#bbb week 14

[polizwrites]

PoliZ’s WIP Update -  31 Jul 2024

A bit of a struggle to get the words out this week -  I touched three fics (1 new & 2 WIPs) - for a total of 1946  words.   

On Ao3, I posted: 

Chapter Six of A Little Bit Carried Away - WinterIron No Powers omegaverse fic  

The Bloom is Off the Rose -  No Powers AU ficlet with Tony meeting cute with Bucky & Steve (featuring cheating!Ty) 

Overflowing with Passion - Wartime Stucky PWP ficlet. 

On Tumblr I posted: 

Engaging with the Enemy - Bucky & Sam TFAWS scene retelling

I’m juggling  20+  active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadline being the July Break Bingo, which runs until mid-August, and Hot Bucky Summer and Tony Stark This or That, which run til the end of August.  

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

July Break Bingo [JBB_24] (runs 1-31 Jul  14 August) 

@julybreakbingo  is a fantastic any-fandom bingo event designed to spark creativity during the month of July - plus the first two weeks of August, thanks to an extension! I’ve combined squares with  multiple other events this month and as of today, I have 22 prompts filled and 1 in WIP form, with one or two more  potentially planned. 

* B5 - "Wanna practice?" -  filled this with  Practice Makes Perfect as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF 261 Maybe One More]. It’s a Pre war Stucky getting-together ficlet that came in at 541 words.

* I5 - Engage - filled this with Engaging with the Enemy. A Bucky & Sam TFAWS scene retelling, it crosses over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF 263 In The Meadows]. It came in at 356 words.

* G2 Hurt/Comfort - another Flash Fiction Friday crossfill, where I combined this with [#FFF262 Run Far and Fast ] for  Beating a Hasty Retreat, where teenage Steve & Bucky get in a scrape.  It came in at 410 words.

* G3 - "I can't breathe."  - see G3 above. 

* O2 - Betrayal fic - didn’t manage to figure out a crossover on this, so I wrote & posted  The Bloom is Off the Rose, where a note tucked into an apology bouquet Ty gave him leads Tony to meet two handsome florists.  It came in at 655 words and posted on Monday.  

Hot Bucky Summer 2024 [HBS_R2] (Ends 31 Aug)

More fun from the @buckybarnesevents folks - this time weekly challenges to create (usually NSFW) Bucky-centric fanworks!   Thanks to plenty of cross-filling with other events  (I’m looking at you, July Break Bingo)  I’ve submitted something for the first nine weeks and have at least ideas for the remaining three - now  to see if I have time/inspiration to write them!  

* Week 9 July 27th - August 2nd - FREE WEEK | Optional Prompts: WAM (Wet & Messy).  Posted Overflowing with Passion  this morning -  more wartime Stucky sexy shenanigans.  Post-Rebirth, Steve is very … productive when he comes, and Bucky is 100% here for it.  It came in (heh) at  571 words and crosses over with  BaBB: July: Bukkake,   BBB: B4 - Showoff  JBB: I2 - "I feel disgusting." + N1- "Are you done?" + Alt2 - Love as passion.  

* Week 10 August 3rd - August 9th --  “Shhhhhhhhh…” + Gagged  + Voyeurism - Working on Chapter 3 of  Coming Clean. Bucky’s POV - Tony blabbering about how he doesn’t want to come between Steve & Bucky - so the two of them shut him up in the best way.  Currently crossing over with my TSB_R8 - K5 - Misunderstandings  square and  TSTOT_24 -  Row 2: Omega Tony prompt - going to see if I can squish in any  Aug BaBB prompts.

* Week 11 August 10th - August 16th  “You look good like this.” + Kneeling  + Tied Down  +  Ruined.   Probably Chapter 3   of  The Business of Pleasure -  picking up with  Steve’s  POV?  It’s currently sitting at   71 words and I want to see if any Aug BaBB prompts fit.  

* Week 12 - August 17th - August 23rd  – “What should I wear?” + Nothing -  Got inspired by a song lyric to come up with a Greco-Roman wrestling challenge - if I go WinterIron I could squish in  TSB S4 - "Get it over with"  or  S2 - Tony's Poor Life Choices …? I will also see if any Aug BaBB prompts fit.

Hawkeyes Bingo [HB_R2] (Ends TBD) 

Working on this  Tumblr event - got a 3x3 card and am looking forward to creating more  Clint-centric content and trying my hand at a bit of  Kate Bishop fic as well!    

* A3 - Awkward Flirting – this might be a good entry into my first femslash fic with Kate/Yelena?    

* C1 - Magic -  Combined this with a previous Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF259 House of Cards]   for   Keep a Steady Hand.  Clint notices Bucky getting frustrated with a task and offers to help.  It came in at 632 words and will post to Ao3 possibly later this month.  

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] (Ends 1 Sep 2024)

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!  At twenty-four  fills and two WIPs with three months to go, I seem to be going a bit overboard …. 😁

* May:  Bucky’s Trigger Words -  combined this with last week’s  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF251 Out There] for Just To Live One Day Out There - a Winter Soldier self-reflective ficlet. It came in at 312 words and will get posted to Ao3 Real Soon. 

* May:  Praise Kink - Filled this with Chapter Six of A Little Bit Carried Away, which posted on Friday. Alpha!Bucky and omega!Tony get to live out their sexy fantasies.  It came in at 1138 words 

*July: Sharing Clothes - Also filled this prompt with Chapter Six of A Little Bit Carried Away.  

* July: Bukkake, - see HBS Week 9  above

WinterIron Bingo Round 2  [WIB_R2] (Ends 16 Dec 2024)

Signups are still open for pre-made cards for Round Two of this super-fun bingo event! I have fifteen  fills and zero WIPs at the moment - setting this aside for the moment, as I have other time-sensitive events going.  

* Iron Soldier (One Bingo, One Fill) - looking at combining my Column B prompts: Matchmaker, Bucky Riding Tony, Stark Gala, Inside Joke and Threesome.  Still working on a plot - if you have any suggestions/want-to-sees - let me know! 

* I1 - A/B/O: Knotting  - see BaBB May: Praise Kink above.  

* I3 - Car Sex -  Have a fun ficlet in mind for this - some of the dialogue & such already worked out in my head.   Possibly combine with JBB B3 - "You're in denial." 

*I4 - SHIELD HQ - combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF245 You Never Cared] and wrote Fathers Don’t Know Best  -  No Power AU with Bucky working as an analyst at SHIELD who stumbles across a late night visitor to the lobby.  It came in at 407 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends.  

* N1 - Hair Pulling Kink -  thanks to a fun prompt from @scottxlogan  - I filled this square with Untangling Their Attraction - where Tony’s offer of assistance leads to mutual kink discovery (not as racy as it might sound).  It’s coming in at 544 words and will post to Ao3 before this event is over. 

* N5 - "I'm here for you."  - Possibly the next chapter of  Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion ?  

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round Six [BBB - R6]  (Ends 31 Mar)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @buckybarnesbingo is back!  I have ten fills, no WIPs at the moment, but a coiple  more crossovers planned. 

* B4 - Showoff - see HBS Week 9 above.

* K4 - Last Times/Farewells - combined this with a previous  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF257 Count The Days ] for  Short-Timing It - a pre-war (just barely) Bucky & Steve (Stucky if you squint) ficlet. It came in at 313 words and will post to Ao3 before the event is over.   

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Eight fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two!

* I2 - Vulnerable Drunk - matched this up with a previous Flash Fiction Friday prompt of [#FFF258 Milky Way Dreams]  for Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines -  a MIT-era Tony & Rhodey ficlet, where a drunk Tony shares a childhood dream with his best friend.  It came in at 318 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point.   

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on a Ziggy the Vulture plush figure for a custom commission.       

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[suchagallabitch]

Tag Game Tuesday (its wednesday almost thursday)

Hellloo I was tagged by the lovely @thepupperino & @auds-and-evens 😽😽😽

Name: Elle 🐝🐝

Sun sign: Aries season bbb

What day of the week were you born? Monday

First app you open in the morning: is it sad if i say instagram…. its true but that doesnt make it any less sad. I have a deep fear of missing news so i actually know for a fact every morning a check insta, then messages then discord than email

Last song you listened to: The Moment I knew - Taylor Swift (shocker)

What type of phone do you have? Iphone 14 pro max my pride and joy

Something you'd like to learn how to do: Spanish desperately. Crocheting is a close second

Art gallery or history museum? Ummm probably art gallery

Your least favorite chore: Mopping 👎

Do you believe in fate? Uh probably not. I dont know what else to say here so sorry this is a boring answer

If offered immortality, would you take it? Absolutely fucking not

How are you feeling right now? I’m tried and my stomach kinda hurts but I’m still vibing

Finally, tell me something you're looking forward to: Speak now TV is currently the driving force keeping me alive. My friends and I are also gonna have a picnic soon and I’m excited for that :)

I’m late but i’m still gonna tag people sue me: @purplemagpie @babygirlmickey @mikhailoisbaby @too-schoolforcool @deedala @squidyyy23 @harrowhark-a-vagrant @xninetiestrendx @depressedstressedlemonzest @clingymickey @tsuga-of-mars @michellemisfit @sleepyfacetoughguy @vintagelacerosette @thisdivorce @tellmegoodbye @sam-loves-seb @grumpymickmilk @arrowflier @all-that-shit @flamingbluepanda 😽

[manonamora-if-reviews]

Bali B&B by Felicity Banks

============= Links

Play the game (IFComp) See other reviews of the game

============= Synopsis

"Bali B&B" is a cosy choice-based tale of running a Bed & Breakfast in Bali, Indonesia. There is peril to humans and animals on Friday but your choices will definitely not get anyone or anything killed.

============= Other Info

Bali B&B is a ChoiceScript game, submitted to the 2023 edition of the IFComp

Status: Completed Genre: Slice of Life

CW: -

============= Playthrough

Played: 14-Oct-2023 Playtime: about 1h Rating: - [IFComp vote] Thoughts: A cosy stressful week...

============= Review

Bali B&B is a slice-of-life management game, where you are tasked to run your grandparents' B&B in Bali for a week. Between taking care of the guests and the house, the trials and tribulations will make you realise whether this is the life you want to live. How will you do on this test?

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

Slice of life games, especially the cosy ones, work like a balm on a heavy heart or mind. They make you forget about the harshness of the world and transport you into a world where you may have some things to overcome, but there is no real danger, no impending doom - worst that can happen is a disappointed NPC. BBB does just that.

Wrapped in a blanket of spice and sweets, the game makes you feel right at home, complete with the overbearing family, anxiousness of one's life's dreams, and the plethora of good food. The prose is quite lovely, short but saying everything and more - the secondhand embarrassment of my failures were palpable...

There is a lot to enjoy in this entry, from the delightful and diverse cast of characters, the different approaches to run the B&B (I'm happy to report I was terrible at it....), or dealing with unforeseen issues. But also: the food, the descriptions of the environment, the food, the cats... It was a good time, but also a bit too short of a time.

[indigo474]

9-14-24

after 5 long months- 5 months- I get my period. yay! I am trying really hard to not think my body is betraying me. it feels like it is- that would explain the sadness- I couldn't lift heavy and was just in a mood- yuck- internal turmoil. I really should know by now what to look out for- but after 5 months I just kind of forget that it's even a possibility I could be getting my period. I think the medicine actually helped- in the past I would have crippling anxiety-this time, not so much and I didn't have any brain fog. when I turned 50 my eyes said a big fuck you to me. I need glasses to drive at night. I cant see far and I cant see near. I thought I was sad about not being on vacation. it was a great trip. something I never thought I would do-. something I will never forget. the director of my company decided to show up to work this week. she shows up to a meeting with a can of Altoids. the good news is they are implementing my suggestions about the new hires. the bad news is I feel like I am part of a dysfunctional family. I submitted Christine's review. she's not going to be happy. I don't think she's happy anyway. i think she thought she would be a supervisor by now. Turns out I wasn't in any kind of trouble- just me overthinking. I woke up with the intention of going to the gym- I decided to run instead. my GPS says I ran 5 miles- tomorrow I should lift. James had me deload? i think that's what he called it. but now I'm back to lifting heavy. he has me hip thrusting 155 lbs- why? I was doing this weird thing while squatting and tweaked my knee and now i'm scared to go too heavy. I just don't want to get hurt. I had a dream about Michael. he wouldn't talk to me but came to my house to help me with my pool.. I dream a lot. I swear I heard someone say mom. it woke me up. for a second I thought it was madison- but she wasn't home. I was talking to Pam yesterday.i have a BBB dispute I am trying to take care of. it's my first one.i was asking her about it. she was so helpful. she said she is looking for another job- she's been saying this for years. I uninstalled Instagram from my phone. I was spending too much time scrolling.

[lazycatdd]

給朋友們的警告

台灣朋友請直接跳到下面結論

This is an awful experience which I originally don't want to say. But now, since I still tangle in it and see no my money back, I decide to expose this incidence on social media

Can't get refund from accidentally bought Zoom service through Google play and PayPal

As missed free trial cancel deadline on 2/5, I accidentally subscribed Zoom's annual service by Google play and chose PayPal as payment method.

So, in the beginning, I followed PayPal's "recommended way to contact Seller" to email google play to asking for refund since PayPal listed Google play as "Seller"

But there is NO response in one week!

At this time(2/13), I contacted Zoom by phone, they said because I chose payment method other than credit card, they can't refund me directly. Besides ,on 2/15, Zoom gave me an email, it also states I have to request refund from Google Play or PayPal.

After phone call to Zoom, on 2/13, I requested refund from PayPal and Google play by their online form. This time Google replied in one day that because I opened refund request on PayPal side first, they can't do anything and want me to follow up with PayPal. PayPal replied nothing but an in app status update.

In the app, it shows "it usually takes 5 days" and a "estimate case resolution" on 3/4

However, until 3/5, there is NO any progress in my case and NO any personal contact from PayPal. Furthermore, the resolution date just quietly updated to 3/9.

I decided to call PayPal CS.

The CS Luis just replied that they are "waiting for seller's response" and "this kind case usually takes 5 days to one month to solve". I mentioned that it's just involving virtual service and everything happened online; why it takes so long and no explanation from PayPal at all. Luis just repeated to asking me waiting and stated he would put a"expedite note" on my case. It "should have results" in 72hrs.

So, I waited to 3/8, there's still nothing happened! I called PayPal CS again and this time they transferred me to a higher CS Gabriel, BUT, this one was also just repeating what app shows and asking me to wait. I was angry and requested to talk to a "back office personnel who can make decisions or know-how of technical side". He declined and said "back office won't talk to customer directly". Only thing he can do is letting his "CS Supervisor" to call me. I don't want to be put off anymore so I just want him to send a message to back office: if they don't solve this by 3/9, I may report this to BBB and expose this to social media!

Gabriel states he would try to leave message and his supervisor will call me.

After this call, I tried to contact Google play again, this time I used live chat support and talked with Walters. But, unfortunately, Google is also just putting me off! This Walters just keep emphasizing google play just "money processor" I mentioned I talked with Zoom and PayPal and the "seller" they listed is Google Not Zoom -- thats why I contacted google play for help. Walters just insist they are just "processor" and "Has no obligation to contact PayPal for customer".

So I cannot but keep waiting, no one called me and on 3/9, PayPal just changed the resolution date to 3/14! I am hopeless, I can only try to re-open my case with Zoom(because Google apparently backed off) and keep stupidly waiting for PayPal.

And, yesterday, 3/14, is One Month deadline since I started my refund request to PayPal and guess what, they merely updated the resolution date to 3/19!!

Now, obviously, l am being kicking around by Zoom, Google and PayPal. I have no way but post my case around to warning my friends and plain customers like me:

1. Do Not Fall into "Free Trial trap"

Easily, now everyone may enjoy several free trial benefits and it's very likely to forget cancel one you don't want keep then get into trouble like me 😢. If you really want to take advantage of some free trials. Make sure put the expiration date on your calendar and best set an alarm ⏰🚨!

2.Do Not combine two online payment platforms together as a payment method like I did the this time - you don't know the details, policy and technical side of these platforms' contracts - if something happens, you may just be kicked around as a dirty ball like me😢

For those 3 big guys, 159.99 dollars may be nothing, but I am a limited income person, it IS something! As a plain customer, I do not deserve to be pushing around by them! I just want my money back!

I attached my PayPal case snapshot shots to prove they list google as seller and other facts I mentioned above.

我在一月中用了Zoom的免費試用做了一次家庭聚會 這種Free Trial 都會要求你先提供免費期結束後的付費方式 我因為貪圖Google play 的方便和PayPal 裡面有錢而且計點 就登記用Google play付費並選擇 PayPal帳戶作為出資方式（相對於信用卡或銀行帳戶） 唉！這真是我作過最錯誤的決定之一！😥 當我錯過2/5取消日 Zoom就自動啟動一年訂閱 收了我159.99美刀！ 我當然不幹！因為PayPal 是支付方 我就從那開始啟動退款程序 結果竟變成我被Zoom, Google, PayPal 三方踢皮球! 誰都不肯馬上退費 尤其PayPal 態度最為冷淡惡劣 所以我只好尋求加州消費者申訴組織BBB協助 並在我的社交網站貼文 警醒大家：

1.不要隨便掉入“免費試用”陷阱！現在很多人都選擇享受好幾種不用白不用的免費試用優惠 可是一定要記得 萬一你忘記取消 變成正式訂閱 通常錢就自動轉過去了 商家通常不會輕易吐出來！😞 所以如果你一定要用 絕對記得把到期日放在手機月曆上 而且開鬧鐘提醒🚨⏰！

2.盡量不要合併兩種支付平台作為付費方式：以台灣情況 可能就像用apple pay 感應付費可是出金方式選擇廟口一樣🤨 -- 作為一般民眾 我們很難了解這些平台背後合作的技術及合約細節-- 萬一出現糾紛 就很可能落得跟我一樣 被當球踢！⚽

@PayPal

@googleplay

@zoom

Google Play

Your Google Support Inquiry: Case ID [2-2035000035668]

Zoom

Re: Base Plan Cancellation[Transfer from GR0116614]

[pinkpong-art-contemporain]

Week-End de l’Art Contemporain de Toulouse et sa métropole #14

Rendez-vous artistique annuel, le Week-End de l’Art Contemporain de Toulouse et sa métropole revient pour une 14e édition volcanique du 11 au 14 Mai 2023. Fidèle à son désir de créer des liens entre les structures culturelles du territoire et une dynamique positive autour de l’art contemporain dans l’agglomération toulousaine, le réseau PinkPong vous propose d’arpenter à pieds ou en bus la métropole à la découverte de la création contemporaine.

Au programme de ces quatre jours : vernissages, performances dansées, visites, rencontres, médiations, moments de partage, parcours en bus... De l’ouverture de l’exposition Le vert est une couleur inutile au CIAM UT2J La Fabrique à l’inauguration de la peinture collective réalisée sur le portail de Lieu-Commun ou à la performance dansée à Odyssud en passant par la nuit des musées aux Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse, le WEACT nous entraîne jusqu’au bout de la nuit et réveille en nous le tourbillon d’un vent de création.

Cette nouvelle édition, toujours gratuite et ouverte à tous·tes, offre une multitude de rendez‑vous à ne pas rater – à la Galerie le Château d’eau, au Castelet, à Lieu‑Commun, à IPN, au CIAM UT2J La Fabrique, au Centre culturel Bellegarde, aux Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse, au BBB centre d’art, au Majorat à Villeneuve Tolosane, au Pavillon Blanc Henri Molina à Colomiers, à Odyssud à Blagnac, au Quai des Arts à Cugnaux, à la Maison Salvan à Labège – jusqu’à nous conduire en dehors des frontières toulousaines à l’ESCAL à Nailloux.

Célébrons ensemble avec panache cette 14e édition du WEACT !

le réseau PinkPong

[yrhuef]

St Louis Baseball Albert Pujols 700 Home Runs T Shirt

St Louis Baseball Albert Pujols 700 Home Runs T Shirt

Glioblastoma (GBM). GBM is the most St Louis Baseball Albert Pujols 700 Home Runs T Shirt and most aggressive brain cancer. It’s highly invasive, which makes complete surgical removal impossible. And because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it doesn’t respond to any chemotherapy. The standard-of-care entails multiple rounds of surgery and radiotherapy, yet the five year survival is lower than 5%. Pancreatic cancer (PDAC). PDAC is a notoriously stubborn cancer. The only effective treatment is a very painful and very complex operation called “the Whipple procedure”. However, only 20% of patients are eligible for such operation. And even for those lucky patients, only 20% survived more than five years. For the rest majority of patients, the chance of survival is negligible, because PDAC hardly responds to any form of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The five year survival overall is 6%.

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[scottbcrowley2]

BBB Tip of the Week: Donating in Trying Times - Sun, 14 Jun 2020 PST

Seeing the suffering and struggle around us, many people want to reach into their wallets to provide support. For some, putting their money where their mouth is serves as a way to help organizations and movements bring about change. Deciding where to donate isn’t always easy, though. With thousands of organizations and groups to support, how do you make sure your money is making an impact? BBB Tip of the Week: Donating in Trying Times - Sun, 14 Jun 2020 PST

[polizwrites]

PoliZ’s WIP Update -   7 & 14 Aug 2024

Out on holiday at the beginning of the month, so here’s two weeks’ worth of updates.  Over that time period, I touched four fics (2 new & 2 WIPs) - for a total of 3001  words.   

On Ao3, I posted: 

Chapter Seven of Love is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong - eventual WinterIron omegaverse  reality show AU.  

Practice Makes Perfect -  pre-war teenage Stucky ficlet 

Beating a Hasty Retreat - pre-war teenage  Bucky & Steve ficlet 

Chapter 3 (final) of  Coming Clean - explicit Winteriron + Stucky = Stuckony fic.  

Engaging with the Enemy -  TFaWS - compliant Sam & Bucky ficlet  

Calling Love Fate - WinterIron Soulmate AU one shot

On Tumblr I posted: 

Stranded Among the Stars -  Avengers Endgame-compliant Nebula & Tony ficlet 

I’m juggling  20+  active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadline being the July Break Bingo, which wraps up today, and Hot Bucky Summer and Tony Stark This or That, which run til the end of August.  

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

July Break Bingo [JBB_24] (runs 1-31 Jul  14 August) 

@julybreakbingo  is a fantastic any-fandom bingo event designed to spark creativity during the month of July - plus the first two weeks of August, thanks to an extension! I’ve combined squares with  multiple other events this month and I managed 26  prompts filled  - need to get my masterpost up ASAP! 

* B3 - "You're in denial." Posted Calling Love Fate  this morning.  Steve and Bucky discover something Tony already knew - that he and Bucky are soulmates.   This fills the  BaBB July: AU Soulmates prompt, as well as my BBB B2 - AU: Soulmates and  TSB  T5 - Together prompts. 

* N3 - FREE - see B3 above - re-using Alt5 - Love as patience prompt.  

Hot Bucky Summer 2024 [HBS_R2] (Ends 31 Aug)

More fun from the @buckybarnesevents folks - this time weekly challenges to create (usually NSFW) Bucky-centric fanworks!   Thanks to plenty of cross-filling with other events  (I’m looking at you, July Break Bingo)  I’ve submitted something for the first ten weeks and have at least ideas for the remaining two  - now  to see if I have time/inspiration to write them!  

* Week 10 August 3rd - August 9th --  “Shhhhhhhhh…” + Gagged  + Voyeurism - Posted  Chapter Three of  Coming Clean last Friday.   Bucky’s POV - Tony blabbering about how he doesn’t want to come between Steve & Bucky - so the two of them shut him up in the best way.  It crossed over with my TSB_R8 - K5 - Misunderstandings  square and  TSTOT_24 -  Row 2: Omega Tony prompt and came in at  1196 words.

* Week 11 August 10th - August 16th  “You look good like this.” + Kneeling  + Tied Down  +  Ruined.   Working on Chapter 3   of  The Business of Pleasure -  picking up with  Steve’s  POV and continuing with some more bondage, edging  and toy play.    It’s crossing over with the  BaBB August: Bondage prompt and is currently sitting at 1220 words with one scene to go! 

* Week 12 - August 17th - August 23rd  – “What should I wear?” + Nothing -  Shifting directions slightly and going with some WinterIron massage therapy - I think I can use the same song lyric as the title  and  can possibly squish  TSB S4 - "Get it over with"  and BaBB August: Body Worship.  

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] (Ends 31 Oct 2024)

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!  At thirty  fills and one WIPs with three months to go, I seem to be going a bit overboard …. 😁

* May:  Bucky’s Trigger Words -  combined this with last week’s  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF251 Out There] for Just To Live One Day Out There - a Winter Soldier self-reflective ficlet. It came in at 312 words and will get posted to Ao3 Real Soon. 

* August: Omegaverse - filled this with Chapter Seven of Love is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong. Bucky and his omega housemates embark on their final challenge, with an additional (unintended) twist.  I squished my BBB K3 - Nicknames square and TSTOT Row 1: Beta Tony  into this installment, which came in at 1084 words and posted on the first.  

* August: Bondage - see HBS: Week Eleven above. 

Tony Stark This or That  [TSTOT_24] (Ends 31 Aug 2024)

I signed up late and then promptly forgot I had a card - so am tackling this 8-row card with the hopes of getting it at least halfway done by the end of the month.  Am doing okay with two prompts filled so far - need to brainstorm crossovers with my TSB, BBB, and WIB cards!  

* Row 1: Beta Tony- see BaBB August: Omegaverse above. 

* Row 2: Omega Tony - see HBS: Week 10 above. 

* Row 5: Inappropriate Use of Stark Tech - potential combo with  HBS Week 12?  

WinterIron Bingo Round 2  [WIB_R2] (Ends 16 Dec 2024)

Signups are still open for pre-made cards for Round Two of this super-fun bingo event! I have fifteen  fills and zero WIPs at the moment - setting this aside for the moment, as I have other time-sensitive events going.  

* Iron Soldier (One Bingo, One Fill) - looking at combining my Column B prompts: Matchmaker, Bucky Riding Tony, Stark Gala, Inside Joke and Threesome.  Still working on a plot - if you have any suggestions/want-to-sees - let me know! 

* I3 - Car Sex -  Have a fun ficlet in mind for this - some of the dialogue & such already worked out in my head.  

*I4 - SHIELD HQ - combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF245 You Never Cared] and wrote Fathers Don’t Know Best  -  No Power AU with Bucky working as an analyst at SHIELD who stumbles across a late night visitor to the lobby.  It came in at 407 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends.  

* N1 - Hair Pulling Kink -  thanks to a fun prompt from @scottxlogan  - I filled this square with Untangling Their Attraction - where Tony’s offer of assistance leads to mutual kink discovery (not as racy as it might sound).  It’s coming in at 544 words and will post to Ao3 before this event is over. 

* N5 - "I'm here for you."  - Possibly the next chapter of  Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion ?  

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round Six [BBB - R6]  (Ends 31 Mar)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @buckybarnesbingo is back!  I have twelve  fills with no WIPs at the moment, but a couple  more crossovers planned. 

* B2 - AU: Soulmates - see JBB B3 - "You're in denial." above. 

* K3 - Nicknames  - see BaBB  August: Omegaverse above

* K4 - Last Times/Farewells - combined this with a previous  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF257 Count The Days ] for  Short-Timing It - a pre-war (just barely) Bucky & Steve (Stucky if you squint) ficlet. It came in at 313 words and will post to Ao3 before the event is over.   

Tony Stark Bingo - Mark VIII [TSB_R8]  (Ends 31 May)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @tonystarkbingo is back! Late signups will start next month if you want to join in on the fun!  I have  three squares filled already and need to plan out more crossovers! 

* T1 - Watching Helplessly -  Posted Stranded Among the Stars  to Tumblr on Friday as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF265 Galaxies Away]. It’s a Nebula & Tony ficlet set on the ship - it came in at 345 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends. 

* T5 - Together - see JBB B3 - "You're in denial."  above

* K5 - Misunderstandings - see HBS Week 10 above.

Hawkeyes Bingo [HB_R2] (Ends TBD) 

Working on this  Tumblr event - got a 3x3 card and am looking forward to creating more  Clint-centric content and trying my hand at a bit of  Kate Bishop fic as well!    

* A3 - Awkward Flirting – this might be a good entry into my first femslash fic with Kate/Yelena?    

* C1 - Magic -  Combined this with a previous Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF259 House of Cards]   for   Keep a Steady Hand.  Clint notices Bucky getting frustrated with a task and offers to help.  It came in at 632 words and will post to Ao3 possibly later this month.   

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Eight fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two!

* I2 - Vulnerable Drunk - matched this up with a previous Flash Fiction Friday prompt of [#FFF258 Milky Way Dreams]  for Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines -  a MIT-era Tony & Rhodey ficlet, where a drunk Tony shares a childhood dream with his best friend.  It came in at 318 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point.   

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on a Winter Soldier plush figure for a commission.       

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[the-feeeeling-is-mutual]

Thank you for the tag @heyjonesey​, as always! ❤️

1. What is the colour of your hairbrush? Pink and grey, my hair included.

2. Name a food you never eat: Mushrooms. Mushrooms are evil.

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? Too cold. Like all the time. In the summer family members use my feet to cool themselves down. So cold that we started turning the heater on in... July I think?

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Downloading photos, I might have a problem. (I don’t see why Shutterstock doesn’t give me an account with 10 free downloads with my perfectly real-looking name AAA BBB, working for Stealers Inc. on the position of a stealer with an e-mail address thisisathrowawayaccsorry@[redacted] tho. They’re mean.)

5. What’s your favourite candy bar? None really, I prefer high-quality chocolate.

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? No, thank god.

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? "The interNOT”

8. What is your favourite ice cream? I really like any kind of fruit sorbet.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? water

10. Do you like your wallet? I... I don’t have any. I usually don’t even wear any kind of purse to be honest because of my back problems. My husband carries all my things in his shoulder bag.

11. What was the last thing you ate? chocolate

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? What would I need them for now?

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched? Some ice-skating like a year ago.

14. What is your favourite flavour of popcorn?

I think they’re selling only something like “sweet” and “salty” here.

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? a realtor

16. Ever been camping? Nope, I’m a city creature.

17. Do you take vitamins? Yes, sir.

18. Do you regularly attend a place of worship? *looks at my main blog* I mean... 

19. Do you have a tan? I haven’t really been outside since... February so you can probably imagine.

20. Do you prefer chinese or pizza? This must be a trick question, one loves both equally.

21. Do you drink soda through a straw? No, I can use my hands. And mouth. And drink from a glass.

22. What colour socks do you usually wear? Pink ones inside or in winter boots, black ones outside.

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? I don’t drive and would never.

24. What terrifies you? As a person with a panic disorder, please let me just say this would get the length of a slow-burn fanfic if I was to list everything accurately.

25. Look to your left, what do you see? A door, would you look at that.

26. What chore do you hate the most? I’m an adult, I do all the chores with an immense love any time it means avoiding my other responsibilities.

27. What do you think of when you hear an australian accent? Of one movie I worked on.

(Did anyone notice number 28 is missing? Huh.)

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit drive thru? I don’t eat fast food really.

30. What’s your favourite number? Does everyone have one? I don’t.

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? husband

32. Favourite meat? No, thank you.

33. Last song you listened to? As It Was

34. Last book you read? I... I swear I used to read a lot at school but now it’s mostly fanfics for me and those I’m NOT going to name.

35. Favourite day of the week? Any day except for Saturday since I have to teach a lot. The beginning of the week is good. Long time till next Saturday.

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? What would you need that for? I don’t have the bandwidth.

37. How do you like your coffee? Weak. Then I drink half a cup, then my stomach starts hurting, then I get nervous and shaky and then I realise I shouldn’t drink coffee.

38. Favourite pair of shoes? I wear the same “work boots” all year round. Those are my favourite, yes.

39. Time you normally get up? Usually at 12 AM or 1 PMish. My schedule has been weird lately.

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? I have no way of ever seeing a sunrise.

41. How many blankets on your bed? Two most nights. Does husband count as well?

42. Describe your kitchen plates: Yellow. Food tastes good from yellow plates.

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment: Moderate amount of mess.

44. Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? Nope.

45. Do you play cards? Nope.

46. What colour is your car? No car, no colour.

47. Can you change a tire? No car, no need to change a tire.

48. Your favourite state or province? People have those?

49. Favourite job you’ve ever had? My current job actually!

I’m tagging @hufflepuffveve, @riibisel​, @irishsong​, @frankieneedsmeds​ and everyone who feels like being interviewed! ❤️

[brokeco]

I really, really hate MLMs.

MLM stands for Multi-Level Marketing, and it’s an updated term for something we might be familiar with: pyramid schemes. For those who are unfamiliar, pyramid schemes are “companies” where one person or a small group of people at the top and all the people at the bottom send the majority of the wealth to the top. This sounds normal, but the problem is that the only way for a new recruit to make any money is to recruit multiple other people for the company to work under them.

There are two problems with this. The first is that there are quite literally not enough people. If one person recruits 5 people and each of those 5 people recruited 5 more, there are only enough people on the planet to go through this cycle about 14 times. The second problem is that you have to be pretty high up in the MLM to make money. According to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), about 99% of all MLM “employees” don’t make any sort of money (x).

And that’s just a background on my little rant today. Most of my MLM-hate is directed at one company in particular: Vector Marketing. 

Vector Marketing was founded in 1981 and sells cutlery and other kitchen utensils for the company that owns them called “Cutco”. Their annual revenue is about $245 million dollars and is an A+ according to the Better Business Bearuea. 

So what’s the problem with them? Well, there are multiple.  

The first is their pretty smarmy recruiting tactics. “High school and college students are the most vulnerable age category in the work force and you better know Vector Marketing understands that.” Kaitlin Tomko, from the article “I Worked At Vector Marketing So You Don’t Have To” (x) wrote. While college students are usually adults and fair game, going after high school students is pretty sketchy. Then there’s the fact that they’re rather repetitive while they’re at it too. 

I’ve personally gotten at least three letters from them between my Junior year in high school and last week (May 2020 for anyone who sees this post later). All three of these letters promised different entry-level wages ($11.50/hour, $13/hour, and $18/hour). They can also get your number from any of your friends that just so happen to work for the company (see attached screenshot) (also, I don’t blame the person who gave them my number, they’re really trick like that; all love towards her, she was trying to do the right thing).

Then there’s the product itself. By all accounts and reviews, it’s a good product with knives that last. That’s not the issue. Cutco’s knives are stamped instead of forged, a process that has 40 steps in its testing. Forged knives are generally better, but that’s not to say that stamped knives bad. But when you see a forged WÜSTHOF 8-inch knife produced by a 200-year-old German company and compare it with the stamped Cutco knife, also 8-inches, you don’t expect that the less expensively-produced knife to be so expensive. The WÜSTHOF costs $149.95 (x) while the Cutco knife is $142 (x).

Then there’s Vector’s problems with the government. According to the Washington Post, “David Tatar, a Wisconsin consumer protection investigator, said that state surveyed 940 Vector recruits in 1992 and found that almost half either earned nothing or lost money working for Vector, because the company encourages workers to lease or buy a sample set of knives for their presentations. In 1994, Wisconsin ordered Vector ‘not to deceive young people it recruits . . . as salespeople.’ Tatar said the investigation was a catalyst for changes effective Aug. 1 in the state's consumer protection laws,” (x). Wisconsin actually banned Vector within state lines, so there’s that In 2008, there was a class-action lawsuit levelled at Vector for not paying their employees minimum wage and they had to settle for $13 million dollars (x). And these aren’t the only suits: [x]

Why does the BBB say they’re an A+ then? Simple: they have an actual product and they don’t go door-to-door (which a lot of MLMs do), but they do encourage “salespeople” to do so. Yes, the bar is that low.

So. Basically. I don’t like Vector, they need to stop sending me letters, and if they ever contact you, don’t fall for it.

[hddnone]

The Writings | Week 13

New goal! 500 words/day for 5 days Goal met: yes!

*

What I worked on this week:

To Bee or Not to Bee - 1,673 words. the one with the bees! (and a lonely wasp XD)

Where Flowers Bloom - 1,488 words which finally finished this piece that legit took me an entire month (and no it’s not that long...)

TSB Square photoshoot - 2,081 words and no worries it’s Winteriron!

Speak My Language - 484 words. Poor Happy ;) 

BBB square crack - 2,905 words and it is very, very much not an actual crack fic. oops. I mean, unless this does get crazy in an entirely different way.

TSB square tentacles - 1,906 words and it’s going to be a smutty winteriron piece!

MTH #2 - 608 words and Tony & Bucky have their first impressions ;) 

For a total of : 11,145 words

***

I think I have something like 14 weeks left in the Tony Stark Bingo and I’d really like to finish off 17 squares so... we’ll see how that works out. ha. ha. 

just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing.

[buckybarnesbingo]

BBB Weeks 14 (late) and 15 (on time) Roundup!

Real life came for the Tumblr mod in a beastly kind of way last week, so here’s both roundup weeks packed in together!

A quick reminder, this is the info we need to log your fills on the spreadsheet.  And if we don’t have this info, you can’t get your badges!

Title: Collaborator: Link: AO3 Square Filled: Ship: Rating: Major Tags: Summary: Word Count:

And keep in mind, we’ve got our Discord Party coming up on the 25th!  We’ll do games, a drawing for prize tokens, sprints, brainstorming, etc.  We will also be opening up badge claims AND late signups again!

Title: Having your cake & Bucky too Collaborator: crazycatt71 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y5 - kink: body worship Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content Summary: Bucky bakes Clint a birthday cake. Clint has cake and Bucky too Word Count: 1775

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Title: N/A Collaborator: feignedsobriquet Link: Pillowfort Square Filled: B1 - AU: Dragons Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: art  Summary: fanart for brighteyesillusionist’s Tales of Cerulean Scales

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Title: Aw, Packing, No Collaborator: squadrickchestopher Link: AO3 Square Filled: U5 - comfort clothes Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Gen Major Tags: none Summary: “I know.” He walks over. “You know what this means, though.” “Sex on the beach?” “No. Well, maybe.” Bucky takes the envelope from him. “But first, we have to pack. With actual suitcases.” Predictably, Clint’s face falls at those words. “Aw, packing, no.” Word Count: 1570

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Title: Lead Me Into His Dark Land - Chapter 1 Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y5 - Family of Choice Ship: WinterPepperony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Inspired by Corpse Bride (2005), Angst with a Happy Ending, Not Cheating, Pre-Poly, Supernatural Elements Summary: Lord James "Bucky" Barnes, master of the Winterbrook estate, has spent his fortune on veteran's homes and on care for his childhood best friend, Steve Rogers. With the assistance of a friend made during his days at war, Natasha Romanov, he's been able to arrange a good marriage with the daughter of a prominent local industrialist. Pepper Potts's step-mother wants nothing more than to rub elbows with the local aristocrats and her father wants Pepper to marry well - for her own sake, rather than that of his wife. He's confident everyone will end up happy as long as everything goes According To Plan. But when it doesn't? It's anyone's guess what'll happen. Word Count: 2786

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Title: I Never Saw You Coming (And I'll Never Be The Same) - Chapter 1 Collaborator: cpt_winniethepooh Link: AO3 Square Filled: C2 - shelter Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, virus and quarantine life Summary: Steve Rogers is small, sickly, yet more fierce and determined than anybody Bucky Barnes, member of the Avengers, has ever met. After their accidental meeting at an animal shelter Bucky knows he'd very much like to keep Steve in his life, even if it comes with constant anxiety about Steve's mental and physical well-being. Or five times Bucky is worried for Steve, and the one time he isn't. Word Count: 5073

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Title: End Of All Days -  Chapter 19: Part XVIII Collaborator: Minka Link: AO3 Square Filled: U2 – Touch Starved Ship: Stucky Rating: Mature Major Tags: Graphic violence for other chapters Summary: Captain Steve Rogers had thought his military days were behind him, left in the bloody nightmare that was Saigon. Retired and working as a History Professor, the last thing he expected was to get caught up in a cataclysmic Slavic prophesy foreshadowing the end of the known world. With Cold War tensions running high, Steve finds himself in need of a guide and translator to get him behind the Iron Curtain and into the isolated snowdrifts of Siberia. It’s deep in the heart of Bucharest’s resistance fighters that Steve finds the ideal candidate, but swaying the enigmatic ex-operative known as The Winter Soldier proves to be complicated. Trust is hard-won, especially in the world of espionage, and with a KGB death squad nipping at his heels, the Soldier has countless reasons to stay presumably dead. As the lines between right, wrong and the supernatural begin to blur, Steve is forced to reconsider everything he’s ever believed, right from the sanctity of his own country to the very foundations of creation itself. Word Count: 89,347

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Title: I Never Saw You Coming (And I'll Never Be The Same) - Chapter 2 Collaborator: cpt_winniethepooh Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - warm and fuzzy feelings Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, virus and quarantine life Summary: A short and sweet NSFW chapter. Word Count: 5073

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Title: Lead Me Into His Dark Land - Chapter 2 Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Tony Stark Ship: WinterPepperony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Inspired by Corpse Bride (2005), Angst with a Happy Ending, Not Cheating, Pre-Poly, Supernatural Elements Summary: Pepper manages to say her vows perfectly... to the wrong man. We meet Tony, Rhodey tells a story (which Tony interrupts - frequently), and there's a tearful reunion. Just another day in the life of Pepper Potts. And yes, her stays are too tight for that kind of running. Word Count: 3210

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Title: I Never Saw You Coming (And I'll Never Be The Same) - Chapter 3 Collaborator: cpt_winniethepooh Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y1 - rescue mission Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, virus and quarantine life, mentions of off-screen OC character death and trauma Summary: A mission in the background and some teamwork ahead! Word Count: 5073

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Title: Lead Me Into His Dark Land - Chapter 3 Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y3 - Whiplash Ship: WinterPepperony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Inspired by Corpse Bride (2005), Angst with a Happy Ending, Not Cheating, Pre-Poly, Supernatural Elements Summary: Pepper returns to say good-bye to James, but Tony misunderstands and reconsiders the wisdom of their marriage. Meanwhile, James raves about the living dead walking the earth and even his best friends are afraid for his welfare... and his marriage prospects. Word Count: 4481

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Title: Crop Tops and Thighs Out Collaborator: rebelmeg Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - frenemies Ship: Sam & Bucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: art embedded, crack and humor Summary: Bucky is struggling with the blurred lines between himself and the Soldier... at least until he sees Sam's new outfit. Word Count: 633

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Title: Calm before the storm Collaborator: Raz Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U5 - Historical Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: An elusive, yet renowned mercenary stops for a break by the fireside between jobs and locations. Being highly skilled with a wolf branded axe has earned him the name Ulfragnarr; terrifying wolf warrior. Aka Bucky Barnes Viking AU

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Title: Happy Not Anniversary Collaborator: startrekkingaroundasgard Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U4 - Clint Barton Ship: WinterHawk/Reader Rating: Teen Major Tags: light sexual themes Summary: Clint makes Bucky and the reader breakfast for their anniversary, however they all have different ideas of when that day actually is. Word Count:1913

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Title: no more, no less Collaborator: nightwideopen Link: AO3 Square Filled: C3 - free space Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Teen Major Tags: implied/referenced past sexual assault/harassment Summary: When Bucky kisses Clint for the first time, he’s surprised, to say the least. Word Count: 1146

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Title: Handshook Collaborator: Menatiera Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K3 - Till death do us part Ship: WinterIron Rating: M for fic, G for moodboards Major Tags: Strangers to Husbands Speed Run; Canon-Typical Violence; Happy Ending; in-universe equivalent to public nudity; in-universe equivalent to public sex; (bared hands and hand shaking); Oops we’re married; Accidental Bonding; Sci-Fi AU; Tony Stark Does What He Wants; eventual BAMF everybody Summary: “Get me a handshake, Tony, that’s it. Don’t break anything and please do not turn this into an interspecies war.” -James Rhodes Tony Stark is the first man in the history of the human race to breach the heliosphere keeping humanity from the rest of the universe. Bucky’s people, the Aldori, a technologically advanced, space-faring race, watch him do it. They demand a meeting to establish diplomatic relations and determine whether or not humans will prove to be a threat. Without letting the Aldori know that only Tony’s ship is advanced enough to make the trip, Rhodey is forced to send him as ambassador. Simple enough, until the Aldori learn that humans make first contact by shaking hands. Lewd.

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Title: Putting The Pieces Together Collaborator: steves-on-a-plane Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C4 - Secret Relationship Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Gen Major Tags: ?  Summary: Reader is Steve’s sibling and they’ve been seeing Bucky in secret for years. Steve is away on a mission, so Bucky and Reader are enjoying alone time together. That is until the Star Spangled Man comes home early… Word Count: 1260

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Title: I Never Saw You Coming (And I'll Never Be The Same) Collaborator: cpt_winniethepooh Link: AO3 Squares Filled: Chapter 4 - what doesn’t kill me makes me mad Chapter 5 - asking for trouble Chapter 6 - showoff Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, coronavirus and quarantine, BLM and protests Summary: Steve Rogers is small, sickly, yet more fierce and determined than anybody Bucky Barnes, member of the Avengers, has ever met. After their accidental meeting at an animal shelter Bucky knows he'd very much like to keep Steve in his life, even if it comes with constant anxiety about Steve's mental and physical well-being.Or five times Bucky is worried for Steve, and the one time he is worried for everyone else but Steve. Word Count: 10,407

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Title: [Podfic] Mirror Collaborator: shadow-ravin Link: AO3 Square Filled: C1 - AU: Canon Divergence Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: Spies & Secret Agents, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Remix, Podfic, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes Summary: Podfic of Mirror by saiditallbefore - Natasha travels to Miami to root out intelligence on HYDRA. She finds much more than she bargained for.

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Title: echoes from the breakdown - Chapter 4 Collaborator: hddnone Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - Hand-holding Ship: WinterIronWidow Rating: Mature Major Tags: Graphic Violence, Post CA-CW Canon Divergence Summary: On a mission gone wrong, Bucky breaks down. With Bucky and team signed under the Accords, the fallout of his mistakes could break the team apart all over again. Natasha won't let that happen. Turns out Tony won't let that happen either. Secrets had divided them before, but now maybe a shared secret can pull the three of them together. Word Count: 6392

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Title: Ashes and Blood Collaborator: shadow-ravin Link: AO3 Square Filled: C2 - Ashes   Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: Poetry, Self-Reflection, Self-Hatred, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, podfic included Summary: Bucky reflects on who he is and what he has done. Word Count: 352

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Title: Enemy - Chapter 2 Collaborator: grimeysociety Link: AO3 Square Filled: U1 - Bucky/Darcy Ship: Bucky/Darcy Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Explicit Sexual Content Summary: Friendship with Bucky began like pulling a thorn out of a wolf’s paw. Word Count: 3025

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Title: Friday night and the lights are low - Chapter 1: Bucky/Jane Collaborator: heyboydraws Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Bucky/Jane Ship: Bucky/Jane Rating: Teen Major Tags: art Summary: Bucky is a vet, recently back home and finally healed from his injury. In an effort to blow off some steam and meet new people, he hits the club every weekend. It turns out that this particular nightclub is also a favorite hangout for some local superheroes. Word Count: 221

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Title: Fire Sale Collaborator: betheflame Link: AO3 Square Filled: U5 - Plot Twist Ship: Stony Rating: Mature Major Tags: none Summary: Set in Earth 97082 - where Tony tries to sell of his suits and it goes BADLY. Word Count: 1261

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Title: The Witch Hunter Collaborator: tisfan Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y3: Identity Porn Ship: WinterWitch Rating: Teen Major Tags: Witches, Church, Heresy Summary: It’s the same old story, every time. Witch appears, idiots try to kill witch. Shit happens. God, Bucky’s tired of it. Word Count: 1724

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Title: Steve, I Feel Pretty Collaborator: Purple_ducky00 Link: AO3 Square Filled: C3 - Free square Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: concubine AU Summary: As king, it isn't surprising that King Tony has a harem. What shocks them is the time(s) he brings a concubine to court.Or, how Bucky learns to love himself. Word Count: 2203

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Title: Tap That Collaborator: Kalee60 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C3 - free space Ship: Stucky Rating: Gen Major Tags: none Summary: When Steve is distracted while waiting at a busy crosswalk on the way to an important meeting, he inadvertently meets the man of his dreams - but only after making the most mortifying social gaffe of his life. Red-faced and apologetic he tries to forget the incident. But sometimes when things go wrong - they suddenly turn out spectacularly right. Word Count: 2129

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Title: Sixteen Months Collaborator: squadrickchestopher Link: AO3 Square Filled: U2 - barista Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Explicit Major Tags: graphic descriptions of violence Summary: There is a reason James doesn’t allow his dates to spend the night. Word Count: 3658

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Title: Exile Collaborator: grimeysociety Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - exile Ship: Bucky/Darcy Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Suicide Attempt, Suicide/Self-Harm Themes, Explicit Sexual Content Summary: (n.) the state or a period of forced absence from one's country or home. The state or a period of voluntary absence from one's country or home. A person who is in exile. Bucky's stint in hospital after a suicide attempt. Word Count: 8342

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Title: (Waffle) Iron Man Collaborator: tisfan Link: AO3 Square Filled: U3 - Upgrade Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: implied domestic abuse (not between main characters), violence, death of a waffle iron Summary: Ana gave Tony a waffle iron when he moved out. Ty Stone appropriated it after their breakup. Tony wants it back. Word Count: 3948

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Title: Listen Before I Go Collaborator: avintagekiss24 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C1 - angst Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Explicit Major Tags: angst, heavy angst, smut, sex, bucky barnes’ trigger words, cock warming if you look close Summary: you and bucky just can’t say what you want to say. Word Count: 6630

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Title: Running In Place Collaborator: the_genderman Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y5 - disability Ship: Bucky & Steve & Tony Rating: Teen Major Tags: none Summary: A brief slice of life as Bucky acclimates to life in the Avengers Compound, his chronic pain, and Tony Stark... being Tony Stark. At least Steve's as reliable as ever. Word Count: 1400

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Title: echoes from the breakdown - Chapter 5 Collaborator: hddnone Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - insomnia Ship: WinterIronWidow Rating: Mature Major Tags: Graphic Violence, Post CA-CW Canon Divergence Summary: On a mission gone wrong, Bucky breaks down. With Bucky and team signed under the Accords, the fallout of his mistakes could break the team apart all over again. Natasha won't let that happen. Turns out Tony won't let that happen either. Secrets had divided them before, but now maybe a shared secret can pull the three of them together. Word Count: 9238

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Title: Things are going great, and they're only getting better Collaborator: heyboydraws Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C5 - Multiple Personalities Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art  Summary: Bucky serves up a variety of looks when he goes undercover.

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Title: Friday night and the lights are low - Chapter 3: Bucky/Scott Collaborator: HeyBoy Link: AO3 Square Filled: ? Ship: Bucky/Scott Rating: Teen Major Tags: art Summary: Bucky is a vet, recently back home and finally healed from his injury. In an effort to blow off some steam and meet new people, he hits the club every weekend. It turns out that this particular nightclub is also a favorite hangout for some local superheroes. Word Count: 605

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Title: Space Cowboys Collaborator: thewaythatwerust Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U4 - NASA Ship: Stucky Rating: Gen Major Tags: gifset Summary: Steve + Bucky in space. What could possibly go wrong? 

[smkkbert]

Mothers know best

Summary: Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together. After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still push for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else.

Rating: Explicit

Previous chapters: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11 12 13  14  15  16

Chapter 17 of 22:   Jijivisha

= The strong, eternal desire to live and continue living, usually used to talk about a person who loves life and has intense desire to live and thrive (Hindi)

“Oliver, I’m pregnant.”

Since Felicity had found out about her pregnancy, she had tried to figure out what was the best way to tell Oliver about this. She had made up a thousand different scenarios, playing some ideas and different choices of wording through in her head. She had hoped that it would help her to ready herself for the time that she actually had to tell him.

When she had left her home tonight to meet Oliver at the restaurant for their first date, she had told herself that she would tell him. She had wanted to order dinner and use the time before the food was served to tell him about the pregnancy. She had been sure that she wouldn’t be able to stand through dinner and the rest of the evening, so she had wanted to tell him before the food was served and give them both a quick out if it had been needed.

She had still been playing through some choices of words in her mind when Oliver had suddenly suggested leaving the restaurant and heading to BBB. Though she had hesitated for a moment, she had agreed eventually. From the second she had done so, she had known that she wouldn’t tell him about the pregnancy in the next hours. In the back of her mind, she had known.

Now, while Felicity hadn’t been able to figure out the perfect or even a good way to tell Oliver until the very end, she had had much better ideas than this. Blurting the news out and ambushing him like that had never been her plan. It seemed that, like so often when it came to her and Oliver, life just wasn’t offering them perfect or even good. All it offered was flawed.

Holding her breath, Felicity watched Oliver. He was staring at her with blank eyes, completely shocked by what she had told him it seemed. She could feel his fingers twitch on her hand slightly like he wanted to rub them together like he usually did when he was nervous. Felicity wasn’t sure if it was the need of holding her hands or the inability to even show that nervous tick. Either way, his hands stayed where they were, and his fingers stopped moving again.

A thousand words were rushing through Felicity’s head. She felt breathless like she had just run a marathon. Her chest was heaving from the severity of her breathing. Blood was rushing in her ears as her heart was pumping it through her body all too quickly. The pain of her heart thrumming against her ribcage forcefully was making it hard to breathe and forcing her to pant even more at the same time it seemed.

As much as Felicity needed him to do or say anything, Oliver was still staring at her blankly without moving and without saying a single word. Everything inside of her was screaming for him to show any reaction – whether it was surprise or fear or anger or even resistance – but Oliver seemed to be still too much in shock.

Felicity honestly couldn’t hold it against him.

“I- I found out earlier this week,” she suddenly heard herself saying. She pulled her hands away from Oliver’s and pushed them into the pockets of her coat. “I was late on my period. I haven’t been late on my period often, but I guessed I was just late on my period because of all the stress. I mean stress can have an effect on the timing of a woman’s period, and it happened with my period a couple of times in my youth.”

The question how many times you could say the word period on a first date before it got awkward crossed her mind. She had probably crossed it already, but her brain-to-mouth filter proved itself to be useless once more.

“My period might have been late for a week or a week and a half a couple of times in my life,” Felicity continued, a slight tremble of nervousness in her voice, “but I have never been this late. Eventually, I considered different reasons for being late on my period. I thought about this and that before I realized that I might be pregnant. I have taken a test that turned out positive. Then I have been to my doctor, and she confirmed it. I am almost six weeks along.”

There was a part of her that knew that this was the right moment to take a little break from talking. This would be the right time to give Oliver some time to process the details on what was going on. She could probably need a little break to sort out her thoughts before they would fall from her lips too.

In the two seconds she needed to take in another breath, Oliver still didn’t show any reaction. It just led her nervousness to increases a hundred times more. She almost wasn’t surprised when she suddenly found herself babbling even more.

“I really have no idea how this happened. I mean I don’t know how this happened despite the pill because I did take the pill. I took it regularly. I… don’t know if I forgot it in all the stress of the canceled wedding and this and that and I don’t know. I am usually very responsible with it. I just don’t know how this happened despite the pill. Otherwise, I would know. I mean I know how babies are made. Of course I know how babies are made, and I remember very thoroughly how this baby has been made.”

Heat rose to her face. Felicity was sure that she was blushing. Despite everything they had been through together and they knew each other so intimately, especially after that night of his bachelor’s party and the morning after, she was still blushing at the mentioning of having sex with him. It was weird because Felicity doubted that she had blushed a lot of times when she had been around him in her life.

For the first time since she had told him that secret that she had tried to protect so much these last days, she broke the eye contact. She lowered her gaze, looking down at their feet. They were still standing so close that the tips of their shoes almost touched. If Felicity turned her right foot just a little, it would cause the tip of her shoe to brush against the side of his.

Felicity could still feel his gaze on her skin, but she took the moment of not seeing the blank expression in Oliver’s eyes to open up her heart to the thoughts that had been on her mind before already. She had tried to avoid these thoughts so far, but it was different now. Right now, she was so vulnerable that she knew she couldn’t avoid those thoughts anymore, so she’d rather allow them into her head and into her heart right now that she wasn’t looking into Oliver’s eyes. She knew that he would be able to see right through her.

Growing up as the only child of a single mother, Felicity had always known that the last thing she would want in life was raising a child all on her own. She had seen it with her mother and she had seen it with Tatsu. Raising a child on your own meant giving up on everything you wanted in life like pursuing the career you had worked your ass of for years. It meant asking remote friends for help and for money even though it made you feel terribly ashamed.

As much as Felicity admired her mother and Tatsu for having this strength of doing whatever was best for their children, she had always felt that she wouldn’t be able to do the same thing. She had honestly doubted that she had that strength inside of her. Giving up everything she had worked for so hard for centuries because it was the best for her child without ending up resenting her child had always seemed impossible.

The moment she had known without doubt that she was pregnant, all of that had changed her. Knowing that she was going to have a baby had filled her with an indescribable love for the human being that was growing inside of her. She had known that there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to make sure that this baby was going to grow up safe. She’d protect this baby with her life if necessary.

Despite her unfathomable love for this baby, Felicity wasn’t sure if she could do this. Raising a baby demanded much more than giving up everything you wanted and needed to keep your child safe after all. The fear of raising her baby alone and failing at doing so was always with her. It had stopped her from falling asleep a lot of times these last nights, and it had distracted her from work as well as from reading or watching TV.

“I am no expecting anything of you by the way,” Felicity continued eventually, raising her eyes to look at Oliver again. “I am scared of this, and I am not sure if I can do this, especially not alone. It’s going to be so hard to do this all on my own, but I will do it if necessary. Having this baby is my decision though, and I am not going to ask anything from you. We are friends. I mean we just went on a date, but that’s not-“

With a movement that was much quicker than Felicity had expected it to be, Oliver lifted his hands and framed her face with them. His thumbs stroked over her cheekbones, and his eyes locked onto hers for half of a second. The next moment, his lips were already on hers.

All those scary, doubting thoughts faded from her mind for a moment. Right now and right here, there was just Oliver and her. The feeling of his soft lips on hers and his short stubble scratching the sensitive skin around her mouth made her feel as content as she possibly could be. All nervousness was pushed away. Instead, there was a fluttering feeling deep inside of her stomach. It reminded her of her night with Oliver instantly as she had felt the exact same way during that night.

When Oliver broke the kiss, angling his head in a way that caused his lips to lose touch with hers, a sigh fell from Felicity’s lips. It held content from the aftermath of the kiss and disappointment from the feeling of having lost the touch. Oliver’s forehead rested against Felicity’s, and his nose bumped against hers slightly with every intake of breath.

His lips brushed against hers one more time before Oliver leaned back enough, so she could look at him. His hands were still cupping her cheeks, holding her like she was the most precious thing he had in his life. She lifted her hands, holding onto his wrists. She could feel his pulse against the tips of her fingers, and she doubted that she had ever felt safer and more vulnerable at the same time.

“Felicity.”

He whispered her name. His voice was carrying so many emotions that it was hoarse from it. They made his eyes glance and his fingers tremble slightly against her skin.

“I think you might have missed the part where I told you that I love you,” Oliver said, looking at her with so much love that it made her stomach flutter in the best way possible, “so I am just going to tell you again.”

Felicity sniffled slightly, barely able to hold back the tears that were welling in her eyes. She had never met anyone who was looking at her the way Oliver was looking at her. Nobody had ever talked to her with such a soft voice was Oliver was talking to her. In everything he did and say, Felicity could sense that he really meant it. He held her precious, more precious than anything else.

“I love you, Felicity.” Oliver brushed a kiss against the corner of her lips. “I love you, and I swear that I will always be here for you and this- our baby. Even if we hadn’t just had our first date, there is always a risk that things between us might fall apart one day. It doesn’t matter though. Whether we make this between us work or not, I promise you that I will always be here for you and our baby though. No matter what will happen between us, I will never disappear from either of your lives. I will always be here for the both of you. I will be here for you, and I will be here for our baby.”

The moment her father had disappeared from her life, so many things had changed for Felicity. She had been taken away from the place she had called her home, from her friends and from the only life she had known until then. It had taken her some time before she had gotten used into settling this new life and trusting the people around her not to leave her like her father had just left her.

While her father’s departure might have turned out to be the best things that could have possibly happened to her, it had still had some lasting effects on her. All her life she had been afraid of letting herself fall because she hadn’t been sure that someone would catch her. She had been afraid of commitment because she hadn’t wanted to depend on anyone. She had been afraid of having a baby because she didn’t want her child to suffer through the same feelings of being abandoned as she had.

Only now that Oliver had said those words and all those feelings and fears came to the surface, Felicity realized how much she had needed Oliver to say that he wasn’t going to leave their baby no matter what. He knew her so well that he had just known how much she needed to be assured that her baby wasn’t being abandoned by her father.

Felicity wanted to thank him for reassuring her of that. The moment she tried to say a single word, a heart-wrenching sob fell from her lips. The tears she had tried so hard to hold back were streaming down her cheeks.

Oliver reacted immediately. He wrapped an arm around her body, pulling her as close towards him as possible. His other hand moved into her hair. Resting against the back of her head, he pushed her head to rest against his shoulder. She snuggled her cheek to his shoulder, hiding her face against the side of his neck.

Felicity could say that this was all because of the hormones. For the next seven and a half months, she could blame everything she did on the hormones she guessed. The truth was that it wasn’t the hormones causing her to cry though. It was the mess of feelings that were rushing through her, tangling with each other and leaving an unimaginable mess in her.

She was happy about this pregnancy. She was scared of what was to come. She was relief that she had finally told Oliver. She was insecure about whether she was going to make it. She was amazed by the magic of nature that allowed a human being to grow inside of her. She was upset about her father’s ability to be on her mind in a moment like this.

Those were a lot of feelings for one tiny person to feel at one moment. It confused her that she was even able to feel so many things at a time. It didn’t seem to make sense.

It took some time until one of the feelings finally won over the others, filling her more than every other feeling that was inside of her. It was the nervous anticipation of knowing that things were slowly falling into place now. She didn’t know what the future would hold for her, Oliver and the baby, but she knew it was going to be okay at the end. Everything was going to be okay.

Oliver just let her cry at his shoulder without saying a word. He wasn’t hushing her. He wasn’t telling her that everything was okay. He just held her, rubbing his hand up and down her back comfortingly and gave her the time she needed to calm down.

As much as Felicity told herself that everything was going to be okay at the end, she wasn’t able to get a grip on herself. The tears just continued streaming down her cheeks, and one sob after the other fell from her lips. She tried to pull herself together, but it just wouldn’t work.

“I don’t even know why I am crying,” she told Oliver, sobbing the words against his shoulder. “I just can’t stop.”

Oliver chuckled, swaying her from side to side slowly, and Felicity felt infected by his chuckles. She chimed into it. Although her chuckle was interrupted by sobs, she chuckled and it turned into a full laugh of joy.

It was the first time she was laughing with all of her heart since a long time it seemed. As okay and content and maybe even happy she had been these last years, she hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. She guessed the last time she had laughed like this had been back in high school when she and Oliver had been best friends and neither of them had been in any relationship, and the situation had deluded their hearts to believe that everything was still possible between them.

Felicity doubted that there were people whose relationship had started more messed up than theirs, she thought to herself. The thought only made her laugh more.

Leaning her head back, Felicity looked at Oliver through her tears. He looked happy, happier than she had seen him in a long time. He didn’t need to say it for her to know that he was feeling the same way she did. He hadn’t been this happy in a long time either.

When Felicity finally felt eyes drying, she took in a deep breath. She wanted to loosen her fingers from the lapel of Oliver’s suit where they had clawed. Before she got to move and wipe away the wetness her tears had left on her cheeks, Oliver’s fingers were already there. Smiling at her softly, he wiped his fingers over her skin and dried her cheeks from the tears that had fallen.

With a sigh, Felicity lifted her hand to Oliver’s. She rested it over his on her cheek and snuggled her face into his touch. She closed her eyes, smiling to herself softly as she recovered from the outburst of her emotions.

Oliver rested his forehead against hers, and Felicity could feel his breath ghosting over her face. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw that he had his eyes closed and was smiling to himself. He looked as content as she was feeling now. Despite the many questions there still were for their future, they were both feeling utterly content right now.

“I love you,” Oliver whispered eventually, making her heart skip a beat or two. “I love you so much.”

It was almost like now that the first I love you had been said, Oliver couldn’t stop telling her again and again that he loved her. Felicity admired him for that ability. As much as she tried to say those words too, the words felt like they were getting stuck in her throat.

She took in a deep breath, gathering her courage to say them, but no word came out. It was stupid because she was feeling the truth of those words in her chest. She could feel it with everything inside of her. Still, she wasn’t able to say the words.

“It’s okay,” Oliver whispered, angling his head back just enough to look at her. His thumb moved back and forth on her chest. “You don’t have to say anything yet. We have all the time in the world. You tell me when you are ready.”

All the time in the world. Felicity could almost see it in front of her eyes. The thought of all the time they would be able to spend together stole her breath and made her heart jump up into her throat. There was so much time to be together.

When Oliver started lowering his face slowly, Felicity pushed up onto the tip of her toes to meet him halfway. Their lips met in a soft kiss. Their lips brushed together slightly before they deepened the kiss. Their lips opened to one another, and their tongued met in a slow dance.

There was some slight hesitation. They were exploring what it felt like to kiss each other now that they were sober and all the cards about their feelings and the secrets that had been kept were on the table. Exploring was something that was almost new between them because for so long they had known everything there was to know about the other, everything a friend had to know.

Dating and having a child together would just open new ways to get to know each other and new things to explore about the other. It was something they would have to get used to in the next weeks of settling into this new situation.

Soon, the feeling of how right this was won over the unfamiliarity of kissing each other though. Every possible awkwardness was drowned out and silenced by how good it felt to be kissing each other again. Finally.

Felicity hummed into the kiss and the sound seemed to spur Oliver on. He scraped his front teeth over her bottom lip, adding the kind of sensation that made everything inside of Felicity want Oliver. She pressed herself close to him, chasing the taste of his tongue, and she could feel Oliver urging closer to her too.

Losing her balance slightly, Felicity stumbled back a step. Oliver’s strong arm around her waist stopped her from falling, but their lips broke apart nonetheless.

Even in the dark of the night Felicity could see that Oliver’s pupils were dilated and his iris had darkened. The need she felt in the pit of her stomach was shining through his eyes too. He wanted her as much as she wanted him right now. For weeks they had thought nothing could ever happen to them again. For two more weeks they had waited to finally get a shot at being together. Now that they were, Felicity knew that she didn’t want to and couldn’t wait any longer.

“Do you want to come inside?”

The right corner of Oliver’s lips twitched slightly before he nodded his head. “Yeah.”

Felicity smiled at Oliver for a moment. Lowering her eyes, she rummaged in her purse then until she found her keys. She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking slightly as she unlocked the door.

Of course she and Oliver had spent a night together before, but this was going to be different. There was no alcohol involved and there were no more excuses. It was the first time they would have sex with everything being clear between them. While that shouldn’t make her nervous, it did make her nervous nonetheless. It was a good kind of nervous though, a joyful anticipation.

Dropping her key into her purse, she let her purse fall down to the floor carelessly and let her coat follow. She turned around to Oliver, who was closing the door behind him quietly. She could see him taking in a deep breath like he needed to calm his nerves. Indeed, his fingers were twitching together. He really was nervous.

Felicity couldn’t help but think how sweet he was. Oliver I-slept-with-every-girl-in-high-school Queen was nervous about being invited into her home.

Taking off the jacket of his suit and putting it to the coat rack, Oliver cleared his throat. He busied himself with his rolled-up sleeves for a bit to take some time. Only then he lifted his gaze and smiled at her.

“Should I brew some tea for us and… I don’t know… we watch a movie together?”

Felicity chuckled. If she had really believed that she was nervous, a new word had to be invented to describe what exactly Oliver was. Nervous wouldn’t describe it if it was used for what she was feeling too.

“That’s very sweet,” she told him,” But I have other plans.”

With two large steps, Felicity had crossed the distance to Oliver. Her hands cupped his cheeks as she straightened up onto the tip of her toes and stole a kiss from him. Her lips pressed to his as her tongue moved along the seam of his lips to make them open up to her. Her body almost melted against his when their tongues touched.

There was no doubt about what Felicity wanted and what she had planned to do for the rest of the night. It might be the usual way she planned a first date to go, but she didn’t care. She and Oliver had pushed their feelings away for so long that she didn’t waste any more times. Besides, they weren’t playing any games of power here. They knew what they were feeling for each other and they would have a baby connecting them, so playing hard to get or playing shy would just be stupid.

Oliver seemed to get to the same conclusion. Releasing a low sigh that Felicity swallowed eagerly, he bent his knees a little and wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. When he straightened back up, he lifted her off the floor. Her feet were dangling several inches over the floor, causing her feet to slip out of her shoes, and she put her arms around the back of his neck to hold onto him.

Felicity could feel every single one of Oliver’s muscles pressing against her body. His body felt incredibly soft despite the hard muscle tissue she was feeling beneath. Maybe it was just the fact that her body seemed to fit against his perfectly like they were two pieces of the same puzzle that had just found together.

The thought made Felicity hum against Oliver’s lips. The sound vibrated in her chest, and she was almost sure that it echoed in Oliver’s body too. He turned around and slowly headed towards the stairs.

While Oliver was taking them upstairs slowly, their lips stayed locked onto each other. Felicity couldn’t get enough of the taste Oliver’s lips and tongue. Although she and Oliver had just spend one night together and just kissed once before that, she felt like she was addicted to his taste already. She had been addicted to it from the first time on, but she had told herself that she couldn’t have it and lived without it for so long that she had almost sobered up. Now that she just got the slightest taste of him again, she felt the same undying hunger for it though.

Oliver’s hands were stroking up and down her back slowly. The warmth of his hand seeped through the fabric of her dress and warmed her skin like his kisses warmed her from the inside.

He had just reached the landing in the middle of the stairs when his fingers found the hidden zipper at the back of her dress. Oliver sat her down on the wooden floor and, after deepening their kiss for a brief moment, pulled back. Felicity was chasing his lips, but Oliver was keeping his lips out of reach.

Felicity couldn’t prevent a slightly grumpy sound to fall from her lips. She opened her eyes and saw Oliver biting back an amused chuckle. His eyes showed how much he wanted to go back to kissing her too though.

While Oliver was lowering the zipper, unzipping her dress ever so slowly, his eyes stayed locked on hers intensely. He was asking for permission without saying a word, and Felicity granted her permission gladly.

As soon as Oliver had reached the end of the zipper, Felicity slipped out of the fabric. When it pooled around her ankles, Felicity stepped out of it. She didn’t want to risk that she’d get caught and stumble when they’d continue their way to her bedroom.

All the time, her eyes stayed locked on Oliver’s though. She could see that he was fighting the urge to break the eye contact and lower his eyes to take her in. He did fight it and he did succeed over it though.

With their eyes still locked onto each other’s, they leaned in for another kiss. Their lips brushed together softly while their bodies were getting into contact. Hesitantly, Oliver wrapped his arms around her body. His hands rested against her shoulder blades and stroked up and down slowly. Goosebumps spread wherever he touched her.

Felicity took off his tie that was only hanging around his neck loosely and dropped it to the floor. When her fingers started unbuttoning his vest, Oliver lowered his hands down her back to her hips and started walking her backwards. He was careful to not make her stumble and fall, and his hands held onto her body with such firmness that she was sure he would keep her upright even if she stumbled after all.

Although Oliver had only been to her home twice, Felicity wasn’t surprised that he found the way blindly. He had probably played the night of his bachelor’s party through in his mind again and again like she had. Just like he had let the memory of their goodbye the morning after play in his mind again and again.

Just when they crossed the doorstep to her bedroom, Felicity pulled the hem of his shirt from the waistband of his pants and unbuttoned the last buttons. She tugged the shirt and the vest down his shoulders in one go. At the same time, Oliver unclasped her strapless bra and let it join his clothes on the floor.

When their bodies came together this time, their naked chests pressed together. Felicity moaned, a sound Oliver swallowed eagerly by kissing her. It only added to the intensity of sensations he was making her feel. His defined abs pressing against her chest and his heartbeat being felt against her ribcage added to it too.

Humming against his lips, Felicity let her hands move down Oliver’s back. She had no idea how he managed to feel so soft when his defined muscles were feeling so very firm. She guessed it was one of the miracles she had the rest of her life to understand.

With her fingertips moving over his skin, she lowered her fingers to the waistband of his pants. She moved her fingertips along the waistband of his pants slowly, from his back around his hips to his front. Her hands moved between their bodies, resting flat against his abs for a moment. Although she had always made fun of it, she had secretly admired his muscular body. She would certainly use every possibility given in the next weeks to explore those muscles with her eyes, her hands and other parts of her body.

The thought made her want Oliver all the more. She got even more sensitive for the heat that was spreading in her veins, caused by Oliver’s kisses that were growing increasingly passionate. Her center started prickling with the need to be touched and filled.

Her hands were determined when they unbuckled his belt and pants. Oliver wanted to move things along as much as she did it seemed because he was slipping out of his shoes and his socks while she was doing so. When his pants pooled around his ankles, he kicked them away.

Just like on their way upstairs, Oliver put his arms around her waist and lifted her from the floor. Without her tight fitting dress making it hard to move, she could easily wrap her legs around his hips and press herself towards him. He was already slightly hardened, and she could almost feel the blood rushing to his member when she pressed her center against him and rubbed herself.

Oliver groaned into her mouth, and Felicity deepened their kiss in response. Her fingers clawed into his hair and fingernails scratched over his scalp slightly.

Felicity still in his arms, Oliver turned around. He let himself fall backwards, and the brief moment of free fall made Felicity’s stomach tingle with excitement.

The moment that Oliver’s back hit the mattress, a loud crack was to be heard. The bed broke, and the slatted frame of the bed crushed to the floor. Although the mattress was still between them and the floor, it did almost nothing to cushion the fall.

There was a moment of shock. Oliver’s arms were wrapped around Felicity tightly, keeping her safe against him. She had known that she could let herself fall around him or, well, just fall against him. He would keep her safe.

Putting her hands to his shoulders, Felicity pushed herself a little more upright until she was almost sitting in Oliver’s lap. She looked at him, and found his eyes already on hers. Though the shock was still written in his eyes, they both started laughing at the same time.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you build this bed.”

Still laughing, she lowered herself and pecked Oliver’s lips. His hands stroked up and down her back and despite the change in atmosphere, it didn’t change the fact that his touch made goosebumps spread on her skin.

“You really shouldn’t have.”

Oliver chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. With one quick movement, he lifted his head off the pillow to kiss her. His lips brushed against hers while he was turning them around, so her back was pressed into the mattress and his body was covering hers.

“I will buy you a new bed,” Oliver promised when he lifted his head slightly and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. “And I will hire an expert to put it together.”

“Good,” Felicity replied and smiled. “Because I am planning to use this bed quite thoroughly in the future.”

When Oliver perked up his eyebrows, Felicity grinned.

“I could take it back and say it was because I wanted to sleep, but I think I will just let it stay like it is.”

Oliver grinned. “Good.”

Their lips met in another kiss. It was slow and unhurried. Felicity’s hands stroked up and down Oliver’s back slowly, feeling every little inch of his muscles. Her hips were rubbing against his. She could feel the outline of his hardening cock against her center, and the heat that had been pooling in her stomach all along was increasing even more.

Knowing that she wouldn’t last long if she thought about how great his cock felt against her center for too long, Felicity tried to distract herself. All she could focus on other than his cock between her legs was the touch of her hands though. It really didn’t help focusing on it as his hands continued spreading heat and goosebumps all over her skin.

Oliver’s hands moved from the sides of her ribcage down to her hips and back up again. On their way up and down, they always stopped at her waist. His hands turned their, angling his fingers towards her front. His muscles tensed, and a little bit of hesitation was to be felt. There was a shift, only a slight one, but it was there.

It took Felicity a moment to realize that he wasn’t touching her stomach. He wanted to, but he was avoiding it.

For the umpteenth time in the last couple of days, it hit Felicity that she was having a baby. There was a little human being growing inside of her and in seven and a half months, it was going to be sleeping in her arms. She was going to be a mother.

She had had days to process the news. She had been able to take her time and let the knowledge that she was going to be a mother sink in. She had needed that time because the news had been more than shocking. It had taken her several days and multiple times of touching her still flat belly to make peace with that thought.

It had to be weird for Oliver. He was about to have sex with the mother of his first child, a woman he had known his entire life and only slept with once. Unlike Felicity, who had had these days to process, Oliver had only learned about this baby a couple of minutes ago. He had to process the news of becoming a father as well as he had to process the latest shift in their relationship. This all had to be incredibly confusing.

Felicity had already made the decision to take Oliver’s hand and lead it to her stomach, letting him feel where their baby was growing. Although there wasn’t really anything to be felt yet, she knew that it might help him.

Before Felicity could follow her plan, she got distracted though. Oliver’s hand slipped beneath the fabric of her panties and cupped her sex. A strangled moan escaped her lips. A moment later, she was already gasping for breath, her fingers clawing into the skin of his forearms.

When Oliver’s fingers moved, Felicity arched her back. The movement brought his fingertips close to the center of her pleasure, and the sensation made her gasp for breath.

Oliver’s lips took a path from the corner of her lips over her jaw down to the side of her neck. He sucked at her pulse point, letting his tongue stroke against it. Felicity would probably go crazy by the sensation of that alone. Still, Oliver’s fingers were adding to it.

Slowly, the tips of his fingers stroked back and forth along her slit. With his thumb resting against her clit, he pushed two of his fingers inside of her, making her moan. There was a part of her that wanted to bite back the sound of pleasure, but she felt Oliver humming against her skin in response to her moan, and she knew that he liked to hear it.

His fingers settled for a slow rhythm. They pushed in and out slowly, stroking against her inner walls as he did so. Her hips met the thrusts of his fingers. It was increasing her pleasure and making his fingers move even deeper inside of her wet channel.

Oliver found her g-spot easily. The moment his fingers rubbed against it for the first time, Felicity arched her back so much that it made his entire chest hurt. Still, it brought her hips closer to the touch of his fingers, making Oliver’s fingers press even more tightly against that sensitive spot inside of her.

“Felicity.”

He whispered her name with hoarse voice. Felicity couldn’t stop herself from snapping her eyes open, and lock her gaze with his as he was already watching her intently. He wanted to see her and see the expression in her eyes as the pleasure took her away with it.

Just like she knew he wanted, she looked right into his eyes as the pleasure washed through her. It drowned her like a high wave. It took her by surprise and just pulled her under. For a moment, she felt incredibly lost. She had no idea where she was or how to escape it. She was utterly lost, and yet she wasn’t scared. She knew that wherever this wave was going to take it, she couldn’t do anything against it anyway.

As the orgasm rushed through her veins, all Felicity could focus on was Oliver’s eyes. They were what kept her anchored to what was real. She and Oliver, they were real and what they had was real.

When the pleasure started to cease, Felicity loosened her hands from around Oliver’s forefingers. She put her hands to Oliver’s cheeks and pulled his face down towards her. Her lips captured his in a gentle kiss. She was trying to make that kiss carry the three words she hadn’t been able to say yet. She could just hope that Oliver understood.

Still kissing him, Felicity lowered her hands down Oliver’s back towards his butt. Her fingers played along the waistband of his boxer briefs like they had played along the waistband of his pants before. She took her time to tease the both of them like that before she let her fingers sneak beneath the fabric of his boxer briefs and cup the cheeks of his ass.

Felicity tugged at his underwear until it lowered down his hips. Oliver helped her to take it off of him completely. As soon as he had dropped it to the floor next to the bed, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties and pulled them down. He lowered himself off Felicity for a moment, so he could pull the fabric down her legs completely.

Putting his hands to Felicity’s hips, Oliver turned them once more and sat up. She was sitting in his lap, his cock pressing against her folds. Felicity knew that she didn’t want to take any more time. She was too much on edge already to waste any more time with teasing.

Felicity got up on her knees and grabbed hold of Oliver’s cock. As soon as his member was placed at her entrance, she slid down on him ever so slowly. Her wet core that was still so sensitive from her first orgasm, so the feeling of having him stretch her and fill her made her feel a lot of things. It was all she had needed and all she had wanted for so long.

Once he was seated deep inside of her, Felicity stilled. She moved her hands from Oliver’s hips over his chest to his shoulders and held onto them tightly. Her fingertips were digging into his skin, and thighs pressed closer to his hips.

Their eyes were still locked onto each other’s. Felicity could see how much this meant to Oliver too. Just like her, she had imagined to feel him back inside of her again since their night together. Those daydreams and nightdreams had only increased after she and Oliver had agreed on going out on a date together.

With their eyes locked, assuring the emotional connection they needed, Felicity started moving. Her hips moved slowly, rocking against Oliver’s in a slow rhythm.

Using the leverage that she had on his shoulders, Felicity gave herself the balance she needed to wrap her legs around Oliver’s hips loosely. The new position made Oliver’s cock slide even deeper into her.

After that first orgasm that had hit her, Felicity was still so very sensitive. Just a couple of thrusts and she was almost feeling like she was back on the edge. She had never experienced something like that before.

As they rocked together, their bodies holding onto each other tightly, their eyes continued to stay locked. Felicity’s lips were burning with the need to kiss Oliver, she didn’t do so. The need to look into his eyes was just so much stronger than anything else.

Her skin felt like it was burning from his touch just like everything else inside of her was burning from the way he looked at her and the way his cock fit into her so perfectly. Everything about this moment just felt so incredibly intense.

For Oliver, it seemed to be the same way. She could see his increasing pleasure in his eyes, and she was sure that the expression was mirrored in her eyes too. She was so close to getting lost in her pleasure and to getting lost in Oliver again. She wasn’t scared of it though because she knew, no matter how lost in Oliver she’d get, she’d also found herself in him again.

It didn’t take long until it happened. Another wave of pleasure overtook her. A long moan fell from her lips as the tingling feeling spread through her body. Oliver’s iris was so dark now that the color almost matched the black of his pupils. His eyes stayed locked on hers intensely as his hips were snapping against hers now, seeking the release that was already rushing through her.

“Oliver.”

That was all it took. The moment she was whispering his name, Oliver let go of the last bit of self-control he had been holding onto. He came with a deep groan, the expression of his eyes so intense that it seemed to burn right under her skin and into her heart.

Her heart that had been his all along.

* * *

For the first time in weeks the smile that was on Oliver’s lips didn’t fade away the very moment he woke up. There was no reason for it to fade away because those feelings that would usually chase it away weren’t there today. The was no guilt about dreaming of a woman that was not his fiancée. There was no longing for a woman that was out of his reach for two unbearable weeks. His dreams and his reality weren’t that different from each other anymore.

At the thought of everything that had happened last night, the smile on Oliver’s lips spread even more. Joy filled every cell of his body.

He had told Felicity that he loved her. He had said those words after they had been on his tongue for weeks and in his heart for years. He had said them again and again. After he had said them the first time, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He had had to tell her again and again and again how he felt for her. He knew better than anyone that she hadn’t heard those words enough in her life.

There was a slight stitch in his heart when he remembered the way Felicity had looked at him. It had just been for the break of a second, but utter surprise had been shining in her eyes. It hadn’t just come from the surprise that he was saying the words during their first date. It had come from that little corner of her heart where all the shattered pieces her father had left her with were gathered.

Oliver knew that he’d do the best he could do make sure all those shattered pieces found their way back to their rightful place again. One day, he would tell Felicity that he loved her and see no hesitation and no doubt there.

It would take its time, but they would get there someday. Oliver could feel it deep in his bones. He and Felicity would settle into their new normal. They would explore the feelings for each other. They would figure out how to make this work. They would find a way to raise their baby.

The thought made Oliver’s stomach tingle intensely.

He guessed he had been as shocked about this news as Felicity had been shocked to hear him say that he loved her. Even now, he was still in shock about this it seemed. Just a couple of days ago, Felicity had been a thousand lives away from him. Now she was going to be the mother of his first child.

It was going fast, too fast people might say. The truth was that he and Felicity had a lot of time to catch up on though. If they had been honest with each other from the very start instead of running away from their feelings, they would have been together for years. Maybe they’d even still be expecting their first child now.

The thought that he and Felicity were really having a baby now still scared Oliver beyond belief. He had no idea what it meant to be a dad. He had no idea if he’d make a good dad. With Felicity by his side, he would hopefully find out though.

Oliver reached out his hand. He wanted to wrap his arm around Felicity and pull her against his chest. Snuggling up to her and reassuring himself that all of this was really real was exactly what he would need before he could open his eyes.

When his hand touched the cold sheet, Oliver frowned and opened his eyes though. His gaze fell onto his flat hand that rested against the white sheet. Felicity wasn’t there and if it wasn’t for the broken bed and his sore muscles, he might have thought that it had all been a dream.

Lifting his gaze, Oliver found her. Though a soft smile spread on his lips, Oliver’s frown deepened at the same time.

Felicity was sitting in her reading nook at the windowsill. She had pulled her legs close to her chest, making herself small and saving the warmth of her body. Her fingers were wrapped around a steaming mug. Her naked legs woke the memory of how they had felt wrapped around his hips last night. The fact that she was wearing his shirt warmed his heart. It suited her even better than it suited him, he guessed.

It was the expression on her face that made him frown though. She was looking outside with dead eyes, looking without seeing anything Oliver guessed. The expression on her face was worried. It wasn’t detectable for people who didn’t know her as well as he knew her, but she definitely looked worried.

Pushing the blanket away, Oliver rolled out of what was left of Felicity’s bed. He grabbed his boxer briefs from the floor, making a mental note to find the most comfortable and most beautiful bed that was available. He would have it delivered here and let the guys from the furniture shop set it up.

Oliver stepped right behind Felicity. His arms wrapped around her shoulders loosely. His chest pressed to her back. With a content sigh, Felicity leaned back against him and rested her head against his shoulder. Oliver smiled and angled his head down for a moment, so he could brush his lips against the side of her neck.

She tasted as amazing as she had tasted last night. The scent of her perfume had faded away a little. What was left was the sweet scent that came from her skin, the scent of home.

Snuggling his cheek against hers, he glanced down at what was inside of her mug. He smiled sympathetically when he saw that she was indeed drinking tea. Felicity was a coffee-enthusiast with all of her heart.

Oliver took the mug from her hands and took a sip of the tea. He guessed he hated tea as much as Felicity did though that should actually be impossible.

“Tastes great,” he lied.

Felicity chuckled, shooting a look back over her shoulder at him. “It’s terrible.”

Oliver couldn’t really argue with that. The only time that he had drunken tea had been when he had been sick as a kid. Raisa had given it to him, insisting that it was the second best for him after her special chicken soup. After he had thrown up the tea into the bed, he had been spared from it though.

“It’s better for the baby though.”

“Our baby.”

Oliver whispered the words to himself, just to get used to the feeling of saying it. Calling it their baby just made it so much more real. He and Felicity were really having a baby, a baby that shared both of their DNA and mixed it to an extraordinary human being.

Felicity turned her head back over her shoulder and smiled at him. The expression in her eyes was soft and full of love. There was a glimpse of insecurity there as she laced her fingers through his and led them to her lower stomach. She placed it there, moving her own hand over the back of his for a moment before she was pulling her hand away.

Oliver felt his heart skip a beat. Last night, there had been a part of him that had wanted to rest his hand against her lower stomach. He knew that there wasn’t anything to be felt. Felicity’s stomach was still flat as it should be in the sixth week of pregnancy.

Still, resting his hand where he knew their baby was growing felt incredible. There was an energy there Oliver had never felt before. It was almost like he could feel the life growing just a couple of inches beneath the palm of his hand.

“Our baby.”

Felicity’s whispered voice pulled him back to the situation. He focused on the deep expression in her eyes and let that expression make him feel more at home than he had felt in a long time. He knew he could stay here like this forever, simply because Felicity was here with him.

When Oliver angled his head slightly, Felicity straightened up a little. Their lips brushed together in a gentle kiss. It held even more love than their kisses last night. It wasn’t a kiss of raw hunger for each other. It was a kiss that said that they were both feeling comfortable and content here.

Their lips broke apart soon, but their foreheads stayed in touch. Oliver enjoyed the closeness, enjoyed feeling her breath ghosting over his chin and having her nose brush against his with every intake of breath. He hadn’t known how much she had missed having him so close. Oliver spread his fingers against Felicity’s lower stomach and smiled when she rested her hand on top of his.

“You brushed your teeth,” Oliver whispered eventually. “It’s not fair.”

He pecked Felicity’s lips once more before pulling back. Smiling, he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and watched her. In the light of the late morning, Felicity looked incredibly beautiful. The golden light shone through her hair and made her face look like a halo.

Slowly, the smile faded from Felicity’s face. The expression of worry returned. Oliver didn’t know if Felicity sensed it herself or if the frown that formed on his forehead was the reason for that. She avoided his gaze and looked back out of the window though.

Oliver angled his head slightly and rested his chin against her shoulder. His arm tightened around Felicity’s shoulders, while the fingers of his other hand spread against her lower stomach.

“Are you okay?”

There was a long moment of silence following his question. Felicity took her time to figure what she should reply. Oliver knew it was a good thing. Too often, he had heard Felicity claiming that she was alright when she was anything but. She had always tried to be strong, pretending nothing could hurt her even when she had felt terribly down.

Felicity’s fingers moved over the back of his hand almost a little nervously. She was fumbling to keep busy. It was the exact thing he did by rubbing his fingers together when he was nervous.

“All of this scares me,” Felicity whispered eventually, still avoiding his gaze. “I mean this thing between us is already scary enough. That we are having a baby is only making it even more frightening.”

Oliver could feel the truth of her words deep in his heart. He was feeling the exact same way she did. He was able to push past his fear because he was confident that he and Felicity could do anything as long as they were doing it together. It didn’t mean that he wasn’t scared though. He had a great reputation of messing things up, so there was a real chance that he would mess this up too. It would kill him if it did, but it might happen.

Felicity turned around to Oliver. She moved her legs to sit on the windowsill cross-legged and held both of his hands in her lap. Her fingers were wrapped around his hands tightly, anchoring herself to him. Oliver held her hands just as tightly, needing her to anchor him too.

“Being a mother is not something I have planned for myself. Ever.” Felicity took in a deep breath when tears started welling in her eyes. “The circumstances surrounding us are still so messy. We both just broke off our engagements. We are supposed to work together. Our mothers are best friends.”

Oliver nodded his head. With the way things were right now, they were in every part of each other’s life. He guessed that it could cause them to feel suffocated eventually. Even if they were able to deal with it, who knew how people around them would take this recent shift in their relationship?

“This will be difficult to handle already, but adding a baby into the mix, I-“

“Hey.”

Oliver lifted his hands and framed her face. His thumbs brushed over her cheekbones, causing a light blush to spread there. He smiled softly at the sight.

“I meant what I said yesterday,” he told her with firm voice though it was lowered to a whisper. “You would, without any doubt, be able to raise a baby all on your own. I know you better than most people do, and I know you could do it. You just don’t have to because I will be right there and do it with you.”

There was an expression in Felicity’s eyes that Oliver had never seen before. At least she had never looked at him like this. Maybe he had seen it once when she had been working on one of her binary codes to write some virus that had the power to save or destroy the world, depending on who was working at it.

“You really do love me, right?”

It wasn’t much of a question. It seemed more like Felicity was just now really processing his words. Only now she realized how true this really was, how real his feelings for her were.

Oliver’s smile widened, and he brushed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. When he pulled back, Felicity kept her eyes closed for a beat longer. Her tongue moved between the seam of her lips, tasting his lips on hers. The thought made Oliver’s stomach tingle.

“Our relationship started like a whirlwind,” Oliver said once Felicity’s eyes were locked with his again. “I know it looks a little messy, but it’s wonderful and I am as serious about this as a person can be. I will assure you of that every day that we are together until you will know it from the bottom of your heart.”

Taking in a deep breath, Felicity snuggled her face into Oliver’s hands. She moved her fingers around his wrists, holding his hands right in place. When Oliver moved his thumbs over her cheekbone once more, she closed her eyes with a sigh.

Smiling, Oliver just watched her.

There were so many things he still had to tell her, so many promises he wanted to make. He had never been the kind of person to make promises that he wasn’t sure that he could keep. With Felicity, it was different though. He knew making a promise to her would only assure that he would match his goal. His urge not to disappoint her and not to break his promise would only motivate him.

When Felicity opened her eyes, they locked with his immediately. She stayed quiet for a long moment, watching him as intensely as she was watching him.

“I love you.”

Oliver hadn’t known how much he had needed Felicity to say those words until now. He had been sure that just knowing she was feeling remotely the same he did was enough. The fact that everything inside of him was prickling and his heart was beating so quickly that it almost took his breath away proved him wrong though. He had needed this.

Tightening his hold on Felicity’s face, Oliver leaned in and stole a kiss from Felicity. It was a heated kiss, a kiss that held all the joy of their mutual feelings for each other. Felicity’s hands moved to his shoulders, giving her leverage to straighten up against him and press her chest to his while her legs wrapped around his hips loosely.

A groan escaped Oliver when Felicity’s sex rubbed against his still half-erect cock. His hand moved to the back of her knee, lifting her leg to wrap it even higher around his hip. Deepening the kiss, he leaned more against Felicity. His hip thrusted against her, and he could feel a tight knot forming in his stomach as his need increased and-

The loud growl that came from Felicity’s stomach made the both of them chuckle. Their lips stayed in touched despite that for a moment longer before they pulled apart.

“I guess it’s time for breakfast first,” Oliver said with a smile and tugged a strand of Felicity’s hair behind her ear. “If your fridge offers enough, I am going to make you a good breakfast.”

“Sounds nice,” Felicity said, nodding her head slowly, “but I doubt that there is anything in my fridge at all.”

“In that case, I will make a quick tour to the supermarket and get some supplies.”

“I doubt it’s worth the effort,” Felicity told him. “The baby does not like breakfast anyway.”

Oliver wasn’t sure if he was allowed to smile or chuckle about that. He could only guess how hard morning sickness had to be on her.

“I will hold back your hair if necessary,” he just assured her. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That is actually very true.” Felicity nodded her head. “Let’s still hope that the baby might like something you cook.”

“Well, I will do my very best.”

Oliver brushed a lingering kiss to her lips, promising himself that he would cook until he had found something that wouldn’t make her throw up. Even if he had to cook all week. 

* * *

@fannaz @promiseyoullbepatientwithme @bytemegeekette @felicity-said-just-in-case @phanseptiic @orangeisorange @mspotatohead14 @whentheheavenfades @emmaamelia95 @smoakingskye @seaolicity @ourwritinginvein @1022bridgetp @felicityqueenforever @leagueofolicity17 @yryssss @myhauntedblacksoul @sherlock44 @sinceriouslybea @arrowsalways @olivyflavescentdeer @olicitys-castle @ofnothingcharming @vaelisamaza @smoakedandcharmed @alexisa1206 @mysaudadespt2 @florence-bubbles @addictiontelly @queens-of-arrows @memcjo @hysterical-for-joshifer @oswinelevenforever @olicitylovemaking @bandanab310 @mymusiclove101 @lynslogic @scarletqueen23 @olicityshipper19 @alex-wesley @arrows-4ever @unabashedlynerdypatrol @louehmysoul @ligiapimenta @chattyyana @charlie-leau @coal000 @samcrowleys @ishippolivia @julianegomesqueen @malafle @miriam1779 @charlinert @melaux @ontheolicityship @myshipperlife @wrightainsley @lexi9515 @ladygreenwood @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl @morinamel @mje-thomas @kebarry @canadianheartgirl @nannett2307 @almondblossomme @paarti12 @kathrynelizabeth89 @imdfabulous @cutearrowgirl @mrt2501 @mecha1330 @arsipaci14 @mzminx @salasvia @brandis91 @cainc3 @morganmiguess @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl @iamisalima @nessafrancis-blog @jonhdiggle @niki-is-amazing @universed-posts @hopeful-warrior @senoritaswiftie @bellemmie @green-arrows-of-karamel @iheartarrow @olicityovereverything @oliverfel4 @navyaarsha @fandoms-breathe-life @simone4mcswarek @olicity-in-the-heart @fullychippedcreation @geemarie @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld @tjmartinez @pleasantfanandstudent @itsmagnoliagirl @j69confessional2 @scentedcolorpirate @icanica74 @javinancupil @tjmartinez98 @certainmentalityface @tatianadamaceno @ryelew @wildwillowzepplin @missafairy @letsplaymurde-r @lipizette @positivepiper @nuttymilkshakehologram @laksagirl @turnupthemusicandscream @pumpernickle93 @onceuponanolicity @1106angel @jaspertown @fadinglands @morganashimi83 @mochababychristy @omglovechrissie @mariejr88-blog @thetaufactor @onceuponanolicity @speakandseethetruth @bri206 @aglasgo @thats0klaroline @geemarie @pineprincess @nerdgirljen @peterpanslostgirl666 @eternal-olicity14 @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay @lovelycssefan @tsseract @flowerandsunshine @dcnmarvelgamergeek @blondeeoneexox @monetsmark @soaring-cities @bb-olicity @mashamarty @rulerofsilence @erika-amber @felicity087 @i-claim-only-emily @pattid1 @westallenandolicityshipper @babyolicityandwestallen @nothingmorethanmyotps @kayleenyc @tonto16 @olicityfluv @olicitea1990 @olicity5ever @haahaaa2408 @pattid1 @faegal04 @24karatgem @wrldtravler @readerkas @valery6488 @lemmyeatspeaches @olicity-beliver @greencoffeecups

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[polizwrites]

WIP Update - 14 Jun 2023

A more normal writing week -  I touched 4 fics (2 WIPs  & 2 new works)  for a total of  2755 words.

On Ao3, I posted:

 Chapter 4 of My Love is Vengeance  - young!Tony/bodyguard!Winter Soldier (who becomes recovering!Bucky)

Chapter 1 of  A Sugar-Coated Pill  - No Powers AB/O ‘verse with  Alpha!Bucky/omega!Tony in a Sugar Daddy/baby relationship.

On Tumblr I posted:

Solving for X  -  Ever since he was a child, Tony had wanted to know the reasons behind the way things were the way they were.

All the King’s Horses - Bucky discovers a dark part of queer history, and Tony and Steve ask him to help overcome the repercussions.

I  have  15 active WIPs  with my  current  deadlines being  the Bucky Barnes Connect Four Alt-Juniverse , the WinterIron Pride Prompt Party  and Choose Your Own Stony Story events, all of which wrap up at the end of June.

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Seek & Destroy Collab

After reading @psychiccatpanda‘s amazing   Morguna and the Green Queen, I  got the itch to explore the Soldier’s POV and talked  Faustie into   collab’ing with me!  We’re working on a new part of the series, and I’ve  contributed about 900 words towards the  2500-ish we have so far.   Going to see if I can squeeze any of my BBB squares into this fic. 

Choose Your Own Stony Story  (CYO_SS] - Ends 29 Jun]

Another fun event hosted by @stonyauniverse​ - this one uses flow charts where you choose a starting point, a genre and a prompt and are then assigned an AU and a  trope to create a fanwork that incorporates all four into a single work.   I was challenged to combine the following:   AU: Med School, Hurt/Comfort, Miscommunication, and Bathing.   Blind Luck is coming in at 825 words at the moment.  It will will need a bit of   trigger/warning tagging  (cadavers & eye trauma)  and will post on Friday the 16th

Bucky Barnes Connect Four Alt-Juniverse Event (BBE_C4)[ends 30 Jun 2023]

Signed up for this event over at @buckybarnesevents - you get a four-square card featuring ideas for AUs.  The prompts can be used as stand-alones or combined with each other or other events.   Thanks to crossovers, I finished out one card and have a WIP that combines 2 square and an idea to combine the other two. .

* C1 - Interior Designer - combining this with my Gender Swap square for a continuation of  Shifting Alliances  - domestic Bucky/Maria (bonus Peggy/Steve) fic.   This ficlet came in at 639 words and will post on the 21st.

* C2 - Gender Swap  - see above

* C3 - Professor/Student –  Possible continuation of Technicalities  from Bucky’s POV - could combine nicely with my FWB square below.  

* C4 - Friends with Benefits –   I may combine this with my BBB Never the Fall that Kills You square and/or  Professor/Student above.

WinterIron Pride Prompt Party  [WI_PPP]  (Ends 30 Jun)

This is a daily prompt event hosted by the WinterIron Discord server  that will be running all month. I’m shooting to write something for at least half of these and have completed six prompts with Tumblr ficlets  so far:  Day 1: First Meetings = Potential for Retribution;  Day 2: Yearning =  Dressing for the Occasion ; Day 3: Gender Euphoria = Where Will He Be Tomorrow?   Day 4: Dragons are Gay = A Shift in Their Relationship;  Day 5: Fluidity =  Tony Stark’s Pride 101;  Day 7: Questioning = Solving for X  and  Day 9: Older Gays = All the King’s Horses.   

Hot Bucky Summer [BBE_HBS]  (Ends Aug 30)

Another @buckybarnesevents​  event, this time with weekly smexy prompts.  I’d like to complete at least two fics per month for this challenge.  

Week One:   “What should I wear?” + Collar  - Posted Dressing for the Occasion to Tumblr on June 2nd as a crossover with the WI_PPP  Yearning prompt as well as the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF203 Yes Sir!!] . It came in at 325 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends. 

Week Two: “What Should I Call You?” + Alpha -   combining this with the ACB June Monthly Mission AU: Sugar Daddy as well as the Knot In My Name Anti-AI A/B/O event    prompts: Sugar Daddy AU.   Chapter One of  A Sugar-Coated Pill,   posted to Ao3 this morning.  Up and coming politician  Alpha!Bucky starts a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship with a young omega!Tony. Turns out both of them have secrets they’re hiding.   Chapter One came in at 1190 words. 

Week Five:  “When I First Met You..” + Fireworks -  filling this with Chapter 2 of A Sugar-Coated Pill - combining with WIB  Dancing and  BBB Pet Names prompts.   The first draft is coming in at 1087 words and may get tweaked a little before posting on  6/30.

All Caps Bingo [ACB_R1]  (Ends 30 Sep)

I’ve got thirteen completed fics, two WIPs and  will be pursuing the One Fill, One Bingo  Challenge for Row 5.  

* I1 - Mutual Pining - may combine with something on my BBB card - see if the Centerfold fic idea fits in here.

* G1 - Isaiah Bradley -  Planning to add more to The Fist, Defeated.   (possibly present day)

* O3 - Pararescue Sam Wilson - may try to squish this into an expansion of   A Rising Star -  a previous Flash Fiction Friday fill. 

June Monthly Mission: Sugar Daddy -  See Week Two of  BBE_HBS above.

Sam Wilson Bingo [SWB_R3]  (Ends 15 Oct 2023)

I have three fills and one WIP -  I need to work on cross fills between this and the All Caps and Bucky Barnes bingo!

* G3 - Joaquin Torres - see ACB Pararescue Sam Wilson above.

WinterIron Bingo  - [WIB_R1]   (Ends 16 Dec 2023)

I have nine fills completed and three WIP for this brand-new bingo event that I’m helping mod!  Along with crossfilling against my other bingos,  I’m going to try to combine my B column squares for the Iron Soldier badge (complete a bingo with a single work). – Alpha Tony Stark, “That was not my intention.”, James Rhodes,Alpine loves Tony and Blind date.

* N1 - Bucharest –  I think I can fold this into a future chapter of My Love is Vengeance -  where a young!Tony and a recovering!Bucky have been kidnapped by Hydra, who still thinks Bucky is the Soldier.  

* G4 - AU: College Students – looking to expand Beaten to the Punch with some backstory on Bucky and Tony as science camp counselors to fit with this square - will also cross over with my WFB  Volunteering Together square. 

* O5 - Gentle – use this poem  as inspiration?

* JUNE ADOPTABLE - Dancing - see Week Five of  BBE_HBS above.

Bucky Barnes Bingo  - [BBB_R5]   (Ends 10 Jan 2024)

I’ve got  five fills,  seven WIPs (!!)  and a couple more Vague ideas.

* B4 - Shapeshifters -  wrote . A Shift in Their Relationship as a crossover with the WI_PPP prompt Dragons are Gay.  This came in at 404 words and will be posted to Ao3 before this event is over.  

* U2 - Clint Barton/Hawkeye -  Dredged up my year-old Winter Soldier/ young Clint WIP   You Can’t Stop It With a Gun.  Chapter 3 was already in progress and is now up to 548 words.    

* C2 - Yelena Belova –   The plan is to use this prompt in the next chapter of Peresmešnik,  (aka Three Avengers and a Baby) , which is currently sitting at 1100 words (400-ish of which are mine).  

* C5 - Marriage of Convenience/Pretend Couple -  next chapter of   Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion.    Not quite sure where to take this next at the moment.  😕

* K3 - Magic -  Aro!Bucky sickfic idea? 

* K5 - “Don’t Touch Him” -  Using this prompt for Chapter Five of My Love is Vengeance  It’s coming in at 1372 words and I have some decent notes that should allow me to finish this up in six or seven chapters total.  

* Y2 - [image: IW Bucky with the good hair] A Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF198 What Comes Next]   was a perfect match for an idea I’d already been playing around with to fill this square.   I banged out Getting Prepared -(updated title = Preparations)   an A:IW missing scene set between the time that T’Challa and Okoye come for Bucky and the moment he sees Steve again.  I will post it to Ao3 sometime in the next month or so.

* Y3 - Alpine  - see WIB Iron Soldier combo.

* Y4 - Forgotten Things -   I may use this for Chapter 2 Half of the Flesh and Blood That Makes Me Whole, a Bucky POV remix of at least the first part of Take What Was Wrong (And Make it Right),  which is current sitting at  52 words.  I’m expecting at least one more chapter, possibly two, depending on how far I want to take the remix.  

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  - [WFB]   (no end date)

I got my card from  @warmandfluffybingocards back in February but really hadn’t done much with it  - however, I’m picking it back up for some crossover possibilities!

* N4 - Affectionate Teasing –  Expanding a bit on Starting Something New , so I can crossfill with my  Tony Stark Bingo square   Pairing: Tony/Pepper (I got a sneak peek at my card! 😁)  The ficlet is now sitting at 396 words.  

* O5 - Volunteering Together – see WIB AU: College Students

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On  other creative fronts:  I have an Loki-gator Stuffed With Character figure in progress. I will be making an announcement about commissions by the end of the month, so if  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 100!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[largecapindia]

Maruti Suzuki India Limited Shares Rose By Rs.2308 In 52 Weeks

Maruti Suzuki India Limited listing was launched on July 9, 2003 in the NSE, the company brought its IPO at a share price of Rs.125 Maruti Suzuki is today the country’s largest automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki started in 1982 as a joint venture of Japan’s auto company Suzuki Earlier, the government had 74% stake in the company and Suzuki had 26% stake. Suzuki increased the stake to 50% by buying additional shares twice. . In 1992, during the time of the then government, Maruti Suzuki’s stock holdings fell below 50%. That is why Maruti was declared a private company, the government also transferred management control and in 2007, the government came out of the company by selling the remaining stake.

Maruti’s stock is currently running around Rs. 7317, its face value is Rs. 5 and the market cap is 221,031.00. Its security code in BSE is 532500. Highest circuit price Rs. 8060.15 paise and lowest circuit price Rs. 6594. 75 is money. The 52 week maximum price has been Rs 7755 and the 52 week minimum price has been Rs 5447. The total market cap of the company is Rs 2,21,60,593.20 lakhs. Security Var 5. 20, ware margin 7.50, maximum loss rate 5.00, applicable margin rate is 12. 50. As per constitutional indications, Nifty 500 is a part of Nifty India function, Nifty 200, Nifty MNC, Nifty Auto, Nifty 100, Nifty 50. As far as the dividend paid by the company is concerned, Rs. 25 per share at the Annual General Meeting on 26 August 2015, Rs. 35 per share as the final dividend on 31 August 2016, Rs. 75 as the dividend on 24 August 2017, per share Dividend Maruti Suzuki Limited gave to its investors as Rs. 80 per share on 14 August 2018 and Rs. 80 per share on 14 August 2019. As far as the shareholding of the company is concerned, the promoter and promoter group holds 56.21% stake in the company and public holds 43.79% stake in the company.

After the quarter of 30 September 2018, there has been a decrease in the total compressive income in the quarter up to 30 September 2019, mainly due to the increase in inflation and competition. CRISIL confirmed its rating on the bank facilities of Maruti Suzuki IndiaLimited (MSIL) in CRISIL AAA / Stable / CRISIL A1 +. Crisil has short-term rating BBB. According to them, performance is expected to improve gradually due to high demand. Higher volume, favorable commodity prices and reduced discounts should benefit the profit provider going forward. The company has successfully launched new models Baleno , Vitara Brezza launched the New Swift New WagonR in the premium segment and the current case success is a way to expand the product portfolio.

Rumukh creates market position Crisil believes that MSIL will establish its dominant position in the domestic BP segment with a large and successful product portfolio with strong network and access to SMC technology. Financials due to conservative gearing surplus liquidity and growth seal apex The risk profile is expected to be healthy. Currently there are 16 models with more than 150 variants in the entire segment of MSIL. . Maruti’s stock may remain under pressure for some time but the company’s long-term plans are attractive.

For More Info : https://www.largecapindia.com