”

Bucky grins at your disgruntled face before you flop your head backwards to rest. You release a sigh and relax further into the couch where you collapsed after walking in the front door, relieved to smell dinner simmering away on the stove since you arrived home later than expected and hadn’t had the opportunity to grab lunch. 

You tilt your head and watch as Bucky shuffles around the kitchen. He’s long since showered after his time at the repair shop: his hair nearly dry and the strands sticking out in a way that you know he tousled it with his towel and let it finish air drying. The new shorter strands allowed for the minimal work to pay off in dividends because it was damn near impossible to remember how soft his hair used to be and not be able to run your fingers through it now. 

Your fingers itch to reach out, but you grip the cushion instead. No one said that this would be easy. Well, no one has said it’d be anything because Nat’s mission has her radio silent and Wanda is busy spending time with Vis for you to complain about your one-sided love with someone who doesn’t know the feeling. You know that if they knew what was happening right now, they’d be plying you with ideas on how to survive this mission with minimal heartbreak.

“The food is done,” Bucky says as he gathers plates and utensils to set the table. “Are you coming in here or do you want me to bring you a bowl?”

Unfortunately, your best friends aren’t available to provide their wisdom, so here you are: suffering in silence with no outlet. 

“I’ll be there in a second,” you respond. You unclench your fist from the couch’s fabric and stretch out your stiff fingers. Rising from your seat, you make your way into the kitchen and take a seat at the table as Bucky brings the pot over from the stove. You stare intently into the soup as Bucky ladles it into a bowl and sets it in front of you.

“Did something happen today?” he questions with a worried expression.

“You know HYDRA,” you tiredly reply. Looking up into his eyes for the first time this evening, you see the crease between his brows and mentally slap yourself. “I’m fine, Bucky. They don’t have me working on anything specific yet.”

“I know,” he says, “but just be careful with those people, okay?”

You smile up at him and nod your head, your heart squeezing in your chest.

You’re both silent through dinner with the exception of your compliments on Bucky’s cooking. It’s hard to clear the air after bringing up HYDRA and their actions, even in the vaguest way.

***

The week stretches on for an eternity, but eventually Saturday rolls around and you and Bucky prepare to meet the neighborhood.

You arrive at the restaurant right on time. Light pours from the windows and the snow on the ground glistens gold. As soon as you open the car door, you hear laughter and chatter forcing their way through the walls.

“I hate entering a party where everybody is already best friends with each other and then you’re left standing there like a loner,” you decry, already dreading the feeling of ‘otherness’ you will be experiencing in a few short moments.

“You’re not a loner,” Bucky laughs. “You make friends as easily as breathing.”

“Not true,” you counter. “I can make ‘friends’ with strangers, but it’s never anything real. I’m a spy, remember? It’s literally life or death to get people to like me.”

“Trust me, doll,” Bucky says as he looks intently at you from across the car. “People can’t help but love you.”

Heat rushes to your cheeks and you hope the light from the restaurant isn’t bright enough to reveal them to Bucky. The feelings squirming around in your stomach feel suspiciously like hope, and you can’t have that. You deflect any seriousness by laughing off Bucky’s comment.

“Tell that to all the people I’ve thrown in prison.”

Bucky calls your name with some disappointment and a slight frown on his face. You shrug your shoulders and motion towards the entrance. “It’s time to head inside. Come on.” 

You walk away from him and lead the way into the building. Upon opening the door, a blast of warm, humid air hits you. The smell of beer and sweat sweeps up your nostrils, and the interior design reminds you more of a local dive bar than a restaurant. But everyone is laughing and having a good time, so you plaster a smile on your face and look around for the Gretens.

You see Christopher speaking to a short, skinny man, deep in conversation and barely acknowledging anyone else. Tessa stands in a corner surrounded by three other women, all of them laughing and having a good time. Bucky walks up behind you as you stand in the doorway and puts a hand on your shoulder.

“Divide and conquer?” he asks. You nod your head and make your way over to the group of women.

When you’re within ten feet of her, Tessa notices you. She beams at you and raises her hand to usher you closer. 

“Ladies!” Tessa introduces. “Meet our newest neighbor!”

A round of introductions follows and you can’t help but admire how blatantly obvious these women are about their curiosity.  Tessa seems to have already told them everything she knows about you, but they have to ask their own questions. 

“And where’s that brother of yours?” one of them asks. “Tessa’s told us how handsome he is! I’ve got a daughter I’ve been trying to get out of the house for ages.”

You laugh through the twist of your guts, replying merrily, “Oh, I’m sure he’d appreciate the introduction.”

Before the woman can demand a personal introduction, Tessa interrupts when the entrance opens once again and lets in a blast of cold air.

“Petre!” She performs the same waving hand motion that brought you over earlier to the new arrival. “Come here!”

Glancing back, you see a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes making his way over to you. He stops in front of Tessa and wraps her in a quick hug.

“This is my son, Petre. Petre, this is our neighbor.”

Petre greets you warmly. “Hello, it’s nice to finally meet you. My mother hasn’t stopped talking about you since you moved in.”

You giggle when Tessa pats his arm roughly and shake his proffered hand. His skin is warm and dry, the skin on the back of his knuckles chapped from the winter weather. Tessa not-so-subtly draws the other women away from you and Petre and into another conversation, leaving you to speak with each other.

“Your mother seems to think we’d make a good pair,” you comment with a glance over at her.

“Ah, yes,” Petre says while fiddling with his shirt sleeves. “She’s been introducing me to every woman of marrying age. I think she’s afraid I’ll end up alone.”

You can’t help but laugh at his deprecating tone of voice. “We’re young – we’ve still got time.”

“Try telling her that,” he responds. “Being 30 and unmarried is one of the worst things you can be in her eyes.”

You chat with Petre between introductions for the next couple of hours. He sticks close by his mother which keeps him close to you, as Tessa demands everyone that walks by to greet you. Countless faces come and go, but there seems to be someone missing.

You turn to Tessa when the party seems to be winding down and a few people have started to leave. “Where’s your daughter?” you question.

“Kerri and Chrissie are right over there,” she nods, indicating the two young women in a cluster a few feet from you.

“Yes, I remember them from a little while ago. Where’s your other daughter? Sasha?”

At this, Tessa’s face drops and Petre looks at her worriedly. He places his arm around his mother’s shoulders and brings her into his side. “She’s not well,” Petre answers for his mother. “She has been sick for a while now.”

“Oh. Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s – it’s alright,” Tessa responds with a sorrowful smile. “She’s at home. Resting.”

“Well I hope she gets better soon,” you reply hopefully. Petre and Tessa nod tersely before steering the conversation off to something else.

It isn’t long after that when you feel Bucky sidle up next to you. He places his hand on your upper arm and pulls you closer into his side. “You ready to go?” he questions.

You hum and say your goodbyes to the people standing around you, promising to come out with Tessa to more gatherings. You and Bucky make your way back out into the cold night, the moon full and bright in the sky.

The car doors close behind you and Bucky starts the engine. You rumble along the road for a few minutes before Bucky says anything.

“Who were you talking to all night?” he asks you.

“Ah.” You sigh. “That was Tessa’s eldest son. The one she mentioned at dinner.”

“And?” he prompts.

“And…?”

“You were with him all night – what was he like? Anything seem off with him?”

You’re not exactly sure what Bucky is getting at, as he’d been talking with a couple of the same people throughout the night as well. “Well no, but it’s not like I could dig any deeper than surface level with so many people coming in and out of the conversation.”

Bucky hums noncommittally. You furrow your brow, but brush it off. “Did you find anything out from Christopher?”

“Not really. I did notice that one of his daughters wasn’t there tonight. Sarah?”

“Sasha,” you correct. “And no, I asked about her, as well. Petre and Tessa seemed really bothered when I brought her up: apparently she’s been pretty sick lately.”

“How sick?” Bucky asks.

“I’m not sure. It didn’t seem like they wanted to talk about it, though.”

“You think she’s been sick enough to require hospital stays?” he proposes, leading the conversation towards what could have possibly happened to the family’s financials that has lead to their worn down clothing and home.

“It’s worth looking into, isn’t it?”

Part 9

@jackiehollanderr @rabbitrabbit12321 @12345sebby @blackwood-bodecker-housewife @lauraashley93 @themorningsunshine @happinessinthebeing @nash-dara @calwitch @stany0url0calwh0res111 @pono-pura-vida @learisa @introverbatim @kentokaze @marvelogic @kaz11283

[crippleprophet]

hey, i don't want to put you out or anything, i was just wondering if like off the top of your head if you knew any disability studies articles/books/whatever that center (or even just feature) tic/involuntary movement disorders?

so the answer to this was pretty much no but i spent a bit of time poking around and turned up this 2023 undergraduate honors thesis (link) by a student with tourette’s which seems like a solid starting point for going down the citation rabbit hole!

that piece is “The Embodied Performance of Tics and Tourette Syndrome in the Academic Environment” by Benjamin Allen; i’m only ~1/4th through rn but they argue for a continuum of ticcing + criticize the diagnostic system so i’m comfortable reccing it on that front! the (non-medical) tic-related works cited there are:

Buckser, Andrew. “Before Your Very Eyes: Illness, Agency, and the Management of Tourette Syndrome.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 2, 2008, pp. 167-192.

Buckser, Andrew. “The Empty Gesture: Tourette Syndrome and the Semantic Dimension of Illness.” Ethnology, vol. 45, no. 4, 2006, pp. 255- 24. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20456601.

Curtis-Wendlandt, Lisa. “Time and the Tic Disorder Triad.” Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, vol 27, no. 2, 2020, pp. 183-199.

Curtis-Wendlandt, Lisa, and Jack Reynolds. “Why Tourette syndrome research needs philosophical phenomenology.” Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, vol. 20, no. 4, 2021, pp. 573-600.

Miller, James. “The Voice in Tourette Syndrome.” New Literary History, vol. 32 no. 3, 2001, pp. 519-536. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/nlh.2001.0039.

Trubody, Ben. “Ticced off: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of The Experience of Tourette’s Syndrome.” Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, vol. 25, no. 2, 2014.

i also searched a handful of disability studies journals for a variety of keywords (movement disorder, tic, tourette’s, involuntary movement, chorea, huntington’s) but didn’t turn up much unfortunately, so all but the first of this next list include someone with tics and/or involuntary movements rather than being about moving involuntarily.

haven’t read these so i can’t speak to the politics / quality (although i’ll make a post if i’m able to read more) but here’s what seemed potentially relevant! also if anything is paywalled please don’t give T&F your money lol, try SciHub or if you can’t find something i can ask around for somebody with institutional access!

Cultural Differences in Reactions to Tics and Tic Severity (2021)

Using virtual reality to implement disability studies’ advocacy principles: uncovering the perspectives of people with disability (2023)

I had every right to be there: discriminatory acts towards young people with disabilities on public transport (2020)

From comedy targets to comedy-makers: disability and comedy in live performance (2015)

From the Case Files: Reconstructing a history of involuntary sterilisation (2010)

i also want to mention “Movements of the Uncontrollable Body Part Two” by Bronwyn Valentine (2019), a creative writing piece about her experiences of embodiment + ableism with spina bifida that i first read pretty soon after it was published & went looking for after developing my movement disorder a year ago because it was so impactful. @fndportal also has some incredibly vital work.

also if you haven’t already read Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Staring: Why We Look, it’s not specifically about involuntary movements but definitely a core text for theorizing any visibilized disability.

i hope some of that is helpful!! if anybody checks any of these out i’d love to hear your thoughts/critiques! all the best to you & i hope these offer some resonance with + understanding of your experiences 💓💓

[milkemie]

haiii !!! i hope you are doing well, i have multiple questions (i’m new to the sims ❤️‍🩹) i’m sorry if they’ve been answered before. my first question is how do you add additional buildings, like your 711, secondly, how do you set up your stories so smoothly, almost as if they’re roleplay, are those mods and things like that? when shin and maya were in school how did you have that whole thing set up like how were you able to see in the school and also was that another building you added, lastly, have you actually had shin and maya since they were younger? or do you have multiple houses so you can do flashbacks as well, i want to start my characters off as teens but i don’t want their development to take too long…sorry for so many questions and if my wording is clumsy !

how do you add additional buildings?

find buildings online (youtube, thesimsresource, pinterest), download their tray files, and then put these files in the tray files folder (Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Tray) you can also download buildings directly from the gallery, here is how

how do you set up your stories so smoothly, almost as if they’re roleplay?

i use the free camera mode to film my videos and i use animations like this one to make my sims move in a more natural way

how are you able to see in the school and what building is it?

there is a pack called highschool years that allows you to go to school with your sims; the building i used is this one

have you had shin and maya since they were younger?

nope! i have multiple versions of shin & maya, the main ones are the ones you always see and i started playing with them when they were teens. their younger selves (pre-teen, child, toddler) are in another save file and i only use them to film their past, i never actually play with them

i hope this helped!

[captain-mj]

Monsterhandler part 4? :3

I can’t help but speculate. Is Simon not being able to shift back maybe a stress response??

Oh i can definitely do that!!! So excited about the number of asks I've gotten for it!! Previous part here

Soap had spent years trying to work with... Their technical term was ESUs but that was a boring name. The other soldiers had casually called them monsters or freaks, but he didn't want to use those terms. He had seen the way they flinched when that got thrown around. Though, he doubted something like that would ever rattle Ghost of all people. The guy was tough. Big, bad and almost indestructible with a track record to put most units to shame by himself.

The SAS had been a wonderful achievement, but being a handler had always been the main goal. Ghost had been right. This had been a chance for career development. Though, exciting didn't begin to cover it. This was it. It was perfect. Especially since it was Ghost.

Except Ghost did not seem very willing to work with him. Which was fair, he had been with Price a few years.

Soap sighed and started to reread his file for... who knows how many times. It started with Simon [REDACTED]'s achievements. Excellent sniping record, extremely high amount of kills for such a short period of time, third best time for the military drill tests his scores from where he aced simulated investigations. Then his deployment ended and he went back home to a giant [REDACTED] though it took five minutes of talking to the guy to know he was from Manchester. There was a large section blacked out before getting to where he was found. Apparently he was just... found like that.

Defective was actually in bold. Huh. Soap hadn't really noticed before.

Pictures of his body were there. The scarring looked... intense. Most of his body either covered in scarring or bandaging. His wings... They looked gorgeous.

Ghost wasn't too bad himself. He was so tall and broad shouldered. The photos were strategic, never showing his face. Soap felt pretty disappointed by that.

There were a list of restrictions that had caught him off guard.

Don't let him be alone for long periods of time

Keep him muzzled

Keep his wings bound

Don't allow him off base without supervision

Don't allow him alone with recruits

Don't allow him alone with medication

Do not expose him to Christmas lights.

Soap had been under the impression he'd be dealing with a feral monster trying to kill anything and everything. But Ghost was... something else. When they had first met, he had already known he'd be getting Ghost. Despite that, he didn't make a comment on it. He hadn't been aware that Ghost was uninformed, so that was a smart move. If Ghost had found out on the field, Soap doubted he would've made it back. A simple accident in the field. A bullet that came from nowhere. Or maybe his body just never would've turned up. Soap chose to not take that knowledge personally.

Ghost had been interesting. Brushed him off and only really paid attention to him if Soap initiated first or he needed to give him an order. All in all, it had been... informative.

The Christmas lights part of the restrictions caught him off guard. Why the fuck couldn't he be around Christmas lights? Worried he'd strangle himself with them??

Soap sighed and put the file away. It wouldn't do any good to keep going over it. There was nothing new or useful in it. He stretched and got up to get himself a cup of coffee. To do so, he didn't have to pass Ghost's room. In fact, it was really out of his way to even go in the same general direction, but he still went by his room. Ghost's room was completely silent, so Soap knocked.

Ghost answered almost immediately and Soap almost stumbled when the door opened. Besides his mask and gloves, he didn't have his other stuff on. His wings were out, fluttering behind him and Soap could see his ears perk up through holes in his ski mask. They were a soft blond color. His hair was probably blond too. Weird considering his feathering, usually they matched.

"It's almost midnight." Ghost commented. He stared down at him. Another thing Soap had noticed about Ghost was the staring. It would be predatory if it wasn't so clear that's just how he was. Then, it became almost endearing.

Maybe he was drowsier than he thought. To think this mo- To think Ghost was cute.

"Yeah. You want a cup of coffee?" Soap asked, smiling at him. Goddamn he was pretty.

Ghost stared at him for a minute before crossing his arms. "I don't drink coffee."

"Tea then?" He was a Brit. They all liked tea.

"Sure."

Hook, line and fucking sinker.

Soap walked with him to the mess hall. Because of how late it was, no one was around. Most people respected the whole lights out at 9 pm thing. Good to know his... God he needed to think of something to call him. His Ghost he guessed. His Ghost also didn't care about them.

They could hang out whenever.

He turned the kettle and the coffee machine on. Ghost perched on the counter immediately. His bulk made it look rather funny, though without all the gear he looked slightly more human sized. Slightly.

Tattoos covered his right arm though. Skulls and flames. What a dorky sleeve. He looked up and saw that he had been caught staring.

"Johnny, right?"

"Ah. You looked through my file." Good to know you're just like me. He wanted to ask how many times he read it.

"Yes. Don't get why they thought we'd be a good fit. You locked a military police in his trunk." Ghost sounded amused, but his eyes didn't give anything away. They were so human. Soft and brown. It was unnerving.

"What you a bleeding heart for the police?"

"Nah. Can't stand them."

Soap smiled. "Ever get arrested?"

"Once. Got off easy." Ghost grabbed the kettle since it started to whistle. He poured the water in the mug on top of the teabag. The smell of vanilla filled the air like perfume.

"Aye. You seem like the type."

"Dick." Ghost looked at him for a moment, staring hard and Soap quickly turned around. He fixed the cup of coffee and drank it for a moment.

"Can I turn around now?"

"Nah, appreciate the view." Soap felt a blush creeping up his neck at the implication. "Your hair sucks less from the back." Nevermind.

"And you called me a dick." Soap mumbled, drinking his coffee.

Ghost laughed. It was… melodious. Soap wanted to turn around to see if he could catch him.

“Johnny.” Ghost’s voice had a growl to it. A lot of them did, it just wasn’t noticeable when they were relaxed. Soap wondered if Ghost was just never relaxed or if it was part of him being defective. He really wished he knew why. It wasn't a problem for him, but it clearly was for Ghost.

Soap went to say Simon before deciding he didn’t want to do that. They were having fun. He settled on copying his tone. “Ghost…”

Ghost sighed. “I want to get it out of the way, you understand?”

“Get what out of the way?”

“What do you plan to do to me? What do you consider punishment for me?” Ah. Fair question he supposed.

“It’s like you said.” Soap answered, getting the urge to be gentle with him. He wondered what Price considered punishment before deciding he didn't want to know, worried he'd come out thinking less of the man. “You’re not feral. I don’t need to treat you like a dog."

Ghost was very quiet for a minute before Soap felt a weight on the top of his head as Ghost patted him. “You’re a good one. That’s nice.” His hand was huge. Claws gently running over Soap’s hair. Sharp ends that could cut through his skin easily. He hadn't noticed it before but it was obvious now. The gloves he thought Ghost was wearing was his skin. It felt normal but it was stained a black color like it had been tattooed. His fingertips trailed along the back of his head to his neck. 

“Alright, Johnny. I’ll work with you for now. But one wrong move.” His hand suddenly wrapped around Soap’s throat. Extremely gentle, not an ounce of pressure. But a threat nonetheless. “You understand?”

Soap tilted his head back just a little, letting Ghost’s hand settle a little more firmly on his throat. “I understand.” He knew for a fact that Ghost wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Killing his handler wouldn’t be good for him. But he wanted Ghost to trust him. Fuck it. He wanted Ghost to like him.

Ghost squeezed carefully, making sure that he cut off blood flow but not his actual breathing, before letting go.

Soap counted to 10 before he turned around. Ghost was gone. The mug sat in the sink.

Soap sipped his coffee.

A very exciting career development indeed.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Did anyone else know that Rhys James, the little shit from Mock the Week, does stand-up that features feminist spoken word poetry? Because I was quite surprised when I learned that a couple of years ago. I learned it by watching the two stand-up specials he'd released before, both of which I found good at times, dragged at other times, but had some real flashes of brilliance that made me wish he'd released something more recent (the two he'd already released were Remains, from 2015, and Forgives, from 2016), because they seemed to be from a comedian who was full of potential to develop into something really really good. And maybe he already had, but I had no way of checking, because of the ocean (an ocean that I crossed this summer, but unfortunately Rhys James didn't go to Edinburgh this year).

Anyway, I saw last week that he was releasing a new special, Spilt Milk, on November 7th. I remember thinking at the time that that was an unfortunate release date, since I was excited about the idea of a new Rhys James stand-up special, but I figured the day it actually comes out, there's a fairly good chance that I'll be too lost in the depths of bleak despair to give a shit whether some comedian I rather like has put something up online.

Well, it's online now, and my most pessimistic predictions about my mental state at the time of release were correct. But instead of that meaning that the release has passed me by... nope, I'm going the other way. I'm rallying all my brain cells like a general commanding an army. "Come on, guys! We're all going to care about the new Rhys James special! It's something that might be fun! We're going to have fun and have some positive feelings about this!" It's a lot of pressure to put on one stand-up special, really, for it to eclipse the collapse of civilization. I wonder if Rhys James considered that pressure when he chose the release date.

It is released in my favourite way for comedians to release stand-up specials, which is directly on his website, where you can pay some money (five pounds, very reasonable), the money goes to him (and to the other parties involved in getting this video out there, but the point is that my money isn't going to some corporate streaming service that may or may not pass on a little to an artist once in a while), and I get to watch the video in exchange for that. I mean, my favourite way for artists to release stand-up specials is an unedited audio file on Bandcamp, because that's the sort of person I am, but this is pretty good too:

I assume it's good. I've paid the 5 pounds already, but I've not watched the special yet. It might be shit. If he endorses the rise of fascism in there or something, I don't want the assumption made that I support whatever he said just because I've shared it. But it might be good. Rhys James is funny. He was consistently the best thing in most of his Mock the Week episodes, he recently created a football-based Radio 4 sitcom that I quite enjoyed, and he used to do stand-up that featured feminist spoken word poetry. That's pretty good.

[ckret2]

Power to you with regards to wanting to finish with Gravity Falls first. I passed over so many pieces of media just so I'd be READY for when Hazbin dropped the season. When I hyperfixate, it's almost never a choice, I just get thrown around with no will of my own. And it happens fast. Sounds like you're kinda the same way, so ride that wave while you're on it, and hopefully we'll see you on the other side!

I'm exactly the same. I got into Hazbin because I was working to finish the draft of a 500k word Invader Zim fic during nanowrimo, went "oh I need a break, maybe I'll watch that one episode pilot my mutuals keep mentioning just to unwind," and next thing i know I'm writing a 30k romantic tragedy between a serial killer and a goofy snake, reading multiple scholarly books on the history of radio broadcasting, and filling my bookmarks with links to sites on medieval demonology and the history of New Orleans.

It's always like that! I got hooked on Godzilla from one movie I saw on a whim because a mutual was asking a bunch of pals to see it, and now I have strong opinions on the characterization of a three-headed space dragon. My current Gravity Falls hyperfixation came because whenever The Sims 4 updates and all the current mods break, I go back to a mod-free backup file where I'm building the Mystery Shack and rewatch a bunch of episodes to get references of the shack—and somehow, after 4-5 times of doing that and losing interest again within a week, in March my brain suddenly went "you know what, this time I think we're gonna make Gravity Falls our entire personality for, oh... at least the next year."

I'm taking no chances now! Outside Gravity Falls almost all of my current media consumption is nonfiction because I never hyperfixate on nonfiction. I'm putting off watching Hazbin and listening to The Magnus Protocol. When I am reading/watching fiction, it's as research on topics/genres relevant to the fic. What this means is I've read Flatland and watched almost all of the 80's Care Bears series. (Care Bears was very nearly a bad decision. I started developing emphatic headcanons about No Heart and Mr Beastly's backstories. We had a close call. It's okay, I'm past it, luckily tumblr has a nigh-on nonexistent Care Bears fandom.)

Adulthood is figuring out how your ADHD functions by trial and error and corralling it into doing what you want by setting up clever traps and blockades to steer it.

[instructionsnotincluded]

Gorgeous - Sneak Peek (JJ Maybank x Original Female Character)

This is part of the first chapter to a new fic I'm working on, featuring a different character that is outside of Audrey's universe. I'm planning on this beginning in the lull between seasons 3 & 4 of Outer Banks, but we'll see how this develops and what actually happens in season 4. It will eventually be posted to AO3 (if we like it) but for now we can have a sneak peek on Tumblr.

Pairing: JJ Maybank X Original Female Character

Warnings: References to smut; shameless flirting; Gorgeous by Taylor Swift stuck in author's head.

Length: 2335 words

Gorgeous (working title)

The first time Scarlett spotted him was at some random wedding reception she stumbled into. There was a live band, a buffet of food, and a cash bar with a cute bartender who wasn’t checking ID. Nursing her drink, Scarlett stood somewhere between the bar and buffet, leaning against a tall table just people watching. He was tall, with a head of effortlessly messy blonde hair, but it was the broad shoulders that really caught her attention—the way his button down shirt strained when he would shift or reach for his drink made the back of her neck warm slightly. She had yet to see his face, but she kept checking back in between casual glances around the rest of the party to see if he turned. 

She wound up in the OBX about a month ago. After dropping out of UCLA after one year in college, Scarlett packed her car with her dorm room items, only to pause in the parking lot outside her residence hall. She was supposed to return home, head hung, having failed her way out of college, where she’d undoubtedly be forced to work in her father’s law office filing papers the whole summer. But as she sat there, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white, Scarlett decided to drive. She hadn’t necessarily intended to drive east, but before she knew it she hopped on the 101 and found herself on interstate 40, crossing the California state line about seven hours later. 

Scarlett drove until she was tired, pulling over, she dozed in her car a few hours before continuing on, eventually stopping somewhere near the Arizona/New Mexico border to rent a motel room and sleep the rest of the night and early morning. Her phone started going off in regular intervals sometime after midnight, and after confirming that all of her locations were turned off, Scarlett passed out in the motel bed and didn’t wake until her stomach demanded food. 

It took another two days of straight driving to reach the Atlantic, and briefly Scarlett considered scraping enough money together to buy a one way plane ticket across the ocean and start over completely in Europe, but as she boarded the ferry for one of the islands just off the coast of North Carolina, she finally allowed herself a moment to breathe in the salty, humid air. 

She was free. 

“Smoked salmon, miss?” 

Scarlett found herself back in the present, staring at a rather handsome young man dressed in all black. Judging by the way he eyed her, Scarlett must not look too terrible in the simple black dress she’d hauled out of her suitcase. She lifted a hand to the tray to grab a salon and cream cheese cracker and he gave her a nod before continuing on his way around the party.  

“Ok—so I scoped out the buffet line and the dessert table,” Scarlett was met with the face of her only friend in North Carolina, Whitney Pool. She met Whitney on her first day working at the Island Club Hotel, Whitney was assigned as her trainer and together the girls restocked and made up all the hotel rooms on the first three floors. It wasn’t long before they were fast friends, Whitney even letting her crash on her couch until she decided what to do with her life. “They’ve got a carving station and everything—but if you wanna skip right to dessert, I’m right there with you.” 

Scarlett laughed, nodding as Whitney glanced over her shoulder at the many different deserts. “Do we think the cake is real or fake?” 

Scarlett looked over at the five tiered white wedding cake, the icing piled high as it towered over the rest of the deserts. “Fake,” Scarlett said as she bit into her cracker, the salmon and cream cheese mixing well together, having been to many of these types of events in her life she was well aware of the tricks, “the sheet cake’s in the back, they’ll cut one piece and then take it away.” 

“Love the theatrics,” Whitney leaned forward to squeeze her forearm. “Ok, I need another glass. You want one?” 

“No—I’ll switch to something else in a bit. More than one glass of champagne gives me a headache.” 

“Things rich people say.” 

Scarlett laughed, hiding her smile behind her glass as she sipped the champagne. The first time she had the sweet bubbly drink she was thirteen and hiding from her parents in the hotel bathroom during her grandmother’s funeral. In true WASP style, they had the reception in a massive hotel ballroom, complete with glossy portraits and a swan ice sculpture, just as her grandmother requested in her last wishes. 

Scarlett and her older brother, Liam, snuck a few bottles of champagne when no one was looking and quickly found out how easy it was to get drunk on Dom Perignon. That was the night of Scarlett’s first kiss, when her brother’s friend, Seth, had kissed her sloppily against the door of the men’s room, drunken hands fumbling to touch her breasts. Scarlett didn’t remember much from that night, but she did recall throwing up all over Seth’s shoes. 

Scarlett’s eyes swept the party once more, taking in the older couples swaying to the music on the dance floor, the bride and groom, happy and in love, moving from table to table greeting their guests and thanking them for attending. Scarlett made a mental note to keep far away from the two. Rule number one of wedding crashing was to stay away from the newly married couple. 

Scarlett hadn’t expected anyone to notice her, no one aside from the male server had anyway, so when her eyes lifted and met those crystal clear eyes, she thought her heart stopped. 

He was half turned, leaning against his own cocktail table, his gaze trained fully on her. When his eyes met her own, every thought vanished from her mind, and instead all she wanted was to drown in those blue eyes. 

A slow, small, half smile lifted from the corner of his mouth as he reached for the short glass on the table in front of him, two ice cubes clinked in the glass as he took a long sip from it, draining the light colored amber liquid before he pushed himself away from the table and crossed the grassy area to greet her. 

His tie seemed out of place as he smoothed it down, and it didn’t match his shoes the way someone who frequently wore ties would, and based on the way his collar sat, the buttons at the points remaining unbuttoned, told her he wasn’t used to wearing button down shirts either. Scarlett guessed it was a slim cut shirt, based on the way it fit him well around his waist, but his shoulders were too broad for it—and as she eyed the French cuff she was left with even more questions. A girlfriend had most likely purchased or recommended it, but she’d been watching him on and off all evening and had yet to see him with anyone other than a curly haired brunette, and while the boys could be a couple, they didn’t appear to act like one. 

Fuck—Scarlett really hoped he liked women. 

“I had the entire walk over to come up with a line,” his voice was playful and teasing, his eyes glinting as he smiled fully now, “but all I could come up with was hi.” 

“Hi,” Scarlett responded with her own smile, her weight shifting from one foot to the other, “and I think that’s a decent enough line.” 

He glanced over his shoulder at the bride and groom before looking back at her, “how do you know Shawn and Andy?” 

“Um…” Of course they would both have those names…how was she supposed to make up a story now? “Well, I’m Andy’s second cousin…mom’s side.” 

His eyes swept over her, sucking the inside of his cheek as he looked back over his shoulder once more, “that must’ve been an exciting childhood,” he said as he studied her. 

“Oh—you know…” Scarlett coughed softly, “how do you know…them?” 

“I used to work with Shawn,” he said, “back in high school, plus he basically invited the whole damn island.” 

“Ah well…”

“I’m JJ,” he leaned his side against the table, the smile still across his face making her stomach flutter. 

“Scarlett.” 

“Scarlett,” she really wanted to hear him say her name again, watching as he tasted it, the way he drug the r and l together made the butterflies in her stomach go insane, “I like that.” 

“Is JJ short for something?” 

“Sometimes,” JJ lifted his shoulder, “nothing interesting though.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Scarlett wanted to reach up and smooth his collar down, but she forced her hands to remain on the table, “you’re from Kildare?” 

“Mhmm,” JJ glanced around, taking inventory of the party and who was there, “born and raised. What about you?” 

Scarlett hesitated, part of her, the part attached to the butterflies wanted to tell him the truth, but the part attached to her brain told her to deflect so she and Whitney wouldn’t get caught. 

“Oh—uh…”

JJ leaned across the table, motioning her closer to him with his index finger, “you know…if you’re gonna crash, you need to keep your lies simple and not at all attached to the wedding party.” 

Scarlett blushed, her face heating uncomfortably, “when’s you figure it out?” 

“Oh, at the beginning,” JJ grinned at her as they both stood back up straight, “Andy’s adopted and doesn’t know her family.” 

“Fuck.” 

JJ only laughed at her expletive, “like I said…” he shrugged, “keep it simple. Too much and it’s not believable. So, Scarlett’s your real name?”

“It is,” she nodded, “I just got off work and my friend begged me to sneak in with her, she promised me cake if I did.” 

“Cake’s worth it,” JJ said, “I’ve never seen you around though…do you live here in Kildare?” 

“I just moved, actually,” Scarlett lifted her arm to scratch along her shoulder, “arrived about a month ago.”

“Ah.” He nodded, as if he’d just solved an ongoing mystery, “that’s it—I would’ve remembered you.”

Scarlett blushed again and based on JJ’s easy smile she assumed he knew it too. “You’re doing ok on the lines.”

“Good,” JJ shifted, “I’ve been out of practice, so that’s good feedback.”

Scarlett laughed and JJ reached up to scratch behind his ear, his eyes lifting as the server from earlier walked by, his eyes trained directly on Scarlett as he passed. 

“I’m sensing some competition,” JJ joked lightly, but Scarlett could hear the nervousness in his voice, “friend of yours?”

“Never met him before,” Scarlett shook her head, “he’s cute, though.” 

“Got the tall, dark, and handsome thing going,” JJ nodded, “you gonna play that one out or…?” 

“Hmm,” Scarlett lifted a shoulder, watching the server disappear into the white tent, “maybe…do you think he looks like someone who gives good head?” 

JJ choked on his spit and Scarlett smiled, sipping her drink, pleased that she’d made JJ blush. “I don’t know,” JJ coughed lightly, clearing his throat, “a toss up, probably. Young enough to know that’s what you’re lookin’ for, but the good looking ones sometimes don’t know what they’re doing.” 

“So you must be downright terrible then, huh?” 

JJ ran a hand over his mouth, his blue eyes twinkling as he looked across the table at her, but before he could say anything the crackling electricity between them was doused by the frantic red head running up to the table, “they have two cakes!” 

Scarlett had to take a moment to take in her friend, watching Whitney set her glass on the table, “umm…”

“JJ, hey.” 

“Whitney,” JJ’s eyes skimmed the area surrounding them, “is Ricky here?”

“No, you know he won’t crash with me,” Whitney rolled her eyes before looking at Scarlett, “you’ve met Scarlett?”

“Mhmm.” 

“JJ is Ricky’s cousin,” Whitney explained, referring to her on again, off again hook-up. Scarlett labeled them as dating, but Whitney assured her time and time again it was just sex. But Scarlett didn’t think cuddling on the couch every Tuesday night watching movies and walking by the docks on Sunday afternoons could be considered just sex. 

JJ glanced over his shoulder after hearing his name, looking over to see the brunette from before waving him over, the bride and groom beside him. “I’ll let you ladies get back to your evening,” he ducked his head before sending Scarlett a soft smile, “I’ll see you around, Scarlett.” 

When JJ was across the lawn and out of ear shot, Whiteny turned her full attention to Scarlett, “did I interrupt something?”

“I’m not sure,” Scarlett finished her champagne, looking over at Whitney, “you know him?” 

“He’s Ricky’s cousin, I’ve seen him from time to time. Cute—a smart ass.” 

“Is he attached?” 

Whitney took a lengthy sip of her refilled champagne, “he was—but I haven’t seen her around lately. Do you want me to ask Ricky?”

Scarlett shook her head, even though Whitney already had her phone out, thumbs moving frantically as she no doubt sent a text off to Ricky. “I’m going to get a refill.” 

Whitney nodded and Scarlett left to wander to the bar, asking for a vodka soda with lime, watching as the server from earlier emerged from the tent, their eyes meeting a moment later. His were a dull brown, but his face was cute and his nose was promising, so Scarlett let him approach, watching as he gently slid a napkin towards her before wandering off with his tray of appetizers. Scarlett thanked the bartender before walking back to Whitney, her eyes flickering over towards the table JJ returned to, except this time she didn’t see him or his friend. 

“They took their seats at the table,” Whitney sipped her drink, “finish your drink and then we’ll grab cake and bounce before the toasts begin.”

[hilarychuff]

All the Best People See You (All the Best People Know), Chapter 13

new chapter alert!! if anybody wants to read and leave a comment on the new installment of my season 4 robin/chrissy au then i will blow a kiss your way!!

Eddie can’t imagine it’s going to go well when Chrissy’s mom finally shows up and discovers a drug-dealing super-super-senior metalhead at her daughter’s bedside.

read it on ao3 here

“You doing OK, Ozzy?” Eddie asks when they’re finally alone in her hospital room.

It’s late now, nearly the middle of the night, but they’d been sitting in the emergency room waiting area for a while before a nurse finally came to look at Chrissy’s ankle and bring her back for x-rays. It took even longer for a doctor to check in, for them to send Chrissy to get her cast, but at least they’d let Eddie tag along the whole time. They’d almost let him take her home until someone finally noticed that her file listed her as 17, not 18 like she’d claimed during intake.

Now that they’ve discovered she’s underage, things have gotten a little trickier. Apparently, they need a parent or legal guardian they can release her to — her parent or legal guardian, specifically, though he’d tried to see if he couldn’t swing Wayne for a jailbreak — and a call to the Cunningham home had gone unanswered. Which means they’re probably stuck here ‘til morning at least.

Eddie’s not sure exactly if that’s a bad thing. Seems like Chrissy could use the extra time, maybe. He knows she’d wanted to see his show, had wanted to give all of the guys their posters (and, OK, he’d wanted to sing his song for her, too), but he’s also pretty sure she’d put off going to the hospital specifically to avoid any calls made home.

He doesn’t know what goes on in the Cunningham house. Doesn’t know exactly what makes Chrissy so scared. But the way she lies to her mom — practiced, expert, creative in the way she’d come up with details about workout tapes and salads and absolutely no Jane Fonda — makes it clear that she’s developed some elaborate systems over the years. He’s also noticed the way she seems to go to pieces when those systems fail, the way she’d lost her lunch almost immediately when she found out her mom knew she was lying, when she realized she couldn’t fall back on Jason or her cheer friends as cover.

Eddie can’t imagine it’s going to go well when Chrissy’s mom finally shows up and discovers a drug-dealing super-super-senior metalhead at her daughter’s bedside. Especially since he’s struggling to come up with some sort of helpful story to feed her. They could say she tripped, or fell, had some sort of benign accident that could’ve befallen anyone at any time, but there’s no real getting around the part where none of that would have happened if she hadn’t snuck out. Not unless her mom might somehow buy that Eddie was just driving around Loch Nora when he saw her stumble on her way to get the mail, and that instead of taking her inside to her dad, he’d ferried her away to the hospital without telling anyone. And he’s, uh, pretty sure that isn’t going to cut it.

Even the truth won’t work, Eddie’s sure. It should be enough. Should be some sort of fuck you to snobby suburbia that the guy who broke Chrissy’s leg was a member of the basketball team, presumably one of the few boys Chrissy’s parents trust to hang around their daughter, but Eddie’s sure the fact that it had to do with him and Jason Carver getting into a fistfight means that won’t exactly go over well, either.

At least they’ve got time. Hours still, probably. And the doctors gave Chrissy the good pain meds, so she seems to be feeling OK, something she confirms with a wobbly sort of smile when he squeezes her hand.

“Thanks for staying with me, Eddie,” she says in a quiet voice. “You’re a really good friend.”

“The best even, some might say,” he teases, gentle. “Or at least so I hear.”

keep reading

[senkusphone]

@aresagainstthemachine asked so this one is for you. Video of it working at the end.

Here's the one project I am so proud of I named my entire blog after it.

Back in 2020, while I was stuck at home with few pleasant things to do, I decided to bring this contraption to life.

Only recently had I gotten into this inspiring series called Dr. Stone, and when I saw them make this device in the anime, I knew it was my divine calling to build it, for I had prior experience building circuits with vacuum tubes, an interest that was fostered greatly by my late grandfather when I was a boy. It had been because of the stories he'd tell me that I built my first crystal radio back then (which took me about 4 years of trial and error). Now, people had ''built'' the phone on youtube at least once before, but I was not satisfied with what they did, when they used parts that were too advanced and didn't even get it to transmit a voice, only to pick up radio stations. So I tried to go beyond while being as accurate as possible to the level of technology they had, I was seeking to achieve more with less

Making something that picks a radio signal is relatively easy, the challenge was making it also produce its own signal so it could truly be used as a phone (or more accurately, like a walkie talkie), and I restricted myself to use the most primitive tubes I had, the ones most similar to what old Kaseki would have made.

(Happy birthday to Kaseki by the way, February 9th) I started out using this beautiful Western Electric 262-A tube. This general purpose triode was developed around 1928 by the Bell Telephone company and one of the things it was known to be used for, was in cinema projectors to amplify the sound from the early talkie films. I think that's interesting enough to mention.

It wasn't long until my experiments showed great promise, eventually I moved on to a type 45 vacuum tube, another triode which is more powerful as a transmitter than the 262-A yet its construction is much more primitive. This tube is very similar to what Senku & Co. would've had.

I started building the definitive device, simultaneously laying a plan to combine a transmitter and receiver in the same unit using just one tube, a task that required this one part to perform four different duties (because I hadn't read the manga, and I didn't know the final unit they dispatched used two tubes instead of just one). On new year's eve at the end of 2020, the circuit was broadcasting One Small Step by Lillian Weinberg, loud and clear to a radio across the room.

You can get a recording of that in the link below as Tumblr won't let me upload it (yes I am using discord to host files, it also works for hosting images for your fanfics on Ao3, you're welcome).

The wooden circuit board was wired with homemade wires, made by cutting a sheet of copper into strips, and wrapping them in cotton and thread. A relay is used to switch the phone from receiver mode to transmitter mode with the push of a button.

Then the coils were calculated and wound, including the iconic large transmit coil

but would this coil that was made to look like the one in the series, be suitable to repeat what I had achieved in my experiments, would it resonate and produce the signal?

yes

I intended originally to have this project done before season 2 of Dr. Stone started, and put out a youtube video, but that ended up not happening. Still, the unit finally came together, and the plastic housing was a tupper with the rim cut off, painted orange and applied lettering.

By now season 2 had already ended, I believe, or it was soon to. Before I painted the case, I had to have one definitive test, to see that my creation demonstrated the functionality it promised, and now I had just the right voice to do it.

The final circuit was based on the work of radio pioneer Edwin Howard Armstrong, who was one of the fellows who invented the wireless world we know it today.

I turned the switch, and watched as the tungsten filament in the tube started glowing red. First I adjusted the receive coil and a radio station came in on the crystal earpiece, then, with a radio receiver in tune nearby, I started the sound I wanted to send over the air, and I pressed the transmit button...

It's true, it can be done. Today, there are people still alive who saw the day when the cutting edge of electronics was at this level. How far we've come from these baby steps, over such a short time.

Isn't science awesome?

I still haven't built a second unit.

[whathehe11]

You know what I want? I want to bring back smaller budget more episodes per season with a new season coming out every year.

I’m so sick of shows feeling like movies.

Don’t get me wrong, movies are pretty good. They’re fun. But they’re fundamentally different when it comes to format.

A movie is max 3 hours long. TV shows (specifically American TV shows) used to be 22 episodes long a season (in hours that’s 16 1/2 hours.)

There was so much more room for character development, side stories and different sub plots about different side characters.

Now, I’m not saying we should go back to 22 episodes a season (actors were regularly doing 16 hour days (ex: Buffy, the X files, Smallville) sometimes going to 20 hour work days) and writers were often very rushed. But for the love of god 6 episodes is just not enough to be getting fully invested. Especially when the wait time till the next season isn’t until 3-4 years from the first season.

Back to the budget side of things, high budgets make it harder for big companies to be willing to make risks and invest in shows. So lower the budget (and get occasionally mediocre cgi) and maybe do 12-16 episodes a seasons and get that medium.

I look at what happened to our flag meets death and just think that it’s such a waste for it to have been canceled after so little time.

Since it’s become more common for shows to take longer between seasons and for them to be shorter I just find myself going and watching older shows.

Way too many shows have been canceled after 1 or 2 seasons and it hurts to hit that cliffhanger and know nothings gonna come of it and that there is no resolution in sight.