#but i’m sorry to see my point about this fandom proven in such a stark way has me a bit ruffled

[lilyoffandoms]

I have this dream for 2024 where some day queer fics will get the same notes as hetero fics.

[hale-13]

Trapezius

By Hale13

For the Summer of Whump Day 27 Prompt 27 - Injured

Peter gazed out over the harbor forlornly, twisting his mask into knots in his lap. Normally he would really enjoy the view – the sun was setting in a clear sky turning the normally disgusting water a soft orange and painting the area with a soft warmth. The peaceful view was marred by the emergency vehicles, Coastguard boats and police and news helicopters which made Peter’s gut clench with anxiety. He just… he tried so hard.

Words: 2123, Chapters: 1/1 (Complete), Language: English

Fandoms: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, May Parker, Helen Cho

TW: Injury, Poor Emotional intelligence

Read on AO3 or below the line break.

Peter gazed out over the harbor forlornly, twisting his mask into knots in his lap. Normally he would really enjoy the view – the sun was setting in a clear sky turning the normally disgusting water a soft orange and painting the area with a soft warmth. The peaceful view was marred by the emergency vehicles, Coastguard boats and police and news helicopters which made Peter’s gut clench with anxiety. He just… he tried so hard.

The sound of repulsers approaching made Peter tense and he mentally put his walls back up. He couldn’t afford to let Mr. Stark see him as a kid right now. They were colleges when he was Spider-Man, peers. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it puff out through his clenched teeth.

“Previously on Peter screws the pooch I tell you to stay away from this instead you hack a multi-million dollar suit so you can sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do,” Mr. Stark’s sarcastic voice said and Peter held back a flinch, keeping his expression blank as he cautiously looked back over his shoulder. His back was killing him and felt hot and swollen from his Hercules hold of the ferry earlier – he had definitely felt something tear – but he couldn’t afford the weakness right now.

“Is everyone okay?” He asked instead, keeping his voice monotone and trying not to tense his back.

“No thanks to you,” the Iron Man voice made Mr. Stark’s snide tone sound slightly metallic but, more than that, it made his blood boil and he whipped around to face the man.

“No thanks to me?” He took no precautions as he lifted his lefts over they side of the concrete tower and jumped down on the other side making his shoulders throb. “Those weapons were out there and I tried to tell you about it and you didn’t listen. None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me!” His voice broke and he could feel blood rushing to his face but he did his best to push down the embarrassment. “If you even cared you’d actually be here.” He threw in boldly.

It took him by surprise, therefore, when the armor opened in from of him and Tony Stark stepped out, a grim look of disappointment on his face that made Peter stumble back a could steps, unable to hide his wince of pain but playing it off as shock instead. “I did listen kid. Who do you think called the FBI huh?”

Peter dropped his gaze, unable to make further eye contact, only interrupting to correct his age and flinching again at Mr. Stark’s yelling. “I’m sorry,” he stammered, but he could tell the platitudes were only making his idol angrier so he said instead, with the most sincerity he could push into his tone “I just… I just wanted to be like you.”

“And I wanted you to be better,” Mr. Stark said back in a weary voice before asking for the suit back. Peter heart sank further but he got it. Mr. Stark was right – he didn’t deserve to be Spider-Man if all he did was hurt other people.

The car ride back to his apartment in Queens was silent and awkward, broken only by Mr. Stark and Happy leaving the car and throwing his a pair of hideous Hello Kitty pajama pants and an oversized New York tourist shirt. It took more effort than he would care to admit to slip the suit off of his painful muscles and lift his arms up high enough to pull the shirt on but he managed it.

Happy slipped back into the driver’s seat a moment later and raised the partition but Mr. Stark didn’t return as they pulled away from the curb and Peter’s heart sank further when he realized the man had probably taken the armor back to the Tower because he couldn’t bear to be in the car with Peter another minute. His eyes were burning but he refused to cry here – he’d already proven to be a problem and he wasn’t going to cry about his well deserved punishment.

The car stopped in front of his apartment and the locks on the doors popped but Happy didn’t roll down to partition to talk to him or offer any direction so, without a backward glance as his poorly folded suit, Peter slunk out of the car and upstairs.

May was not happy with him for skipping school and not answering his phone and, with the pain of his torn muscles ratcheting up and the emotional trauma of the day weighing down on him he collapsed onto the couch and tearfully confessed to his aunt that he had lost his internship, wanting to bring his arms up to return her tender hug but physically unable to do so. His only relief was that she directed him to take a shower pretty immediately because he smelled like garbage,.

And, yeah, he probably did.

The piss poor water pressure of their dingy shower was actually a blessing today but Peter could still barely stand with his back facing the hottest water possible hoping that the heat would relieve some of his pain but he was still just as painful when he forwent his sleep shirt a few minutes later.

He healed fast. This was fine – it would all be resolved in a few days.

———————————————

“Fuck,” Peter muttered, keeping his right arm tucked close to his stomach as he wrestled with the leukotape he had bought at the pharmacy. It kept sticking to itself and the wall and his hair and basically everywhere but where he was trying to stick it and Peter groaned, balling the piece up and throwing it away.

It had been a few months since dealing with the Vulture. A few months since turning down Mr. Stark’s offer to be an Avenger but accepting his offer to become his personal intern and Peter couldn’t be happier.

Well. Except for his shoulder that is.

His left arm had healed fully after straining his muscles holding the ferry together but his right had just gotten worse and worse and it was interfering with his ability to not only be Spider-Man but also to just perform everyday tasks. He hadn’t been able to lift much with that side or even put on a shirt normally in weeks and it was starting to grate on his nerves. After spending hours watching videos on YouTube Peter decided to try some strengthening exercises and taping.

Neither was working very well.

“Fuck,” he said again, with feeling, as he bent forward at the waist to rest his head on the cool counter top of his bathroom. He was supposed to get picked up by Happy in a few minutes to go and spend the weekend at the Tower with Tony to work on his suit and there was no way he could hide this anymore. He couldn’t even lift his arm up to chest level. His phone vibrated on the counter top and he moaned, answering it without looking at the caller ID. “Hey Happy.”

“Nope, guess again,” his mentor’s voice said and Peter jerked up, letting out a strangled grunt as he jostled his shoulder. “You okay kid?”

“Why are you calling me?” Peter said instead, deflecting.

“I’m picking you up,” Tony said. “Now are you okay?”

Peter waffled for a minute but one look at his duffle bag made him ache and he let out a sigh. “Not… really I guess.”

“What’s wrong?” His mentor’s voice was sharp and he could hear the sound of his seatbelt smacking the window of his car and the door opening and closing as Tony got out of the car.

“It’s not a big deal,” Peter said, going to the front door and unlocking and opening it just as Tony left the elevator, they made eye contact and hung up their phones.

“Well you look to be in one piece and there’s no blood everywhere,” Tony said as he joined Peter in the living room of his apartment and looked him over. “So what’s going on kiddo?”

Peter nibbled on his bottom lip and gripped his right hand into his shirt tightly for just a second before releasing it. “Remember the ferry?”

Mr. Stark was silent and attentive as he listened to Peter ramble and sighed deeply at the end of his story, reaching one hand up to massage his eyes. “You really don’t half-ass anything do you?”

“Do you actually want me to answer that?” Peter asked confused and his mentor rolled his eyes, grabbing Peter’s bag from where it was resting in the hallway.

“Come on then, you have a date with Dr. Cho and the MedBay.” Peter whined but didn’t overly protest when he was directed out of the apartment and down to where Mr. Stark had illegally parked in the fire lane in front of his building.

It was just some muscle straining right? A week or two of meds and resting it and everything would be okay.

“Well its not a strain,” Dr. Cho told him just over an hour later looking at the images of his radiographs and MRI on a holotable. “You’ve torn your rotator cuff and continually re-injured it to the point that its basically just a mass of scar tissue.”

“Oh…” Peter said, a little dazed from the small dose of painkillers he had been given so that they would be able to manipulate his arm for the images. “What does that mean?”

Helen gave him the same disapproving look she had been giving him since she had taken his history and had learned that he had been putting massive amounts of pressure and g-force on an injury that he had never allowed to fully heal. “It means Peter,” she said firmly shutting down the table, “that you’ll need surgery to repair the tear and clean out all the scar tissue. And you’ll need to give it time to heal and go to physical therapy if you plan to ever use your arm to its fullest extent ever again.”

Peter’s mind went a little blank at that. “Surgery?” He asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice. “But Spider-Man–,”

“Will be taking a break,” Tony told him. “Your health always comes first Peter.” He turned his attention back to Dr. Cho. “Can you tell his aunt all of this later? Also when can we do the surgery.”

“I’ve already got him scheduled for tomorrow morning with a specialist I’m bringing in from NYU,” she said. “And of course! Just let me know when she gets here.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Peter groused from his spot on the exam bed but both adults ignored him and he rolled his eyes. “What if I don’t want surgery?”

“Then you’ll be dealing with chronic pain, pion and needles, weakness and continuous tearing for the rest of your life and you’ll need a shoulder replacement in less than fifteen years at the rate your going,” Dr. Cho said, typing notes into his chart. “So I’ll see you in the morning for the surgery.”

Peter glared at her but, at the twinge in his arm when he adjusted in his seat, he grumbled “fine”.

“It won’t be that bad Underoos,” Tony said later as they sat on the ridiculously large couch in the penthouse living room watching Brooklyn 99 while May spoke with Peter’s medical team. “You get to skip school for the next week while you recover and I bribed Bob Igor to give me the next season of the Mandolorian early for us to binge.”

“But…” Peter gnawed at his lip, hating the taste of blood that filled his mouth as he broke open the tender skin again. “What if this doesn’t fix it?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Tony said with a smile. “Cho is the forefront in development in regeneration. If anyone can fix you it’ll be her. And May and I will be there the whole time. You have nothing to worry about okay?”

“You’ll be there?” Peter said, fiddling with a loose thread on his shirt and refusing to look up at his mentor.

“Of course I’ll be there!” Tony said warmly with a squeeze to his good shoulder. “You’re my favorite intern.” He teased.

“Thanks Mr. Stark,” Peter said sincerely, reading the unsaid bit and relaxing a little back in the couch. Between his pain meds and his full stomach he could feel his eyelids drooping and he decided to relax more fully into Tony’s side – there was no where he felt safer.

[black-streak]

Little Pistol - Nothing Personal

Chapter 2

First Previous Next

It'll be a minute before Tim is actually introduced here, by the way. Mostly because I'm not 100% certain who exactly I want him to be affiliated with and how he'll operate yet.

Which reminds me, I'm opening that to a vote that I'll post tomorrow. It's open to all, but anyone tagged in this should expect to be tagged onto that as well. I would like your input, please.

LP Taglist

@zalladane @moonlightstar64 @amayakans @elmokingkong @queen-in-a-flower-crown @karategirl119 @dreamykitty25 @danielslilangel @melicmusicmagic @xahriia @sassakitty

Permanent list

@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @jardimazul @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08 @tiny-goddess-of-chaos @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-alice-of-hearts

~---~

The next battle came as a stark contrast to the normal. Chat still flirted, still tried to get close, but he kept fighting, kept helping even when she ignored him. Then, the most amazing thing happened. She got hit after getting distracted by one of his comments and instead of yelling at him for it and being pushed off in turn, he turned to the akuma. Without a word from her, he stopped his comments and went after the cursed object with a single minded focus she'd never seen from him before. Within ten minutes with minimal help on her part, he was presenting her with the blackened hair tie of the victim. 

"A token, m'lady," he bowed, but kept his eyes downcast.

"Thank you, Chat," she managed to get out in her surprise, taking the item and working her magic on it and the city alike.

"I'm sorry," he murmured at her side, "I distracted you and got you hurt. That's my fault."

"It is," she agreed, not wanting to lie and say it wasn't, but also fighting back her urge to comfort him, "You'll do better next time," she stated.

"Much better," he promised, peeking up at her in hope of forgiveness. She swallowed back her instinct to grant it.

"Good," she nodded and took off back to school.

…

She spent most of the school day comparing his attitude this time to the last akuma attack, startled to realize what a difference a single conversation could make. She did that. She managed to make him change. Sure, she was injured, but only the once and he even said he was sorry! Took responsibility for his mistakes. That was unprecedented. She couldn't help but wonder how much pushing it would take to stop him completely. To incite obedience. Not that she planned to push it to that level, but it was a curious thing.

As she pondered on the logistics of such an act, just for the fun of it, she stepped out of the classroom, intending to head out for the day, she noticed Chloe shooing Sabrina off. Probably to act on some offhanded whim of the blonde. Marinette can't help the niggling thought of how she could change that as well. What words would it take to set Sabrina free? What made Chloe tick? 

As she passed Alya, the reporter talking to Nino, or rather, at Nino, she thought of how to switch the roles. How to encourage Nino to express himself more openly. To be comfortable in his own skin enough to confidently express it. 

Her grin grew as she planned out exactly how each encounter went down, coming up with on the spot ideas and improvising at a drop of a hat for whatever response they might have. It reminded her of the thrill of figuring out a particularly difficult lucky charm. Plus, it was perfectly harmless to consider right? As long as she didn't act on it. And even if she did, it would benefit them all, so really, it didn't hurt to consider.

And if the outcomes were as good as Chat's were, even better. If she went through with it, that is.

…

A week came and went and as did another attack.

Chat waited until the akuma was caught and purified to flirt, ensuring she never became distracted by him or anything else for that matter. He called out any incoming projectile, caught her attention anytime anything happened that she might've missed. Took another hit for her. That frustrated her, but the rest was a needed reprieve from the stress of akuma's past. And then he started flirting.

"Chat, what are you doing?"

"Well surely, I've proven my dedication to you, m'lady. I figure we might celebrate?"

"You've proven nothing of the sort," she stated, head tilted in confusion.

"I did to! I made sure you weren't harmed, I took the attack seriously, I even apologized and caught the akuma for you last time!"

"That isn't proof of love, Chat. That's basic human decency. I would do that for any hero or civilian for that matter. If that's a show of devotion to you, I'd hate to see how you treat people you're indifferent to," Ladybug countered, lips pursed and eyebrows pinching in.

"I'm perfectly nice to people I don't know," he defended himself quickly.

"Oh," her expression swiftly morphed, eyes widening into a look of taken aback surprise, "So you treat strangers well, but those you care about are lucky to hear an apology from you? Thank kwami I'm a ladybug then, I guess."

"That's not what I meant, of course I apologize when I'm in the wrong," he backtracked.

"So you think last time was the only time you messed up with me," she clarified.

"Well no…" Chat hedged, looking down again.

"You've barely proven that you don't hold malicious intent towards me. Don't push your luck, kitty. Black cats don't have any," she stated, taking off to leave him alone with his thoughts once more.

…

Arriving home, she dropped the transformation, collapsing on her chaise and shaking her head, "I can't believe I said that. Oh my gosh, I actually said that," she stared off into the distance.

"Neither can I. That was very harsh of you, Marinette, I'm disappointed in you," Tikki spoke up from her knee where she sat glaring with a pout on her face.

However, instead of immediately groveling as she normally did, Marinette's eyes sharpened as they snapped to the creature, sick of the treatment she'd received from the goddess since she first implemented this new tactic, "Was anything I said a lie?"

"No, but you could've said it in a nicer way," she insisted.

"When has carefully and nicely ever worked with him in the past?"

Tikki opened her mouth, but Marinette swiftly cut her off, "Never. It always ends with you chastising me and me apologizing for something that wasn't my fault. Nothing ever changed. But this, being direct with him, it works. He's changing, finally," she felt relief in letting this out, especially in the face of someone so hypocritical in her expectations on her compared to that of her so-called partner.

"Marinette, you can't just change people into who you want them to be!"

"I'm not changing him. I'm telling him what I see and how I feel and he is reacting to that information how he sees fit," she corrected, eager now at the prospect once more.

Tikki frowned, considering this point, "That's technically true… I still don't like it though."

"It's okay Tikki, you'll see soon enough," she reassured.

…

As day shifted to night, she pulled out her tablet, checking for any news on her new favorite hero.

Nothing to discover today, though she did start making a few sketches of his suit, looking at possible redesigns. Adjustments or details that could be made to improve the overall look or functionality. Granted, it looked very functional already. 

She was startled to discover that even she wouldn't change much in that aspect. It became blatantly clear that he designed the suit to accommodate him perfectly, playing up his strengths and drawing away from any potential weaknesses. It only further her admiration and assured her of her choices. 

…

The next attack came sooner than expected, Hawkmoth apparently deciding he had more free time than them. As though that hadn't been obvious from the beginning. Surely, they knew that from the start and didn't need this reminder. Didn't the man have a job or something? Could he get back to it, please?

Speaking of, Chat was doing a remarkable job of trying to follow a purified white butterfly off into the horizon, wanting to please her by taking the hunt for the villain to heart. As though she hadn't tried that already. 

You'd think he hadn't listened to a word she'd said before the way he retraced her own work over again. Rolling her eyes, she let him humor himself, waiting until he came back, tail tucked and ears flattened, to admit his failure.

Sitting down, she relaxed into her spot. This was going to take a while.

…

It was three am and she had pulled up the newest article on her Robin. She still hadn't found his official name, but she thrilled to see new pictures of him, though still shadowed and from such terrible angles. Apparently he had more recently been seen working alongside another. Something he hadn't done before as far as the city of Gotham knew, still so ignorant to him being their very own wonderful Robin. She couldn't really be bothered to look further into who he was seen working with, but something in the back of her mind twinged as her heart stuttered to know he was willing to fight alongside another.

Closing up the window and shutting down her tablet, she fell asleep with a smile.

[puddygeeks]

Dusk Till Dawn - Dragon Age Inquisition - Cullen/Inquisitor

Masterlist

Rating: Suitable for all

A/N: This is actually my first ever piece of writing from the perspective of an existing character, especially a male so cut me some slack whilst I experiment with this new venture. I also do not tend to write in the 3rd person, so this piece has been a learning curve for me. However, I felt hugely inspired to write a fluffy piece about my fluffy boy, so enjoy! Let me know if you’d like to see more DA based content from me in future.

Summary: Commander Cullen struggles to maintain a professional, working relationship with the Inquisition’s fearless leader. As the realisation dawns on him that his thoughts linger on her, he begins to question whether the feeling is mutual.

Fandom: Dragon Age

Pairing: Cullen Rutherford/Lavellan

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

Warnings: Perhaps some mild spoilers?

Standing across the war table, hand placed comfortably on the hilt of his sword, Commander Cullen focused on remaining professional. 

Their fearless leader assigned missions and plotted political manoeuvres that would shape the very fabric of all the Kingdoms in Thedas. Despite being plucked from relative obscurity, she rose to this responsibility as if made for it and led the rapidly growing Inquisition with grace and wisdom. 

Without warning, her large, almond shaped eyes met his and he felt his very spirit stir at the subtle connection between them. Buried in the deep hue of her eyes, he could always sense some hidden power that was disguised by her petite frame and seemingly harmless appearance. 

He felt himself fidget on the spot, an involuntary movement that had escaped his carefully controlled facade and he noticed a slight smile lurking in the corners of her mouth. 

There was a hint of playfulness in the way that she viewed him, he thought, before she swept from the chamber, leaving it notably colder by her absence. Surely he must have been mistaken. She was an icon, a force of nature in the crumbling world and would never view him as anything more than her lieutenant.

“My, my. Are you blushing, Commander?” 

Leliana’s sickly sweet voice drifted from his side, tainting the drafty space with her sly implications. 

It was not the first time that suggestions of this nature had been made about him, but each time caused him to bristle with embarrassment in a manner that was entirely more revealing than intended. He made a sound that almost resembled a scoff at the absurdity of her statement, but it strangely combined with an awkward splutter that filled the bard’s usually pale face with a smug satisfaction. 

“I do believe you may be correct, Leliana. Our dearest Commander certainly does seem rather flustered. Why, I could not possibly suggest a cause for such a reaction.” Josephine taunted, her words coated in a barely concealed enthusiasm as she studied him over the top of her papers. 

Cullen cleared his throat in a joyless bid to regain some composure, as his colleagues gazed past him at each other with mischief gleaming in their eyes.

“Surely you both have other matters to attend to? Nobles to pamper, or spies to train?” He countered, a poignant lack of authority in his voice, as the women crossed their arms and met his suggestions with a blatant disdain.

The Inquisitor inspired courage and determination in the recruits, each viewing her as a symbol of hope and light in the darkness. For Cullen, however, she was a constant distraction and a trigger for his most regretful, tense behaviours. 

As time passed, he found that he was able to recognise traits within her that others were blind to. He was stunned by the depth of her kindness towards him. Regardless of the shame that he felt when presenting his issues with addiction for her judgement, he was always met with understanding and compassion. These were new experiences for Cullen and the emotions that they provoked in him were completely unexplored territory.

On the battlements of Skyhold, he embarked on his regular stroll to examine and assess their sustainability, when an unfamiliar sight caused him to pause in his tracks. Standing by the edge, staring out into the mountains with an intense expression was the Inquisitor, clearly deeply lost in thought. 

She didn’t seem to notice Cullen’s arrival, as her gloved hands gripped onto the stone wall and he recognised that the usual strength that radiated from her was absent. In what she believed to be a solitary moment, her defences were lowered and she had allowed herself an opportunity to be vulnerable. 

Cullen felt awkward witnessing this, feeling the familiar sensation of invading upon a sacred space as he’d often experienced throughout his youth in the Chantry.

“Are you going to stand and stare all day, or would you prefer to join me, Commander?” 

His stomach churned as her words cut through the tense silence and she turned to glance at him over her shoulder with a gentle smile. He blanched at her casual offer, feeling pressure compressing his chest and she returned to her pondering, blissfully unaware of the nerves that her presence summoned in him.

“I apologise, my lady. It was not my intention to intrude, nor to stare.” He managed to force the words out through the block in his throat, but as they left his mouth, he acknowledged the deeply ingrained formality in the way that he addressed her. She smiled fondly at nothing in particular. 

There was a stifling atmosphere as he realised that there was not another soul in sight and inwardly, he scolded himself for not recognising the absence of guards earlier. He knew that they had likely already shifted their positions out of respect, to allow her a moment of peace and he felt embarrassed at his perceived social blunder.

“You’re not intruding. You don’t need to tiptoe around me, you know. I don’t bite.” She commented idly and Cullen tightened his grip on his sword in stress. 

The instances of flirtatious remarks were mounting, an overpowering suggestion in his already cluttered mind and each new addition increased his difficulty in denying their presence. They were an ever present force, haunting him at all hours of the day with their desire to be acknowledged. He pushed it away, desperately pleading with his heart to allow him to remain focused and appropriate. The Inquisitor regarded him with an amused disbelief, as he remained at his cautious distance.

“Do you ever simply stop patrolling, or working, and allow yourself a few moments of peace? Our surroundings are idyllic. It’s wasteful not to appreciate them.” She urged, gesturing for him to join her and, unable to deny her request for a second time, he reluctantly marched over to her side with his legs feeling as heavy as led.

The view from the battlements was breath-taking, but it was difficult to fully realise it’s wonder beside the simple splendour of her beauty. She sighed wistfully, the pleasant sound causing a flutter in his stomach and he relished the circumstances that allowed him to witness her in a more relaxed state than he’d ever been entrusted with in the past. 

Surrounded by snowy mountains and without the usual bustle of demands pressing against them, the silence was no longer tense and Cullen allowed his shoulders to gradually lower into a comfortable slouch.

“We filled this empty shell with purpose and belief.” She began, breaking the silence in a sour manner. 

“The halls are bustling with people determined to bring change to our world and the courtyard has become a home to the faithful. Undeterred by all theories to the contrary, we’ve proven it possible to unite mages and templars against a common enemy, under a single, inclusive banner that fights for the freedom of all.” She detailed, as she listed achievements that should have filled her voice with pride, but instead the words rang hollow and her tone remained lacklustre. 

Cullen was unnerved by her raw, unenthusiastic demeanour that existed in stark contrast to the invigorating personality that she displayed in the company of her comrades. 

“And yet, at the head of this mighty cause is a single elf. Inquisitor Lavellan. Despite all of the titles, followers and respect, I am still merely a Dalish with a strange light imbued in my palm. My value is awarded as a result of missing memories that humans have interpreted as a symbol of divine intervention. Tell me, Commander Cullen, what certainty can you possess that I am worthy of such duty?” Lavellan turned to face him, her eyes alight with a storm of emotions that blazed from the inside and he was lost under the intensity of her doubt.

Words failed him as he floundered in search of an answer that could provide her with the peace that she so desperately desired. 

In his heart, he knew that his belief in her was greater than any other within this fortress, or indeed all Thedas itself. He knew that if he allowed himself to be honest, he could list all of the admirable qualities that he had long admired about the awe-worthy being before him. 

Regretfully, his terror of unveiling the depth of his devotion prevented him from granting her with honesty. Instead, he beheld her with a barely concealed state of adoration and she sighed in disappointment.

“I’m sorry. I’ve posed a question that you couldn’t possibly answer. I suppose I should know better than to burden others with my own insecurities.” She excused, turning her face from him with an unsatisfied void in her eyes that would remain with him for as long as he lived. 

The cool, crisp air tore through the gaps in their defences, carrying the loose sections of her silver hair out behind her like wings and only exaggerated her appearance to him as some kind of ethereal being. 

As his gaze explored her features, he noticed that her nose and cheeks glowed in a delicate shade of pink that spread to the tips of her gracefully pointed ears and he wondered how long she had been standing here, allowing her exposed skin to grow cold. He ached to lighten her burden, to remove the knot that formed between her brows as she battled the responsibilities that threatened to crush her beneath their weight and against his better judgement, his answer began to flow freely from his lips.

“In all of my years as a templar, I have followed leaders of many different titles. Each of them possessed their own approach, their own qualities that influenced their choices and shaped their time in power.” He recounted, uncertain of the confessions that might escape his lips as he spoke without restraint.

“Never have I known any other to rise from the ashes as you have, nor for the people to elect them with such fervent belief. They follow you with unshakable faith, as do I, not because of your origins, your race or your rumoured holiness. They follow because of your decisions, because you lead with a grace and wisdom that comes from deep within and is unique to your formidable soul.” 

“You are the Inquisitor not because of the anchor that you wield, but because there is no other who could fulfil this duty as you have. You are indisputably, unfathomably, exceptionally more than ‘merely a Dalish’, Lady Lavellen.” He spoke with conviction and with every shred of reasoning, he observed her becoming increasingly humbled by his confession. 

Of course, Cullen knew her name, but he wouldn’t dare to address her by it, believing that it disrespected her journey and consequent struggles to earn the title which she now held. Her eyes grew wide and it was clear that she was shocked by the passion of his words, whilst he waited in a terror ridden state, fearing that he had absolutely revealed too much.

“It is incomprehensible to me that you are capable of such earnest insight into others, whilst believing yourself to be scarcely more than a failed ex-templar.” She surveyed him with a sympathetic, yet frustrated expression and as often would occur in her company, Cullen found himself lost for words. 

When under her gaze, he felt unworthy of the praise that she often bestowed upon him and could not fathom her unwavering faith in him. Even when he had suggested that Cassandra replace him, Lavellan refused to allow him to relinquish his position and insisted that he could defeat his demons to abstain from the use of lyrium once and for all. There was no doubt in his mind that she made him a better person, but in spite of all his improvement, he still could not even begin to imagine himself as deserving of her fondness.

Lavellan turned from the wall to face him fully, closing the distance between them until she was nearer than he’d ever had cause to be. In such proximity, he could smell the natural scent of flowers and herbs on her skin, admired the sun that glinted in her eyes and his face flushed with a heat that exposed his exhilaration. 

For longer than he could ever truly admit, he had laid awake at night, imagining what a privilege it would be to touch her, but he would never be so bold as to attempt such a sin. Involuntarily, he gulped as she pouted her plump lips thoughtfully and his heart pounded with such intensity that he felt concerned that it could cease to function at any given moment. 

She leaned forward at a painfully gradual pace and had to shift her balance onto her toes in order to reach him. With ice tinted lips, she placed a single delicate kiss on his cheek, contrasting sharply with the burning of his skin. 

Instead of immediately moving away she lingered there, her breath tickling his neck as her mouth brushed his ear.

“Your faith extinguishes my fear, unlike any other.” She whispered, her words burning into Cullen’s mind like a brand from an iron that could never be compromised. 

All of his senses seemed to be intensified, as he committed every minute detail to memory for fear that this experience may not occur more than once. When she leaned back into his field of vision, her features glowed with fondness and he simply gawped at her in amazement. 

“You put my heart at ease, Cullen. Thank you.” She admitted with a relaxed sigh and without a further word, or any indication that she would explain the meaning behind this statement, she parted from him. 

As Lavellan’s delicate steps echoed down the stone staircase, Cullen remained rooted to the spot, obsessively analysing the conversation and wondering if he’d perhaps misunderstood. Perhaps the mountain of comments in his mind that he’d long considered to be indulgent, self-delusion had accumulated into something more significant than he’d ever dared to imagine.

[marquiswrites]

Silk and Steel Ch 30

AO3 Link

Master List

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Characters: James “Bucky” Barnes, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson, OFC/MC

Relationship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Reader

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1055

Warnings:  Slight language Author’s Notes: 

Summary:  You meet the next figure in your growing collection of friends, and this one comes with good news.

Chapter 30: The Princess

You woke up wrapped in a new sweater. Taking a deep breath of the heady, now familiar scent and smiling softly to yourself. Your bed was otherwise empty, but you figured that they probably wouldn’t let Bucky stay the night after you had already proven yourself dangerous. You were just glad that he managed to stay until after you had fallen asleep. 

Now drifting on a sort of numbness, nuzzling against the sleeve of your borrowed sweater. Humming softly to yourself as you tried to reclaim the safety of sleep. At least when you were asleep, nothing seemed addled, or out of place. You had dreamt about being back in your shop. Meeting Bucky as just a customer, instead of a ghost from your past. About the way he would smile warmly, playfully, and sweep you from your feet. 

You dreamed about a world where you hadn’t been born to Hydra. 

Where your brother didn’t feel the need to put himself in danger for something that neither of you could have ever controlled.

A world where Bucky had never been hurt… 

A world of impossibilities. 

The thoughts catch in your throat, threatening to shut so tightly that you couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe. The noise inside of your head turning to static, stabbing down through your spine. Carving it’s way into your heart. Breaths barely fluttering in your chest as you squeezed your eyes tight. Curling into a ball, wrapping the sweater around you. 

Safe. 

He was safe.

Your Soldat. 

Your Bucky. 

James.

“What are you doing?!” An unfamiliar accent rings out in the hallway. They must have left the coms on. “Do you have any idea what isolation can do to a situation like this? Do I have to teach you everything?” 

You fight your way through the muddle, trying to force your eyes back open. Peeking out from beneath your lashes towards the door. Flinching as it hissed open. A young woman wearing unfamiliar clothing striding forward, her hair braided, and twisted up into an impossibly thick bun. The warmth of her white clothing only challenged by the warmth of her smile. Frowning to yourself for a moment before doubling over at the twinge of pain through your chest. 

“The white wolf was less stupid than normal, calling me as quickly as he did.” The woman clicked her tongue, tapping her fingers against the bracelet at her wrist. Bringing up a small screen, seemingly from nowhere. “That’s what I thought.” Huffing as she moved to kneel in front of you. Brushing her fingers over your forehead. “You’re going to be alright now. I won’t let that know it all scramble you up any more.”

“I’m a rocket scientist, an engineer, and I’m also dabbling in a few other things. The human condition is not my forte.” Tony’s voice rings out from the doorway before he turned his gaze to you, his expression softening with fondness. “You doing okay there Bunny? The kid says that you’re back with us.”

“Mostly.” You shrug as the young woman continued monitoring her little pop up screen. 

“There, see, a bit of proper interaction and she’s already drawing back out. It looks like they took more care with her than they did Barnes.” Then paused before smiling to you. “I’m Shuri. I’m the one who fixed James’ head. If this idiot didn’t mess you up too badly, we can get you out of here in no time at all.”

You pause a moment. “You… Did… Did you really help him? They can’t…”

“No, they won’t be able to control him any longer. He’s free of them. I made sure of that.” Shuri nodded. 

“Not that we intend to put that to the test.” Tony scoffed softly. Crossing his arms over his chest. Making you giggle, your chest releasing a bit of it’s tension. “There’s my girl. Wondered where you had bounced off to...”

“She’s not your girl, Stark.” Bucky edged his way into the room, moving to take a seat on the edge of the bed. Two steaming mugs in his hands, offering a warmer smile. His hair pulled back into a messy bun to keep it off of his face. Though the sight of strands of it slipping free made you smile brighter for a moment, easing the torn feeling in your throat. 

“Ah, the Manchurian Candidate himself.” Tony rolled his eyes heavily before winking to you. “Don’t know what you see in him, Bunny. Personally I’d like to think you’d go for someone a little more clean cut, what with that shiny reputation of yours… Before the whole murdery Hydra act that you pulled.”

“Ah… Sorry.” You blush softly, turning your gaze to Buck. Offering him a shy smile. “So… Shuri says she can fix me?” Turning an uncertain gaze to the young woman as she pulled away. 

“Yeah.” Bucky nodded, offering you a mug of tea. “Here, it’ll help. Little sister, brought yours as well.”

“Wait… Little sister?” Your brow suddenly furrow into a tightly knit knot, looking between the two of them. Tony echoing the expression, though his was far more surprised than anything. 

“Oh yeah, my mother adopted this white boy faster than I could finish saying his name. He’s an official member of the royal family now. Though honestly, he could pretty much be one of our revered ancestors at this point.” Shuri snickered sharply, dodging the wide slash Bucky had made at her before accepting the mug of tea. Slipping past Tony and back into the hallway. 

“Well then, your highness, and your future highness, why don’t I leave you two lovebirds to have at it. I’ll be helping Shuri with what ever she needs… And to keep her from making any of these improvements she keeps muttering about.” Tony flashed a wry smirk before he was pulling the door shut behind him. 

You giggle quietly, drumming your fingers along the edge of the mug in your hands, reveling in it’s warmth. “So… Royalty? Really? You?” Bucky sputters for a moment before lifting his hand to rub at the back of his neck, flashing a smug smile. His accent thickening for a moment as he leaned in close enough that his lips brushed over the shell of your ear. Whispering teasingly. “Why Doll, you asking if I could make you my princess?”

[silence-burns]

Please Hate Me //part 18

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: "Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki." by @thefandomimagine

If only rage could rattle the stars, the world would finally meet its end swiftly. Instead, proven by the most unfortunate events, it was forced to wait for a bit longer, suffering through endless hours of vocalized emotional distress.

You caught Loki's eyes over the table. At least you weren't the only one having a dead-fish-glare.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me!" Stark jabbed a finger at you. He never stopped pacing the room, which should have made it even more impressive and threatening, but not much could beat being portalled by Doctor Strange back to the Tower. Some things are hard to beat.

"You're repeating yourself at this point," You sighed, stretching your legs under the table. "We've been at it for an hour already. I thought you weren't the one for speeches."

Steve shook his head silently, probably wishing you to stop. He positioned himself near the exit, as if there was anyone in the room stupid enough to try sneaking out.

You looked back to Loki. Well, you'd actually already made it out once.

The other Avengers assembled around didn't butt in, allowing all the harsh words to be said aloud. Some still had bruises and cuts needing to be tended to, but they stayed, creating a unified front.

Shame it was against Loki and you.

He didn't seem to mind. Sitting with his back straight, his face was a skillfully crafted expressionless mask. It was something you'd seen him do before, just as you'd seen him lose it for a few brief moments. You wondered how many years of meetings just like this one it takes to master creating such a mask.

You steadied your voice. At least Peter was not there.

"There was a threat. We answered it."

Steve sighed with resignation. "That's exactly the problem. You’d been told to stay in the Tower and keep an eye on Loki."

"Right. I forgot I should also let people die literally blocks away. Sorry, my memory is not what it used to be."

"This is not the time for sarcasm and jokes," Clint reminded you. You had a suspicion the bruise on his cheek would turn a beautiful shade of green by tomorrow. "You should have called us, or the police at the very least."

"Yeah, I should call the cops, but you had to go—wherever you went—with the whole team and Strange, yourself?" you scoffed. "Besides, I tried to call you. And so did Peter. Shame you didn't pick up."

Steve put a hand on Tony's shoulder, stopping him from another rant. You did feel a little guilty about breaking your orders, but if you had to make the choice again, you'd do exactly the same thing. Rushing to someone's help was not something you ever regretted, and you weren't going to start now.

"By the way, how did you know where we were?" you asked, the thought having bugged you since it happened.

Steve gestured to your wrist.

"The bracelets have a GPS. The moment you left the Tower, we got the info."

Loki shot his bracelet a look of disgust. He started hating it even more.

"That's neat," you admitted. "Shame it still took you awhile to actually do something about it."

"We weren't sitting on our asses," Natasha surprised you, breaking in. "We were forced to stop a madman trying to break the borders between worlds. That's how the creatures you fought got into ours. The breakage happened throughout the world, but thankfully it was contained rather quickly in most places. Thor is still patching up some bigger holes, but Strange helped us get back here through his portals."

"Oh."

"Your 'oh' doesn't cover half of what happened," Tony pointed out. "We had no idea why both Loki and you left the Tower and how it was connected to those incidents."

"Well, sorry for not calling you earlier, I got caught up with hero work and, you know, kidnappers too. Literally."

"Speaking of which," Clint didn't even try to hide laugh from his voice. "How the hell did you end up in there?"

You kept your chin high. "My dearest side-kick and I decided that the day was still early after we killed the monsters, so we followed the men scraping off the things from the side, and got into their base to take them down. You know, the usual."

Loki raised an eyebrow.

Stark dragged a hand down his face, hoping it would ease some of the exhaustion he felt seeping down to his bones. It didn't work.

He asked as politely as he could, "And getting kidnapped by them seemed like the best way in, I suppose?"

Loki raised the other eyebrow too, looking at you with clear intent.

You ignored it.

"Obviously. It got us right where we wanted, and also allowed us to see if those really were the right guys. It was a brilliant plan."

Stark was breathing heavily with his eyes closed. You'd known him for years, but you still weren't sure if he would start shouting or laughing his ass off. The man was a mystery.

Steve shook his head with disbelief.

"And you decided to just, what? Tag along together?" he pointed to the two of you, seated at the opposite sides of the long, glass table.

Loki didn't answer. He knew this type of conversations was usually doomed from the start. Nothing he'd say would change those people's opinion of himself.

You looked at him.

"That turned out to be a good idea too."

Something passed through Loki's face, but it was gone with a blink. If your eyes weren't locked, you'd have missed it.

Tony stopped pacing and folded himself on a nearby chair. He didn't look like he had any strength left in him.

"I'm too tired to deal with you today. I vote on having this conversation done properly tomorrow."

You smiled your sweetest smile. "And I vote on just dropping this useless farce. Who's with me?"

You gave Loki The Look. He obediently raised his hand and enjoyed every second of disbelief on Tony's face as you raised from your chair and headed to the door with Loki by your side.

You waved the Avengers a goodbye. Steve didn't stop you. He wanted to say something, but you passed him too quickly to allow that.

Loki followed you in complete silence. At least, until you got out of their hearing range.

"May I inquire where exactly we are going?"

You strode confidently into another corridor, heading to the elevator.

"To the kitchen, my favourite side-kick. We're getting all the food we can carry and then finally enjoying a break from this nonsense. How does that sound to you?"

Loki opened his mouth, but the words weren't right. Not yet, at least. It had been a long day, and words like the ones prying their way onto his lips should be said under different circumstances.

"When exactly did I become your side-kick, though?" he asked instead.

"Why, from the very beginning, obviously. I've got more experience."

"I didn't notice that experience earlier."

"I don't like to boast about it."

He hid a smile. "Right."

Taglist: @writerjmlove @drakonwild @eeveesjourney @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @oatballsoffury @inumorph @ejectur @nerdybabywrites @twhgirl @nikkoliferous @unlikelygalaxygiver @multifandomreaderinsertfanfics @dreamingofonceuponatime @iamfelixc @bluebunnlee @effmigentlywithachainsaw @sadwaywardkid​ @ravenclawpossum​ @waitforthehurricane​ @absentmindeduniverse​ @unicorniorosacomefrutillas​  @toboldlyscream​ @waitforthehurricanrose​  @cluelessnitwhit​ @iamverity​ @absentmindeduniverse​ @the-corruptor​ @just-another-romantic​ @breakawayfromeveryday​

[malereader-inserts]

Big Wilding

Fandom: Game of Thrones Pairing: Tormund Giantsbane x Stark!Male!Reader Summary: The little wolf will soon return to his big wilding lover Word Count: 1,344 Request: “Hey so I loved the last tormund one you done and I was wondering if you could do a sort of continuation where the reader and Grimm reunite with tormund at castle black after the attack of kings landing, please.” Warning: Injuries - because I’m a sucker for concerning! protective! Tormund A/n: I’m ignoring what happened in the last episodes of GoT, sorry, poor writing and I refuse that is canon - lol. Part two of Little Wolf

“You treat her good, alright?”

There was a playful tease to your tone as you stare at your brother, well cousin - it was all confusing and yet it wasn’t. Daenerys giggled at your simple joke as Jon shakes his head annoyed, but there was a lighthearted smile on his face. You cast Daenerys a look.

“You’ll get used to his brooding matter,” You continue to poke fun at him as Dany gives her love a soft smile, “Well, aren’t you two a handsome couple?”

Jon grasps Dany tight as Dany looks up to him with a fond smile, which Jon had returned. You had come down to Kingslanding to help Dany take the Iron Throne, you had enough of Cersei and you found Dany worthy to be Queen and it was her birthright. Unfortunately, as much as you wanted to spend the rest of your days with your love, you couldn’t. 

Perhaps, you had thought you were rushing too much into a relationship and so going to Kingslanding with Jon had given you time to reflect. You love Tormund with all your heart, he was a goofball and yet so intimidating at the same time. Tormund was left devastated when you had told Grimm to go with him, thinking you would settle down at Kingslanding, as Dany had promised you to be the leader of the Royalguard. 

“You could still be Warden of the North,” Jon advice as you looked at him.

You had turned down the position of the lead and it was bestowed to next best; Jaime Lannister - who had surprised everyone when he came down to Kingslanding and murdered his twin. 

“No, I think Sansa has proven her worth to be Wardress of the North,” You softly hummed, “She’s a better leader than I could ever be.”

You stood in the middle of the Throne room, Drogon had melted the throne made out of swords and currently, the Smithers was working on two thrones. A lot had happened in the battle of Kingslanding, there were no innocents killed at least there wasn’t a mass amount. Dany had killed the Greyjoys fleet and Euron was begging at her feet, but she simply gives Euron away to Yara to kill.

The Unsullied, Dothraki and Northernmen had fought against the Golden company, despite being out numbers, your side had taken them down fairly well before Dany had decided to help and allowed Drogon to kill those lathered in Golden breastplates and helmets.

However, it did cost you some injuries. You had managed to get a strike through your left eye. You should be able to see within the next few days but for now, you were blind in one eye, so it was bandaged up and covered up until you were in the all clear. Also, your right arm, which was the arm you had fought with, was in a sling. Turns out horses crashing into you could mess with your shoulder and a few of your ribs.

Those were your major injuries, you were sporting minor ones as were many. As you were recovering in the few days in the Red Keep, the city was thriving with the harvest that Dany had brought over, and when you were strong enough to at least walk, you had witnessed the marriage of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, though Jon had accepted his true name as Aegon Targaryen.

With that, the two had a coronation in front of a crowd. King and Queen ruling together for a better realm, but for now, you were saying goodbye to Jon and Dany in an empty Throne Room.

“So, what will you do with Varys?” You questioned out of curiosity, “He tried to murder you, your grace, and tried to get you to betray your love.”

“He will meet his demise,” Dany spoke, her eyes sparkled towards you as a fond smile had graced her lips, “Are you sure you are well enough to travel?”

“I have enough strength to walk at least,” You nodded, “Though, I cannot wait till I can get rid of this bandaged eyepatch.”

Jon chuckles, “Well, where will you go?”

“North,” You responded as the two looked at you in confusion, “The real North.”

Jon took a moment to processed before a smile had beamed towards you, “Tormund?”

“I have enough time to think about it, and seeing you two be happy with the love of your life, I figured I shouldn’t let that escape me.”

The two had grinned, nodding with encouragement. Jon had pulled you into a tight hug before releasing slightly when he had heard you groan lightly when parting he gives you an apologetic look. You give Dany a hug as well, hers was much tender. 

“I will get a ship ready for you, it would be quicker and safer for you to get to the wall,” Dany announced as you give her a thankful look, “You deserve your happy ending.”

“Thank you,” You sincerely thanked, “You wish you two the best, I will send ravens and perhaps I may visit, the next time I come I better see more Targaryen around.”

“I cannot bear children,” The queen informed you as you give a pointed look.

“The witches can only be right for a certain of time, do not give up,” And the happy couple savours your charming smile one last time, “You deserve your happy ending.”

You had arrived at the port in the North within a week, then you rode up in a horse provided up to Castle Black. Luckily you’ve been trained from a young age to ride a horse with one hand because you seemed useless with a slung arm.

The doors had opened wide at Castle Black, you slowly trotted in as you had noticed that Tormund was leaning against the railing of the balcony overseeing his people. His back straightens when he sees you, you softly smile with furrowed eyebrows, a fond look gazed over your face as you climb off the horse. 

You see the wilding barrelling down the stairs as you move down the crowd of wildings. You meet at the end as Tormund looks at you with unreadable eyes, his large rough hand gently placed on your right cheek and his thumb stroking it ever so lightly.

“Turns out the South is full of shit-” You greeted but was cut off when he pulls you into a massive hug, you let out a small squeak of pain before he had released you, “There was one hell of a fight, you would have loved it.”

His big hands were at either side of your face, inspecting your bandaged eye. Before looking at your arm that was in a sling, he stares at you with wide eyes, he had yet to speak.

“My little wolf,” Tormund affectionately calls, he pulls you close and kisses your hair, “You’re never leaving my side again.”

You chuckled, burying yourself into his warmth, “I don’t plan to leave, my big wilding.”

He chortles as you wiggle out, there was a small whine behind Tormund, you sidestep to see your direwolf patiently waiting for you. You chuckled as you walk past Tormund, knelt down and ran your hand through his black fur.

“Hello Grimm, missed me?”

“He’s been whining for you since we left,” Tormund explains, “Just like me, he’s been missing you.”

“Sorry, I-” You paused as you looked up at Tormund, “I, just-”

“Never mind, boy, you’re here aren’t you?” Tormund questions as he stands at full height matching his gleeful smile, “Now, you have to tell me about this fight, lad, I’ll kill any more Southern cunts about your eye before we retreat back home.”

A frosty breath was released into the air in front of you as you were amused, “Worry not, my big wilding, I’ve killed all the cunts down in Kingslanding. In other news, Jon is a King.”

“Prissy,” Tormund dryly commented, “He’s fucking that dragon queen, never saw him as a King.”

“Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell all.”

[cami-chats]

Married

Fandom: Game of Thrones

Pairings: Jon Snow/Tormund Giantsbane, very minor Ygritte/Arya Stark

Warnings: Perceived non-con but everything’s fine

Jon was seventy nine percent certain that Arya was going to kill him. 

"You're married?!" 

Make that eighty five percent certain. "Well, I mean-" no, he wasn't, he was doing Tormund a favor so he could save face in front of his ex who was now happily married and the only reason Jon had agreed was because no one there was going to recognise him until now "-you didn't tell me you like women," he blurted to try and take some of the heat off him. Then he wanted to face palm because that was one of four things he could've said to make this worse. 

"I know that coming out doesn't mean shit to you since you got caught having sex with Robb in front of our parents, but not all of us are like that." 

Tormund, momentarily forgotten by Jon in his panic of Arya being here, laughed. Because he was a fucking arse. "You got caught with your trousers down. Aw," he cooed obnoxiously, ruffling a hand through Jon's hair and making it a mess, "I'm so proud of you." 

Jon shoved at his arm in annoyance. "I just mean that you keep secrets too." 

"Secrets about who I'm fucking, not who I bloody married. What in seven hells, Jon? When did this even happen? It's not like you vanished for a year and then showed up with him." 

"No, Arya, it's- okay listen-" 

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Tormund interrupted, dragging Jon away without having to try very hard at all. 

"What?" Jon snapped, annoyed that his struggling had been ignored like it wasn't happening. 

"You can't tell her." 

"It's just Arya. She's not going to tell Brienne, she probably doesn't even know her that well and only came because Ygritte brought her." And wasn't that a fucking shock, to learn that Ygritte was dating Arya. He could see how they'd get along, but still. 

"Yeah, Ygritte brought her, and Ygritte's never been able to keep her mouth shut. Just tell her you'll explain later, and you can tell her the truth tomorrow." 

"By tomorrow she'll have told her entire family." 

"Please just-" Tormund stopped short. His eyes darted to the side, and then he was leaning in, kissing Jon almost as if he'd been wishing he could for years. 

Jon kissed back, at first automatically-- because that was what you did when someone kissed you, you kissed them back-- and then because it felt so fucking god. Is this why Tormund had been so insistent that Jon agree to his original plan? That seemed like a weirdly extravagant plan to ask Jon to date him, but Tormund had done worse in the past. 

Tormund eased away and instead of saying something romantic or stupid-- or stupidly romantic like he often did-- he whispered, "Sorry, Brienne's bloke was looking over." 

It felt like a bucket of water and been dumped over his head. "You're an arse," he muttered, "you know that?" 

Tormund frowned at his tone. 

Jon didn't really care. His stomach was sinking like a stone in water, and he felt so unbelievably stupid for thinking that this had been anything other than what it was at face value: a favour for a friend. "Whatever," he said, trying to walk away. 

Tormund didn't let him, keeping a firm hand on his arm so he couldn't escape. "I know I should've asked first, but I didn't think you'd care. We're pretending to be fucking married, of course we'll kiss sometimes." 

Jon just looked at him, his eyes hard. He really was the dumbest bastard he knew, and he couldn't even get made at Tormund for it. "Yeah," he said, voice gruff, "you're right. Sorry." 

"You okay?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Are you sure?" Cause you've got a moping face on." 

"I do not." 

"Mmhmm." 

"The fuck would I be moping about?" Jon asked, beyond aggravated at just about everything. 

"I don't know, that's why this is weird." 

Jon rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot." 

"Yeah but usually you're not so mean about it." 

Jon just walked away. He wasn't really surprised when Tormund followed him instead of letting him storm off, but it did serve to annoy him even more. Tormund did all these things, said all sorts of things to Jon that always got his hopes up only for it to come crashing down later. 

"Are you ever going to explain what you're in a strop about or do I have to start guessing?" 

"Let it go." 

"How about no, and you just tell me what's wrong." 

"Nothing's wrong.” 

"You're a pain in the arse, you know that?" 

"Then stop dragging me into your bullshit and I'll be a pain in somebody else's arse." 

"That wasn't the point," Tormund said. This was the problem with him and Jon: he knew how to keep him happy, but the instant he got upset, Tormund had no idea what to do. 

"Then what was the point?" 

"Tell me what's wrong!" He'd thought it was pretty damn obvious that that was the point. 

It would be too childish to say no and stomp away, but he was tempted. Gods, was he tempted-- and the only reason he didn’t was because Tormund had proved that he wasn’t going to let Jon storm off. He also refused to blurt out his feelings like they were trash. "Why do you care? Let me be pissed off, it's no skin off your back." 

"Why the fuck would I let you be pissed off? If it's reasonable fine, but this probably isn't something you need to get angry about so just tell me what it is." 

"You're an arse," Jon said. 

"Yeah, but-" 

"You're also," he gritted out, unable to help himself, "bloody perfect." Which just made it worse. 

Tormund blinked, completely thrown by the direction that had gone. "Er, I mean, thanks, that's kinda why I asked you to come with me. Look, if you're that upset about it, you can tell your sister." 

"I thought you were afraid of Brienne finding out?" 

"If your family thinking we're married has gotten you this worked up, then it doesn't matter." 

"They're not my-" Jon started to correct. 

"Your family," Tormund finished, waving him off. "They're basically your in laws without the marriage, but whatever. I thought this was gonna be something fun for us, go to a wedding and drink free booze instead of sitting by ourselves being bored. Me at this stupid wedding, and you at home. If I'd known it was going to fuck you up this bad, I wouldn't have asked." 

"Right, you could've asked Edd instead." 

"Fuck Edd, I wanted to come with you. You know what, fuck it, let's go to mine and watch shit telly for the rest of the night, it's not worth this." 

"What- but I- we don't-" Jon stuttered. 

"You look like you'd rather die than spend another minute here, so let's go." 

"But Arya," Jon said weakly. 

Tormund shrugged. "We'll say goodbye first. C'mon." Usually when Tormund wanted to drag him around, he put an arm around his shoulders. Right now, he put it around Jon's waist. It didn't seem like he noticed Jon's blush, which was probably a good thing, right? Right. Jon cleared his throat, trying to keep up with Tormund without leaving into him. With Tormund's arm around his waist like it was though, that wasn't an option. They were pretending to be married, so after a moment's hesitation he leaned into him, putting an arm around him in kind so it would stop being in his way. Tormund glanced down at him, then grinned and held him tighter. Jon didn't have the heart to correct him, figuring that he should appreciate the closeness while he could-- not that there was any lack of physical closeness where Tormund was concerned, he was always dragging Jon here or there like it didn't light a little fire in him at every touch. 

"We don't have to go anywhere," Jon said, but he didn't try to escape Tormund's hold again. He sighed when Tormund kept marching forward, determined. "Look, I know I freaked out, but seriously I'm fine. I know you wanted to put on a good face for Brienne, and I promised I'd help you. It's not helping you if we have to leave early because I got caught up in my head for stupid shit. Tormund, stop. I'm fine, I swear." 

"You're not fine." 

"Look at me, I'm good." 

Tormund did give him a cursory glance just to be nice, but it didn't effect his decision at all. "You look fine now, but you didn't a minute ago so we're not staying." 

"Would it kill you to listen to me? Just once or twice?" 

"It might, you never know." 

Jon couldn't really say what was going through his head when he did it. Maybe it was because he was emotionally exhausted, maybe it was because he wanted Tormund to stop arguing with him for once, and maybe it was because Tormund was standing there, looking fucking gorgeous and wild but concerned about him. He got on his tiptoes and yanked Tormund down for a kiss. It was hard and not at all pleasant, but at least it got Tormund to stop and listen to him for a second. "I'm fine. See? I can handle the rest of this, no problem." 

"If you're sure," Tormund said, looking at Jon like he didn't quite believe him but was willing to let it slide for the moment. 

*

Jon stopped himself from thinking. He didn't know he could do that, but he managed it, which kept him calm enough to make it through the rest of the night. Every time it seemed like he was going to freak out, he shifted closer to Tormund or leaned into him. He didn't think about it until the next morning-- hindsight’s twenty/twenty, after all-- but that definitely explained how he'd ended up in bed. With Tormund. Naked. He sat up automatically, blanket falling into his lap as if that would preserve whatever vestiges of dignity he might have left. 

He covered his face with his hands, thinking that he had just proven himself to be the absolute dumbest bastard on the face of the planet. He'd been so nervous last night, and he'd sort of pushed himself into Tormund's space. Every now and then he'd leaned in and kissed him. By the time the party broke up, he was feeling warm and just this side of tipsy to believe it was a good idea to keep kissing Tormund as they left. Tormund had tried to bring him home, but Jon got a hand on his cock and kissed his neck and begged to be brought back to Tormund's instead. Begged. 

Gods he was such a fucking embarrassment, he should live in the mountains with no one else around except wolves and goats. "You okay?" Tormund asked. 

Jon took several deep breaths that did nothing to soothe him, swallowed around the lump in his throat, and said, "Yeah, I'm good." Tormund didn't say anything back, and Jon started to blush, heated shame creeping up his face. He wanted to get the hell out of here, but he wasn't wearing anything. He cast about for his trousers, then spotted them laying a couple feet away. Too far to grab without flashing his arse, and he'd humiliated himself enough in the last day to last a lifetime. Still, he couldn't stay in this bed forever, so he wiggled to the side and contemplated how quickly he'd be able to put them on. If he tried it too fast, he'd probably fall flat on his face and make the whole thing worse. 

"I've seen you naked before," Tormund said drily. "It's nothing I haven't seen." 

"Right. Course," he muttered. This was getting worse by the second, he shouldn't bother trying to stick around in the hopes of making it slightly less bad. What had he been thinking? Of course Tormund had seen him naked before, and even if he hadn't, it's not like Jon was special or some shit. Still, he got up and immediately reached for his trousers, yanking them on. He found his boxers a second later and shoved them in the pocket. He had a shirt around here somewhere- aha! 

Tormund propped himself up on his elbows, impassively watching Jon scramble for clothes. 

"Erm, thanks for the uh- the wedding," Jon said, trying to rebutton the shirt in such a hurry that he had to stop and start over so it wouldn't be lopsided. "It was fun." 

"...yeah. Fun." 

"That bad huh?" Jon said with a self deprecating laugh, running a hand through his hair. 

"What?" 

"I mean, I'm- y'know-" Jon stopped himself there, shaking his head. Desperate. It wasn't really a surprise he was total shite in bed. He remembered moaning a lot, but that didn't mean Tormund had been having a good time. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't heard much of anything from Tormund the whole time. The more noise Jon had made, the harder Tormund had fucked him. Probably just to get it over with so he'd shut up. Gods willing, they'd never talk about this again and in a week, Jon would be able to pretend it had never happened. 

Okay, fuck buttons. Jon snatched his undershirt off the ground and headed for the living room. Thankfully, he'd left his shoes by the door, but his socks were going to be sacrificed for the greater good of getting him the fuck out of here. 

"Jon? Where are you going?" Unlike him, Tormund hadn't bothered to get dressed. 

"Home, where I should've gone last night." 

"I did offer." 

"I know." That just made it worse, because Jon had insisted on spending the night at Tormund's. 

"...right." 

"Don't look at me like that." 

"Like what?" 

"I know I made- made a complete arse of myself, okay?" He tugged his shoes on, wincing at how the inside felt without socks. "You don't have to be all judgmental about it. Although," he said, blowing out a breath, "I guess you can judge me as much as you want. It's not like I could stop you, and I'd deserve it." 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

Jon paused and looked up at him. Unlike Jon, Tormund wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. Confused maybe, but not embarrassed, not like he was ashamed of what had happened. "Erm, last night. The- the sex." Didn't he remember? It was kind of impossible for him not to know what Jon was talking about. 

"Right. And why would I judge you for that?" 

He refused to say aloud 'because I was shit at it'. "Just forget it." Jon started to open the door, but then Tormund was there, pushing it closed again. 

"I'm gonna ask this once, and if you say yes, you can leave and we'll forget all about it." He waited for Jon to nod in agreement before asking, "Did we hook up because you were horny and I was the closest person?" 

Jon swallowed thickly. "No." 

"Then why the hell are you running away." 

Jon just stared at the doorknob. Tormund's free hand ghosted across his back to his hip, pulling him closer. 

"Gonna kiss me like you mean it? Like you did last night?" he asked, voice a low timber that made Jon shiver. He leaned closer, his mouth close to Jon's ear and his breath heating the skin on his neck. "C'mon Jon, I know you can." 

"You're such an arse," Jon muttered, but he turned and kissed him, yanking Tormund down further so he didn't have to lean up at all. 

Tormund grinned against his mouth, wrapping his arms around Jon and holding him close. "Finally." 

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 55: Shut Up and Dance With Me

Chapters: 55/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: none Relationships: Loki x Reader (Ah, there we go) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor(Marvel), Tony Stark, natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, Clint Barton, Vision, Pepper Potts, Wand Maximoff Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), FINALLY

It’s time to party.

Loki draped a fur-trimmed cape over his shoulders, turning this way and that in the mirror to admire his  reflection. Was he alluring enough? Regal enough? He knew you'd be wearing the dress, and had chosen his clothes to compliment it. The two of you would look so good together.

Despite whatever anxiety he might feel over being surrounded by his brothers friends all weekend, he certainly looked forward to dancing with you.

Some of their best musicians would be there, and there would be served Asgardian delicacies...as well as could be approximated, at least. He was well tempted to trick everyone into trying the crystal mead, but as much as he'd like to see your silly, drunken face again, he really didn't want everyone else to see it. That was his, for as long as he could keep it.

It wouldn't be forever. No aspect of you would be his forever, that was simply the way life was. Your family, your friends, even that odious Todd had all known things about you that he was just beginning to learn. He intended to outdo them all, if you agreed, of course.

Maybe Thor was right. Maybe he was ready. He'd thought it impossible, with all the many personal flaws and problems he still had to deal with. But maybe he would never actually fix them all. Maybe he would never be the perfect being he could just barely see in his future. Odin had been far from perfect, after all. Frigga hadn't even reached that perfection, and yet, she and Odin had been happy together.

Could he really have that?

It wouldn't be the same as what they had, he already knew that. The same relationship never existed twice. That was part of the beauty of it. Whatever you and he might have, it would be yours and his alone.

How wonderful.

He preened in the mirror a few moments more. Perhaps he truly was handsome? Not in the Asgardian sense, but to humans? And perhaps, as humans and Asgardians influenced each other, people like him would become desirable to both species.

If there even were other people like him. Adopted, miniature, shape-shifting, royal Frost Giant Aesir were probably not too common throughout Yggdrasil.

But that just made him more valuable! He was a very rare, perhaps one-of-a-kind creature. He just had to keep telling himself things like that, until he, one day, believed it.

He placed a coronet over his black curls, the horns so reduced as to be no more than an elegantly etched design on the front.

When he left to pick you up, he found you already gone. You had been so eager to meet all your heroes in person, you must have just taken Saldis and left the instant you'd gotten dressed. Excitable little thing. Still, he'd better hurry. He didn't want you alone with those unpredictable savages for very long, even if Romanoff was there to keep them in line.

                                                                         *****

“-And then I punched him in the nose!” You exclaimed to raucous laughter. “Aw come on guys, I was terrified!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Sam said. “It's just the image of Tall, Dark, and Grumpy standing in between cupcake displays, getting popped in the face by a civilian...”

“It's delightful.” Tony interrupted. “I lifted that frame from the video. It's my new lockscreen.”

“So he really did kidnap you?” Said the young one-Peter-the one you didn't know anything about. “He didn't even tell you why he was there?”

“Well...yeah.” You admitted reluctantly. “He was on a really restricted deadline. Kinda literally. I really was dying, and he was sick too. And it wasn't like he could stay long. He's not allowed to be in the States by himself.”

“And his Royal Highness had to pull quite a few strings to get that calmed down.” Tony added.

“Loki isn't always straightforward, but when he is, he is very much so.” Thor said gravely. “In this case, he was making the effort to be altruistic. Methods aside, his heart was in the right place.”

“I think his heart was in staying alive.” Tony snarked. “He wasn't gonna just let himself die because some little lady was dragging him down.”

“Rude.” You said.

“Unfortunately, my brother has proven far too willing to let himself die in the past.” Thor pointed out.

Tony shut his mouth.

“I could use another drink.” Pepper said, and Tony instantly leaped up and took himself to the banquet table in search of one.

“Don't worry about it.” Thor told you. “He's just getting it out of his system before Loki arrives. Unfortunately, Loki awakens in him the same kind of trouble that dust does for you.”

“Oh!” You said, finally understanding. Most of the others seemed kind of tense or indifferent towards Loki, but Tony Stark was downright hostile. But that made sense now, if he suffered like you did.

Honestly, it would be surprising if any of them didn't have something that triggered them.

“Dust?” Peter asked.

“Uh, yeah. I don't like dust. Something bad happened, and there was a lot of dust involved, and it just stuck with me. It's okay, we just keep the place real clean.”

You noticed the curious looks, the exchanged, questioning glances.

Steve leaned forward, clearing his throat. “Miss _____,” He began.

The door guard interrupted. “Your Majesty and guests! His Highness, Crown Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard has arrived.”

Several of those glances shot to Tony, who had come back to the couches with a drink for Pepper, and one for himself.

“It's okay, it's okay.” He said. “I'm good. At least he announced himself instead of just popping in behind me or something. It's cool. I'm good.”

Loki peeked around the door first, before sweeping regally into the room. You scooted over on the couch, making a space for him, but he visited the banquet table first, bringing you a glass of juice and a small plate of tasty tidbits.

“Good evening, my dear. I have come to bring you better company.”

There were a few derisive snorts, but mostly, everyone went back to their conversations. You heard someone say “Boom. You looking for this?” and Saldis's peal of delighted laughter, Loki questioning whether the wizard Strange was allowed to be there, and the wizard claiming that he'd had a royal invitation. Loki sneered, but Thor just shrugged.

“You need to touch base every now and again.” He explained. “Make sure nothing is going wrong, everything's stable, all those magical things that are over my head.”

Both Loki and Strange made matched scoffing noises, but did start up a somewhat antagonistic conversation.

A group of musicians shuffled into the banquet hall, setting up in an out of the way place. You spotted Lofn among them, carrying a harp. She smiled at you and ran her fingers along the strings.

The music was very much what you would have expected from a fantasy royal party; beautiful and ethereal, gently seizing your senses. You swayed along slowly, wanting to dance, but every time you looked over at Loki, he wasn't paying any attention, still arguing with the wizard.

You looked around, trying to catch someone's attention, but almost everybody else was engaged in conversation. Lofn was still watching you, enigmatic smile lingering in your vision. She was always like that. Did she want something from you?

Captain Rogers was looking at you, curiosity on his face.

“Are you all right?” He asked. You nodded.

“Yeah, I just...Do you want to dance? I want to dance.”

“Oh. Sure. We can dance.” He stood, holding his hand out for you. With butterflies in your stomach, you let him lead you out onto the floor and began a slow, chaste sway.

“You know, we were all pretty worried about you to begin with,  but it looks like you're thriving here.” He said.

“Well, I'm doing a lot better than I was.” You answered. “And this is probably the best place for me, considering the whole magic thing.”

“Well...there was always Steven.” He pointed out. “He's part of an entire school of mages. Is that the right word?”

“I'm not sure.” You thought about how your hand had buzzed back when the wizard had taken it, how much it had been like that first time you had touched Loki. “They call me Seidkona here.”

“What is that anyway? I've heard the word several times so far.”

“It's a type of magical lady, I guess. Like a combination personal mage and advisor. I'm still figuring out what all that means, but I think I'm getting better at all of it. Aside from all the bad stuff, I'm having a pretty good time.”

“Speaking of, if you don't mind my asking, when you say you are afraid of dust...Hm.”

“Hm?”

“I think I've done something to piss your prince off. He's glaring.”

You cast a look back over your shoulder. 'Glaring' was putting it lightly. Loki's stare could set things on fire.

“Woah. Uh, maybe I should go talk to him.”

“Are you sure?” Steve asked, concerned. “Does he get angry with you? Does he get rough?”

“No, not with me.” You said, letting go of Captain Rogers, and approaching the fuming prince.

“Hey Loki.” You sat down next to him, offering him your plate, with its remaining snacks. All your favorites, but you knew he liked some of them too. “Have something to eat?”

He ignored you completely, the full force of his hateful gaze leveled at Steve.

“Loki?” You placed your hand very gently on his knee, and he jerked away, eyes snapping to yours. The conversation all around you dwindled down. “Uh. Do...you want to dance?”

His lip curled. “Why would you even want to?”

You drew your hand back, surprised at the venom in his voice. “Well...I just-”

He stood abruptly. “You do not need to bother worrying about me.” He said, voice curt. “Play with your little friends. Banish me from your mind. You're already halfway there.” He swept out of the banquet hall, his cape dragging your confused protests behind it.

                                                                                 *****

“That...did not go as I imagined.” You said quietly into the uncomfortable silence. Thor glanced at the door Loki had exited, then over a Lofn, who still played her harp. He'd thought for sure...

“You want me to kick his ass, darlin'?” Tony asked. “'Cause I'll go kick his ass.”

“You will not.” You murmured. “And with all due respect, which admittedly, is a lot; please don't call me that.”

Loki calls her that, Thor mouthed over your shoulder. Tony raised an eyebrow.

“Alright.” He said. “Do, uh, you wanna kick his ass?”

Lofn ran her hands over the strings in an almost aggressive series of chords.

“Yeah.” You said. “I mean, no. Something else.” You stood abruptly. “Gimmie a minute.”

You too, rushed out of the banquet hall, leaving Thor subject to a lot of questioning stares.

“Yes, alright.” He said with a sigh. “There has been a...development.”

“Wait, really?” Pepper asked, while Clint snickered.

“I called it!” Peter crowed. “I knew it, I called it. I was right.”

“Yeah, yeah, you did.” Tony said, staring at Thor. “So, you know that's a terrible idea, right, you know that?”

“Now, just hold on, it's not what you think.” Thor explained. “Yes, my brother has developed...affectionate feelings towards _____. That is true. Do you understand what a grand breakthrough this is? Loki cares about someone! Well, someone from outside. I haven't seen him like this in centuries!”

“What, throwing tantrums? We see him like that all the time.” Bruce said. “Practically every time we see him, in fact.”

“That's just because...” Thor paused. “Well, partly because he holds a slight grudge against basically all of you, but partly because he wants you to underestimate him.”

“Underestimate what?” Tony asked. “That look? He was giving Rogers? I've seen that look before. It was just before he launched me out the two-hundred and twenty-fourth story window.”

“Yeah, that was uncomfortable, being on the receiving end.” Steve admitted. “Didn't realize I was horning in on his girl.”

“Is she into him?” Scott asked. Thor shrugged.

“I do not yet know.”

“What are you kidding?” Clint asked.

“She is head over heels for that man.” Wanda asserted. “What? I don't need to look into her mind to see that.”

“It's pretty obvious.” Clint clarified. Natasha nodded along with him.

“Mind control.” Tony declared. “Has to be.”

“No.” Thor said. “My brother has many talents, but that is not one of them. He could only do that when he had access to the Mind Stone.”

“Which,” Vision said, breaking his contemplative silence. “He no longer has.”

“Precisely.” Thor said. “Though influence comes in many forms. Speaking of which,” He switched to Asgardian. “Lofn. Your presence graces us tonight. I can't help but feel as though you have more in mind than demonstrating your skill on the strings though.”

Lofn smiled at him. “I see them, Allfather. I see many people now, who do not yet see each other, but I see them, and they begin to see each other now.”

“You wove a spell.” Thor accused.

“I made music. What spell could I cast upon dear, clever little Loki? No, no, all I did was set a mood.��

“Hey, what? I know you can speak English, big guy.” Tony said.

“And when it's relevant, I do.” Thor answered. “Friends, let us continue our revels! Loki and _____ shall do as they will, and so should we.”

Lofn continued to play.

                                                                     *****

According to the people you passed, Loki had headed back to his quarters, so that was where you were going as well.

What was all that about? Why was he so angry? Was he offended that you asked him to dance? Maybe he thought that would make him look bad in front of the Avengers. You were pretty sure they would tease him. He would hate that.

Was he mad that you had danced with someone else? But he had been busy! And something about the music had just made you want to dance. So you had chosen the person who was the least likely to get fresh with you. And besides, when else would you get the chance to dance with Captain America?

When you entered the rooms, his door was open, and you could see him pacing in front of his fire. His low voice traveled down the hall to you, a quiet muttering in Asgardian, full of curses; at you, Steve, or himself, you couldn't tell.

You stood in the door way, fiddling with your phone, until he spotted you and stopped pacing.

“What are you doing here?” He demanded. “Don't you have...” He waved his hand dismissively. “...Heroes to fawn over?”

“Maybe, but they probably get a lot of that already.” You said. “I decided to come fawn over you instead. Maybe you don't get enough of that.”

“I do not requite pity!” He snapped. “Did my brother send you to me? Tear you from your dear Captain's welcoming arms to come cajole me with platitudes?”

“I came myself, geez! What is going on with you, why are you so angry? Are you mad at me?”

“No...” He muttered.

“Well, are you mad at Steve?”

He growled. “No..”

“Are you mad that I was dancing with someone else?”

“No...not exactly...” He squirmed, obviously not wanting to tell you what was really on his mind. You persisted anyway. Surely, you were owed an answer for his humiliating behavior.

“Well then what exactly?” You demanded.

“You chose him first!” Loki exclaimed. “I was right there, and you asked him before me!”

“I...thought you were busy talking to that wizard!” You said, surprised. He was jealous. Loki was jealous that you had chosen someone else over him.

Could there actually be something to what Saldis had said?

“I didn't even want to talk to him! He is an arrogant, ignorant fool. I would always welcome an interruption from you. I always....I always have time for you. I do not wish to be your second choice in anything. I want to be the one you come to automatically, for whatever you need. I wish to be the kind of person...the one who can provide that for you. ”

The firelight danced off his features; his pink cheeks and averted eyes, his closed and nervous posture. You gaped. Saldis was a little minx! Everyone knew, she had said. Everyone except for you, apparently!

“_____, I-”

You strode past him and set your phone down on the dresser near his bed, starting a playlist of classic slow dance songs.

“Your Highness, you really should allow me to dance with you.” You said firmly.

“...You do not command me, tiny mortal.” He rejoined, but when you turned back to look at him, his arms were open, and you walked right in.

Now this felt right. Swaying securely in the circle of his arms, head laid against his velvet covered chest. Who knew how long you stayed there; an hour? A lifetime? A few minutes? You could happily spend the whole night here, in his warm embrace.

Loki cleared his throat.

You looked up at him expectantly.

“Tell me something.” He asked. “Something only you would know.”

“...Worried that I might be a Huldra again?”

“I wouldn't like to repeat that experience. Tell me something she wouldn't know.”

“Umm, let's see...” You thought about it for a moment. “Did you know that corn comes in more colors than just yellow and white? There's thousands of different types. There's blue, and red, and orange, and purple. Even pink and green! And some mix all those colors on the same plant. We use them for decorations, and to make popcorn, and-”

Loki grasped your face in his hands, snaking one back to cup your head, like he had on that first day. Instead of scolding you though, instead of filling you with unbearable light, he seized your mouth in a tender kiss.

He held it long enough for you to overcome your shock and throw your arms around him to reciprocate. He sighed in relief and practically swept you off the ground in his enthusiasm, and you giggled against his lips.

Loki was very reluctant to stop kissing you; even when you had to draw back, gasping for air, he followed your mouth, peppering your face with little pecks, licking your lips insistently for entry. You couldn't help but laugh at his antics, and he took the opportunity to take his kisses deeper. You still laughed, letting him catch the sound in his throat and send it back to you as a whuffled chuckle through his nose.

Neither of you really wanted to let go. Loki, with all his gentle tenderness, was hungry for you in a way that would have left you breathless, even if he wasn't demanding claim over your mouth.

The two of you collapsed into his bed, giggling against each other's tongues, hands roaming freely and greedily. You were hungry for him too, for the warmth of his lean body, the scent of his hair, the caress of his graceful hands. You both clearly wanted more, more, more.

But not too much.

You finally pulled away from him.

“Not yet.” You said, gasping for breath.

“No, not yet,.” He agreed, smile suffusing his whole face. He was so radiant you almost wanted to cry. When was the last time anyone had seen him like this? This was yours. All yours.

The thought galvanized you to dive back in. You wouldn't be returning to the party, but the Avengers would be here for a few days yet. They could wait.

[thehollowprince]

Endgame - Tony Stark

WARNING: MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!!!

I figured I’d start with Tony, because as anyone who follows me, or has seen my blog knows, I do not like this character.  This movie is no exception to that, in that I wasn’t a big fan of what they did with his character in here, but there were moments I actually did like.  So I’m going to make a list of what I liked and what I didn’t about his character and then some thoughts on his overall arc throughout this movie and the MCU in general.

I will try to keep the dislike section away from being blatantly “Anti Tony” but I make no promises.

Also, these lists will have bits from other characters that were a part of the main six’s journeys, so just keep that in mind.

Fair warning, the likes section is probably going to be a lot shorter than the dislike list, which won’t be too long either.  The Russos kept their word in that the Avengers from Infinity War that took a back seat were given more in this film, but Tony was still in it a bit too much for my liking, especially with how everything played out.

With that out of the way, let’s do this.

LIKES

Morgan Stark 

Pepper’s Iron Woman suit

Tony and Howard

“I am Iron Man”

Rhodey and Pepper being by his side

Proof that Tony Stark has a heart

Let’s start with what I liked about his story arc in Endgame.  I loved Morgan.  His daughter was adorable and he had a great little relationship with her, from what little we saw of it, away from everyone (left) and living in a cabin in the woods.  The whole scene where he says “Shit!” not knowing his daughter is sitting right there was hilarious and precious all at the same time.  Add to that the fact that she blackmailed him into getting her a treat for her silence and my heart was won.

How he acted with Morgan was a great shift in his character from all of the previous movies and I’m assuming it had something to do with having a biological child, as opposed to this whole concept a good percentage of the fandom likes to pretend is a thing (”Irondad”), but more on that later.

Pepper’s suit that she wore at the end was amazing.  I loved it so much better than any of the other IM suits used throughout any of the movies, and I loved during the epic battle at the end how well the two fought together.  Plus Pepper being included in the big Girl Power team-up at the end of the fight is the stuff of legends.

As anyone who followed me over this last year knows, I’m not a fan of Tony’s (and his fandom’s) constant need to blame everything wrong he ever does on a combination of things, one of which is his relationship with his father.  This is probably the most screen time Howard got in any of the movies and I did love that Tony used it to connect with his father over something they now have in common - having kids.  It was nice to finally see Tony put aside all his issues and recognize that his father was a human being.  Also, Jarvis being there was amazing!

More on this in the Dislikes section, but Tony’s response to Thanos’ “I am inevitable!” line being “I am… Iron Man.”  It was a nice callback to the first movie and the comics and I’m glad they ended his character on that note.

As he lay dying, which I didn’t take nearly as much pleasure in as I thought I would, I did like Rhodey and Pepper being there by his side, and Pepper’s little speech to him, telling him he could rest now, which was a nice callback to earlier in the film where she asked him if he could rest if he didn’t help.  As much as I don’t like them together, it was a touching moment to see him die with his wife and partner at his side.

The wreath with the original arc reactor put on the lake was just a nice touch, in my opinion.

DISLIKES

Nebula

His return to Earth

The Five Years Later

Still building suits

His superiority complex and attitude in general

His treatment of Scott Lang

“Do you trust me”

The constant quips and sarcasm

Peter Parker

One

His funeral

Okay, this one might upset people, but I did warn you.

For starters, I did not at all like the way they (The Russos) had Nebula act around Tony while they were on the Guardians’ ship.  Granted, they did a lot of character assassinations in this movie, but this was one of the ones that stood out the most to me, especially given how she treated everyone else throughout the rest of the movie, with her usual disdain except for her sister and Rocket.  Having her be so kind and nurturing to him just felt like something out of a fanfiction by someone who worships Tony but never saw any of the Guardians of the Galaxy films.  Though, I will admit, having him in his dying moments open his eyes to see Carol blazing in to save him and then her setting the ship down like it was nothing was pretty spectacular.

The moment he’s back on Earth, he just starts in with his bullshit again.  I’m sorry, but blaming Steve for the epic loss that they all faced was such a childish move, but that’s become something of a staple for him.  Blaming all of his problems and failures on someone else, even when they’re not just his failures.  It’s always someone else’s fault, because self-reflection isn’t a strong suit of his character, nor is his capacity to let it go.  Him standing there and yelling at Steve, as if everything was entirely his fault because Ultron blew up in his face and his “suit of armor around the world” didn’t pan out the way he wanted was such a dick move.  We’ve seen how Thanos and his forces dealt with Wakandan technology, which we all know is better than Stark Tech.  So for him to think that the Ultron Project would have even been able to stop Thanos, especially once he was armed with the Infinity Stones is pure hubris and I’m sick and tired of it.

The five years later scene, particularly when Steve, Scott and Natasha come to him for help after they thought up a way to fix it all, just made my blood boil.  I know no one wants to admit this, but Tony didn’t lose anyone in the snap.  And no, I’m not counting Peter as someone close to him, because up until the scene where Peter went poof, he’d been nothing but disdainful or outright neglectful of him.  The three that showed up to ask for his help lost everything, and while it is understandable that he didn’t want to lose what he now had, his outright dismissal of them was infuriating.  Especially when you factor in that he had to have his ass handed to him, and watch everyone else lose their loved ones before he finally put aside his ego and settled down with Pepper.

Even with the world decimated, he still can’t stop with the suit building?  Seriously?  Sure, it came in handy later when Pepper donned it for the big fight, but he was working on that before Steve and Nat even showed up.  He wasn’t preparing for the fight, he was just doing what he always does and feeding his addiction to those suits.

Another thing that bugged me about them coming to him for help was his whole attitude about it.  Not only how dismissive he was to Scott, but since when is Tony an expert on quantum physics?  There was no build up to that, no mention of it before, and it just smacked of something they threw in there to try and find a reason for Tony to rejoin the Avengers for this final film.  Between Scott and Bruce, and with Rocket’s brilliance and Thor’s knowledge of Asguardian science, they should have figured it out.  But no!  We had to have the Tony be the one to save the day.

You’ll get a theme here about my dislikes all being related to the blatant fan service of those who worship Tony Stark.

In regards to the way he talked to Scott throughout the entire film - I didn’t like it.  I didn’t like his dismissive attitude or his constant barrage of insults.  Scott Lang is probably one of, if not the, nicest character in the MCU and he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that by some bored billionaire with a grudge.

The “Do you trust me?” line was aggravating as hell.  Anyone who watched these movies knows that Tony doesn’t trust his teammates, or even treat them with basic respect half the time, and given how he acted to Steve upon his return to Earth, and how they left things at the end of Civil War, I think the addition of that line was a slap in the face to any of the people who loved Steve’s character over the years.

The constant sarcasm got old about seven or eight movies ago.  At some point these writers and producers have to realize that being a sarcastic asshole isn’t really a personality, despite how much they try and pretend it is.  It’s 2023 in this movie, which puts Tony over fifty.  It’s way passed time to just let it go.  He doesn’t always have to get the last word in.

I am not a fan of all of this whole "Irondad" farse that so many people have fallen for. The few times they've interacted at all, Tony has been either outright dismissive, if he even pays attention to him at all, so for Peter to come back and that hug to take place, not to mention Peter crying while Tony was dying bugged me. We've seen absolutely nothing in the MCU that would support this behavior aside from blatant fan service.

Tony looking over and seeing Strange holding up his finger (not the finger I would have chosen) to indicate this is the one time in 14 million that they stopped Thanos annoyed me.  Not the fact that Tony got the stones for that final snap, but the fact Tony was even able to touch them.  Before anyone comes for me, I’d feel the same way if it had been Steve or Clint or T’Challa or Sam or Bucky or whoever.  One of the things we’ve been shown throughout the MCU was how damn powerful those stones were.  Hell, the Power Stone killed almost everyone that ever touched it, with my understanding being that humans would have been disintegrated on contact.  But someone, Tony Stark, the middle-aged man was able to hold all six Infinity Stones and perform a snap?  I mean, sure, he died in the end, but he shouldn’t have been able to do it at all, especially when we saw how using the Stones nearly killed Thanos, who has been proven to be vastly stronger than so many of them, Tony included.

I also really didn’t like the funeral.  Yes, it was nice to see his friends and family there, but the further back they went, the more I kept questioning “Why?”  Why were all those people there?  The Bartons and the rest of Team Cap and that random kid behind them?  Carol?  Some of those people barely had any interaction with Tony, if at all, and suddenly they’re all there to mourn him?  I don’t know if the whole thing was supposed to be an homage to the fact that an era has ended in the MCU, but the whole scene left something of a sour taste in my mouth.

FINAL OPINION

Anyone who has followed me over the years knows that I don’t really like this character.  It started out with mild dislike, but then just snowballed into outright hatred, so this film, which managed to pull him back even if only a little, helped me remember some of what I originally liked (read: didn’t hate) about the character. 

The whole Tony exiting the MCU thing by having him sacrifice his life just reeked of fanservice and RDJ’s heavy-handed negotiation skills.  It’s been a constant in every movie he’s been in, except Homecoming, that he has to have the big emotional climax.  This film marks the fourth time that Tony has decided to leave superheroing behind, and at this point, it’s just become a gimmick.  Even though this time he is confirmed as dead, I don’t really feel all that bad for the character because of MARVEL’s insistence in putting him in movies where he wasn’t needed and I’m sure they’ll find a way to bring him back somehow for future installments.

This character could have been so great over the course of the MCU, but the writers just stuck with the same tired old tropes and put them on repeat, even up to the big heroic sacrifice in the end, which fell flat to me because he already had more than one of those.  Those being his flying of the nuke into the wormhole back in The Avengers, and then his destruction of all his suits in Iron Man 3.

They tried this so many times already that it lost it’s uniqueness for any of those who are invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[elcorhamletlive]

MCU Rewatch: Iron Man 2

(fair warning: this one got longer and more negative than I thought it would be)

I’m not sure if this is in the original dialogue, but the reproduction of the final scene of IM has Christine pointing out Tony hates bodyguards. That’s a nice info.

Fandom’s hot takes about Tony are always terrible, but looking at a guy who stands in front of a bunch of barely dressed women dancing in his honor and goes “I haven’t met anyone who’s man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day” and saying “this character is female-coded”/”this character deconstructs toxic masculinity” is one serious “Delusion: Convince Yourself” moment.

That being said, I would be interested in reading a fic that ACTUALLY has Tony confront how much he projects toxic masculinity onto the world as a way to assure respect and how that shapes his relationships. If I go by canon, I can easily see Tony being more proprense to having a sexuality crisis/internalized homophobia than Steve, since the idea of being a “man” is so important to him. I’m not sure such a fic exists, though.

I’M SORRY I KNOW I’M HARPING ON THIS POINT but it just drives me MAD because the Iron Man franchise is by a mile the worst in the MCU when it comes to its treatment of its female characters so I want to bang my head against the wall when people act like, in terms of a gendered reading, Tony is meant to represent anything other than a very clear male fantasy. I mean, come on - the movie just cut through a few scenes from his pov and it actually had a close up on a random woman’s cleavage while Tony says “Oh, I remember you”. Like... COME ON.

This movie is like a walking argument against all my least favorite fanon!Tony tropes: where did people get that the media hates Tony?? It’s very clear that people like Christine are outliers, and the general public ADORES both him and Iron Man.

“I’ve successfullly privatized world peace” might be my least favorite Tony line ever, even more than the “I saw American citizens being killed” cringe-worthy moment in the first IM.

Okay, “if there’s one thing I’ve proven it’s that you can count on me to pleasure myself” is also a strong contender.

Tony going “oh yeah you should totally run the company WHAT AN AMAZING IDEA THAT HAS LITERALLY ONLY CROSSED MY MIND ONE SECOND AGO” and U immadiately showing up with a bottle of champagne and two glasses is absolutely adorable. Tony is totally an undercover romantic, even if his approach to it is terrible lol.

Tony searching for Natasha’s “qualifications” and enlarging a picture of her in lingerie is just... Wow. So many parts of this movie have aged very poorly.

Christine not moving her recorder when Hammer is like “maybe we should put this away” is amazing. lol One thing this rewatch is definitely giving me is a bigger appreciation for Christine in general.

Tony’s hair in this movie is just amazing. One of my favorites hairstyles of his for sure.

The case suit up is very cool, and the first battle with Vanko is pretty awesome, but I feel like the movie kind of sabotages itself because it spends so many scenes just building up Vanko and then when he actually attacks Tony stops him pretty easily, all things considered. I get that there’s a point to it, but it feels anticlimatic.

Oh Tony speaks french! I didn’t know that.

“I’ll send you a bar of soap.” So Tony making rape jokes it not just a Whedon thing. Welp.

Tony taking three hours to make an omelette is such a mood. lol

I kind of love the scene with Tony and Pepper on the plane. So much of this movie is Tony attempting to reach out to Pepper without ACTUALLY reaching out by telling her what’s going on, and it creates an interesting dynamic. He wants her, wants to be with her, but can’t bring himself to actually ask it, and therefore she can’t understand what he’s asking in order to accept it. This says a lot about how Tony handles love and feelings, I think.

I feel like this movie would have vastly improved if Vanko and Hammer had just been in cahoots from the beggining. So much time is wasted in setting up this alliance and it’s not like we learn anything about either character that we couldn’t have gathered otherwise. It’s like watching a version of IM with an extra half-hour of Obie allying himself to the Ten Rings.

Natasha breaking into a fighting stance the second shit gets real is a fantastic “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” moment.

Ngl I really dislike the fact that Rhodey’s first suit up is all about baby sitting Tony, and not about himself. We barely get to see any of his feelings about taking the role as War Machine. And I feel like the way he takes the suit sends such a confusing message, because Fury and Natasha confirm to us Tony let him take it, and yet in the party scene... he doesn’t? Like, he fights back pretty heavily and it doesn’t seem at all like something he’s planned. I don’t blame people for thinking Rhodey stole the suit, because the entire party scene before Fury shows up frames it as such.

It’s WILD that this movie frames Howard deporting a person back to the Soviet Union as Howard being noble because Anton Vanko was “in it for the money”. Just... Wild.

In fact, the whole framing of the Howard issue is so weird. Tony and Howard’s relationship only comes up when Fury shows up, and that’s halfway through the movie, and then it’s supposed to be the Big Solution even though... It wasn’t really a theme until this point? 

Tony’s FACE when he sees the shield... and then he uses it to make everything “perfectly level”................ MY HEART

Sam Rockwell is a delight lmao. I love his dance.

The way people clap when Tony arrives is a stark contrast with the lukewarm reception Hammer got. Again: the public loves Tony.

I live for Natasha taking down every security guard in the time Happy takes to subdue one guy. Her moves are great (also, her curls are great - this is a great movie for hairstyles).

This Pepperony kiss is like. SO unwarranted?? Pepper has just learned Tony has been dying and keeping it from her?? And we don’t get any sort of emotional reaction about this or resolution about Tony’s inability to express his feelings??? They just... kiss and it’s all right, I guess?

“Get a roof” does make chuckle, though.

Aaand it’s over. That... that was a rough one, if I’m gonna be honest. This was one of my least favorite MCU movies the first time I watched it, and I hoped the rewatch could make me enjoy it more, but... this really wasn’t the case. I feel like this movie could have raised a lot of themes with its elements, but it just... doesn’t? Like, a lot of stuff happens, but very little actually advances the characters or their relationships. So much time is spent on setting up Vanko as this super badass villain, and then not only he’s easily defeated, but the whole “he’s carrying his father’s legacy just as Tony is” thing never goes anywhere. Tony is DYING, and then halfway through he isn’t, and although while he’s dying he pushes away both of the people closest to him, neither of them get to really have a reaction to this? Rhodey never actually finds out??? It just doesn’t work for me. Like, there are fun moments, and I get these characters and cast are enjoyable to watch doing basically anything, but the movie in itself is just... Meh.

[lovelykhaleesiii]

I understand...(Part 14)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Stark!Reader

Words: 1934

Summary: You’re the daughter of Tony Stark, and after meeting the Avengers for the first time, you begin to fall for the one who your father despises most…Bucky Barnes.

Warning: pregnancy, angst, swearing, family conflict, change of perspectives

A/N - sorry if the series is becoming shit... tag list still open xox

Tags:

@fandom–0verdose , @m4shtyx , @impalatobakerstreet , @dreams-in-blxck , @irondadandspidersoncute , @basicmarvelbitch , @tonyystarkle , @woman-of-letters-legacy , @seabasstiantrash , @can-you-actuallynot , @conflictedintima , @wtfholland , @ivartheblessed , @iamaunicorn4704 , @bookgirlunicorn , @lost-in-the-stories , @chloe-skywalker , @a--1--1--3

_________________________________

4 months had passed since Bucky and you had decided best to leave the Avengers Tower, your once childhood home to now accomodate for your growing family. The team had helped tremendously and assisted both Bucky and you in finding an affordable apartment in Brooklyn. You had to admit, it wasn’t as luxurious or as convenient as the Avengers Tower had been, though you were thankful. Your belly now protruding, living with the love of your life and father to be, you knew with great certainty that life could not get any better... Unfortunately though, Tony still daunted your conscious. You both hadn’t spoken since the feud, since you had revealed the wonderful news that he’d become a grandfather... Although, his reaction had distinctly indicated his decision of not wanting to take part of your journey into motherhood. He’d also taken all measures necessary, to the point of not wanting to talk to you no more. It was heartbreaking... As the first month passed, both Bucky and you had attempted many times to reconcile, although you were left with no response, no effort nor any sign of love from Tony. You tried to many times to communicate with him, having the decency and courage to repeatedly visit the tower, to ensure he still knew you cared. In reward...Nothing.

His excuse, “So long as you’re with him, raising his child... You don’t love me, and for that I can’t even look at you. Now, if you’ll excuse I have a business meeting to attend.”

Immediately you departed from the sight, not wanting to cause a scene. Your hormones still on rage, you’d also lately been quite emotional. Bucky, on the other, helping hand had been your greatest support: you had not once ever felt guilty or a sense of regret from the decision you made... It felt right, and Tony needed to understand.

“Baby” Bucky had gently whispered.

“Yes” you’d instantly retorted, unaware that your thoughts drifted your focus away from Bucky’s voice.

“You’re doing it again love” He sympathetically remarked, as his flesh hand smoothly caressed your belly, as you relaxed against his broad chest.

Sighing, you’d always felt guilty that your concerns had always overpowered you.

“Oh Bucky I’m sorry... It’s just I’d wish Tony wasn’t like this! Our baby’s arriving soon, and it just doesn’t feel right knowing he doesn’t want to be part of our family.Tony was always there for me, as early as I can remember he had been part of every moment of my life as much as possible and I just would have never thought he’d want to miss out on this!” You stressed as you gradually, with difficulty stood up from the comfort of your couch, removing the dishes on your coffee table to the kitchen sink. You could distantly hear Bucky’s sigh, knowing by now that once you’d become stressed, so did he. He had repeatedly informed you that this mental strain wasn’t healthy for you and especially the baby, as he attempted to calm you, although just like your father, you were naturally obstinate.

“Y/n we have tried everything we could possibly do to change his mind...You know that. But I say, it’s now entirely up to Tony to do his part, and make up his mind himself. If he’s chosen to avoid us and to not have a relationship with his grandchild then so be it… His loss I say.” Bucky had agitatedly insisted. By now, Bucky had hinted his frustration and impatience towards Tony’s cold treatment towards you two: insisting that your father was selfish enough to swallow his pride. It hurt you to see that both the men in your life weren’t cooperating, although you had to agree with Bucky on this… It seemed Tony’s resentment towards Bucky overpowered his love for you…

Nodding to Bucky’s words, gently placing your left hand onto your stomach, reassuring your unborn child that they would be loved regardless of this family feud, you had decided best to have an early night. This super-enhanced baby was definitely taking its toll in exhausting you on a daily basis.

“Babe I may just meet with Steve real quick...I’ll be sure to be back before 10.” Bucky had insisted, as he quickly grabbed his khaki jacket, heading towards you to plant a soft kiss against your forehead before heading out.

(Bucky’s Perspective)

It ached to know that he’d lied to Y/n, in that he wasn’t actually planning on meeting up with Steve at all...More so, he’d been planning on meeting with Tony instead, for at least one last chance.

With Tony being as famous as he was, keeping track of him and his whereabouts had proven to be easy. Tonight, Tony had been invited to a grand-opening Stark facility in the city, and Bucky since the start of the week upon hearing the unfamiliar televised news was set to reunite.

“Now Buck, promise yourself not to retaliate. Promise not to do anything you’ll regret. Promise on your love for Y/n and your unborn child that you won’t retaliate,” he silently uttered under his breath, as his legs instinctively led the route to the celebratory venue. And with that instance, the blinding flashlights of cameras and loud shouts of the media, pleading for names most unknown to Bucky, had startled him from his promising thoughts.

“Now where are you Tony?” He’d whispered, as his eyes thoroughly began to scan the vicinity of the world’s most affluent individuals and their counterparts.

With fortune again, Tony was most easy to find as the reporters were at this point begging for his attention. Arriving right on time, it seemed as though Tony was just about to leave the event, walking towards a large, sleek black limo. Activating the skills of the Winter Soldier, Bucky immediately yet discretely managed to enter the car. Without even having a minute to spare, Tony had graciously entered the vehicle completely unaware that it had already been preoccupied, as his eyes remained smiling towards the photographers. As the valet assistant soon shut the door, Tony’s entire facial expression had become mortified as he’d finally realised that he hadn’t been alone.

“Get the fuck out of my car, Barnes” he’d shouted.

To Bucky’s surprise the opposite car door to their end had opened also to be entered in by Rhodey, who then was terrified by the sight before him.

“Barnes what the hell-”

“Look I’m only here for Y/n and quite frankly she doesn’t even know that I am…”

“And what is that you’re here for Manchurian Candidate, cause you’re the type of person I exactly don’t want to give up my time for” Tony had sternly remarked, his face growing ever so frustrated the more he stared at Bucky.

“Tony you need to make amends with Y/n. She’s distraught that you aren’t going to be with her on this whole parenthood thing. She wants you by her side more than anything, and seeing her like this it-it’s killing me… So as a father, I’m asking you to at least just meet with her. Just the two of you, and just try to at least let her know that you still care.” Bucky plead, attempting to suppress his anger towards Tony after all he had done, like he’d promised earlier for the sake of Y/n.

“That’s it? You risked showing up to me, just for that when you both already know the answer? Quit being in denial, soldier, it’s never going to happen. See that fantasy in my daughter’s head… You tell her as the ‘decent and honest partner’ that you are, that it’s never going to happen. Just thinking about it sickens me…” Tony had firmly argued, mocking Bucky in the process.

“Now get the fuck out of the car, before I need to remove you myself” Tony had demanded.

But Bucky remained preoccupied by the stinging feeling of Tony’s brutal words.

“Don’t you ever fucking call my family sick again…” Bucky retorted, as his daring blue eyes burned against Tony’s stare.

“Excuse me?” Tony replied.

“Tony don’t- Excuse could we just park the car for a second?” Rhodey instantly instructed the driver, as he quickly withdrew Tony back into his seat, trying to avoid any possibility of a physical confrontation. Both the men arguing had completely forgotten about Rhodey’s silent presence, having been so distracted in their own raging thoughts.

“You’re a pathetic excuse as a father, putting your own selfish needs before your own daughter and grandchild… Fucking pathetic, Tony.” Bucky had remarked, before immediately making his way out of the car, venting his frustration into the void of the night, before things could get technical.

Walking ahead, in the distance behind he heard another car door open to close, only to turn back to see Tony rushing towards him. With Bucky’s last given thought on his promise made to Y/n and the baby, Tony’s longing punch had striked across Bucky’s face.

“You don’t get to decide what kind of a father I am. I gave her everything and she gives me what? A story of getting knocked up by a murdering bastard!” Tony had shouted, as he swang a couple more fists towards Bucky’s face, which now began to bleed. Bucky’s instinctive nature of fighting back suppressed by his will-power began to frighteningly fade. Although, before he could cause any harm to the grandfather of his child, he’d repeatedly, mentally reminded himself, Rhodey finally arrived to resist Tony’s urges against the possibility of Bucky getting involved any further.

“Should’ve killed you when I had the chance…” Tony had exaggerated before him and Rhodey had disappeared, driving away into the night.

Having a super enhanced body structure, Tony’s punches had not been agonising enough for Bucky, despite knowing that it would definitely leave a mark for Y/n to recognise as a fight. Spitting and wiping the blood residue off his face, Bucky resumed his walk back home…

(Y/n’s Perspective)

In the fading silence of the night, the sound of the front door opening and closing left a wave of relief through my body. Bucky was home…

“Bucky” you yearned, simply wanting his strong arms to be wrapped around your changing body, as you’d grown fond of him rubbing your belly smoothly.

“Yes my love?” Bucky hand entered, his voice muffled. Inviting him to bed, as your back remained turned to him, you’d questioned him on his meeting with Steve.

“About that…” Bucky had hesitated.

Instinctively you knew something was up, and hastily turned your attention towards him, snapping up from your drifting sleep.

“What the hell-” you anxiously retorted.

“I didn’t meet with Steve, Y/n. I met up with Tony instead...Look baby, seeing you all stressed over him, I tried to reconcile one last time, for your sake, but… He just won’t budge. I’m sorry Doll” Bucky had forgivingly revealed, as he bent down on his knees to the floor, his arms stretched over the ruffled bed to grasp your warm hands.

“Bucky… You shouldn’t have. Look at you, the mess he’s caused. Let’s just get you cleaned and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Before you could get up off the bed, Bucky insisted you remain in your comfort, whilst he took care of himself. Laying in bed, you felt gratitude over Bucky’s courageous actions but also felt ripples of disappointment gushing over you. Time had passed and Tony still had the same heightened bitterness towards your newly found family.

“Oh Tony...If only you’d understand.” You deeply signed.

[starspatter]

WIP Challenge

Tagged by: @summertime-children

Tagging: @astrologista, @atsushishelteredinmoonlitjasmine, @benditlikegumby, @cryptoriawebb, @ibmiller, @iceperialprincess, and @otherwise-uncolonized

Challenge: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

I'll also do what deta did and post comments + short fragments.  (Be warned it'll be very long though, and most of these are actually Pokémon fics since I was a much more prolific writer when I was younger, and that was the fandom I wrote mainly for.)  I also won't be including "Heroes and Thieves" on here (or any DC/superhero stuff really since I’ve essentially “done” everything I had planned for now), as *technically* it is all already completed in draft form, and I'd like to keep things a surprise for whenever I do end up posting~

Hero and Seek

“Well, we’re all together now, so let’s have some fun, all right?  Don’t worry, it’s really simple.  One person is the ‘demon’, and the others have to hide from him.” “Eh?  A ‘demon’?  But that’s scary!” Three pairs of eyes turned up to her in fear.  Those eyes, which screamed and streamed the stark color of blood the first time she saw them – not just from tears, but from the ‘monster’ they believed dwelled deep within.  She thought for a moment, then removed her scarf. “How about this then?  Whoever’s the ‘hero’ has to find and rescue the others.  It’s a very important Blindfold Brigade mission!”

I’ll start with the one Kagepro fic I did attempt at least, which I described previously here, but is basically about Ayano + the Meka Trio playing “Hide and Seek” for the first time.  (I actually had it originally titled as that but just came up with this new version on the spot lol I’m so clever~)  For some reason I’ve always been hesitant about reading/writing Kagefic, but I actually got a fair bit farther in this than I thought, so perhaps I should try to finish it someday... Princes and Frogs

“K-Koizumi-senpai… Um… Please go out with me!” Itsuki stared down at the tiny underclassman, watching a rose mantle spread slowly over her cheeks as she gazed back with shy, but determined hope in her bespectacled eyes.  The older boy could make out his own handsome face reflected off the lens, a virtual image embellished by sparkling hearts and stars.  With dim satisfaction and relief, Itsuki ensured that his bright, patient smile betrayed no hint of the weary sigh that whispered behind it.

This is an intro excerpt of the first chapter I planned to write for an ItsuHaru fic from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I only ever posted the prologue for.  ItsuHaru was my first obsessive OTP, and I still think about returning to this story someday (especially since I have now proven to myself I *can* finish a full chapter fic if I put my mind to it), but it’s been so long I feel like I’d need to refresh my memory of the whole series/am still holding out hope for a Season 3 to motivate me again. *shot*

Fall to Pieces

As Itsuki stared at Yuki’s vacant visage, his resentment kept building.  His hands clenched, rigidly gripping the edge of the table.  Somehow, it just didn’t seem fair.  That she could so easily ignore the madness fate had dealt them, never reveal any signs of suffering or bitterness towards her situation, and yet always, always wear the same damn expression on her face. How could she possibly stand it? He can’t stand it. (any more)

An ItsuYuki one-shot, where Itsuki basically blows up at her from pent-up frustration over having to wear a mask all the time and his hidden feelings for Haruhi.  The two start to form a connection over their respective “unrequited loves”/understanding of each other’s pain, and one thing leads to another...  Like “Heroes and Thieves”, this is in fact technically “complete”, since I actually used the leftover steam from the former towards finishing at least one thing I started a long time ago - although I’m still not sure I’m totally satisfied with it/kinda want to wait to figure out what I’m doing with my other ItsuHaru fics before I publish it by itself.  (Incidentally the working title comes from an Avril Lavigne song lol.)

Little White Lies

“Perhaps the best thing for the princess would have been to fall in love.  But how a princess who had no gravity could fall into anything is a difficulty--perhaps the difficulty.” -George MacDonald, The Light Princess - Haruhi Suzumiya was walking on air. Itsuki could tell by the way she glided into the clubroom, sailing like a paper airplane – or a balloon with an inflated ego to match.

...Yeah that’s as far as I got with this.  This was meant to be a “White Day” story, which is Japan’s “answer holiday” to Valentine’s Day, where guys reciprocate by giving gifts to the girls who gave them chocolates.  I always wondered how the boys actually responded in-universe, and I imagine Itsuki secretly stressing out a lot about taking care to not upstage Kyon, but at the same time wanting to sincerely express his genuine appreciation and feelings towards Haruhi - whatever they may be.  In the end, he settles on a copy of “The Light Princess” by George MacDonald, which I highly recommend reading since it reminds me so much of this pair, and in general is such a fun and snappy “tongue-in-cheek” take on the fairytale genre. Sora in Wonderland

But wait- this one was a bit different from all its brothers and sisters.  For one thing, it was wearing a fancy waistcoat with pockets- and sleeves that were far too long for it.  As soon as it passed by her head, it stopped and slowly turned its head around to stare directly at her with its huge circular yellow eyes.  Sora stared vacantly back for a full five seconds before the information registered in her brain and she suddenly yelled, “Hey!”, and sat bolt upright.  The Heartless panicked upon hearing her voice and fled at top speed across the white sands, headed towards an opening in the rocks; Sora jumped down off her perch and immediately chased after it, no longer caring about the heat.  The Heartless hastily disappeared inside the cave, and Sora soon followed after, determined to catch the freaky little thing and ask it some questions, like what it was doing on the island at this time, and where on earth did it get a waistcoat.

OKAY SO I TOTALLY FORGOT THIS WAS A THING but apparently I tried to write a Kingdom Hearts parody of “Alice in Wonderland” lmao.  I’ve never actually played the games (aside from half of CoM), but it was probably inspired by a crossover art my friend drew? ^^; Also Sora is a girl in this bc that’s my headcanon and I’m sticking to it. XP *shot* Note: The following fics are all Pokémon-related so I’ll just be listing them in roughly chronological order (from most recent to ancient, although they’re all pretty old at this point). Stranger

The elder slowly rose to his feet, gazing at the boy, the champion, the stranger.  “In all this time, why didn’t you come back?  You could have seen for yourself how she was.” Lance wanted to yell something defiant, like a child.  But he wasn’t a child.  Children were forgiven for their mistakes.  And he didn’t want to be forgiven. The professor’s ancient hand came to rest on the boy’s shoulder.  “It’s the way this town works.  We don’t talk about things that happen outside our own world.  Maybe it was too long ago – too late for you to understand.” Lance didn’t say anything. “At least talk to Delia.  She’s been wanting to see you.” “Sorry.  It’s too late.” “You’re a bastard.” “I know.”

So this looks to be among the last things I’d written before taking a long break from fanfiction circa... 2007, jeeze.  Over 10 years, huh.  But, I think it speaks a certain amount of maturity that it’s the piece I liked most upon rediscovering.  It’s based on an idea I once had that Lance was (unknowingly) Gary Oak’s father, and he was friends/rivals with Ash’s father, who originally won the title of Champion but relinquished it so he could be with his “wife” and kid (or rather, then-pregnant teenage girlfriend).  *Something* happened though (I forget what I had in mind) and he ended up dying, leaving Lance bitter and depressed so he refused to return to Pallet Town because of too many painful memories.  (Though he *cough* “comforted” their other female childhood friend for one night of drunken grief before he left. ;()  What I like most about it honestly is the parallels bw Lance’s relationship with Ash’s dad and their sons’, and that amidst all the angst I enjoyed portraying the earnest energy and optimism of Ketchum(?) senior (”like father like son” after all).  I was definitely inspired by Mitsuki’s father in Full Moon wo Sagashite/Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist by making him a total “dork dad” who’d brag about his (illegitimate) family on national TV during the championship tournament lol.

Ihavenoidea

Either way, I get the feeling this really wasn’t what I had in mind when I made my decision to quit training.  I mean that in an intuitive sort of way.  Like, sometimes I feel as if I’m not meant to be here, like my life should have ended up differently someplace else.  Perhaps this is just one of those weird inconsistencies I told you about.  Perhaps not.  Even after all that’s happened to me recently, I still can’t really be sure about it.

...No seriously, I have no idea where I was going with this.  As far as I can tell it’s written from the POV of Gary Oak, whom I’ve always had a lot of... “complicated” feelings towards.  It probably has something to do with another concept I’ll discuss next, although for some reason it sounds like I was going for some sort of AU? *shrug* By contrast to the above, it reads like a whiny teenager complaining about his life - which makes me cringe but is probably an accurate portrayal of who I was at the time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This one was actually dated a little after the previous, so my best guess is it was some kind of vent rant where I would “give up” writing/creating and “childish” ideals for a while, as I was wont to do - but I still always come back to it somehow... RainbowMolly

Molly stepped out from the car and onto the dusty road, her heart beating wildly.  She could hardly believe she was actually here, of all places. The ride had been long and mind-numbing with anticipation, and now that they’d finally arrived at the destination, it all felt somewhat surreal to her. A small bear clambered out from the vehicle, joining her as she stopped to take in the rustic view that met her bright blue eyes.  She smiled and picked up her Teddiursa, cuddling its warm, fuzzy body close to her own. Her gaze traveled down the road which stretched in both directions, houses lining up against its margins. She followed it with her eyes towards a hill in the distance, on top of which sat what looked like a quaint little farmhouse with a windmill, turning in the summer breeze.  She breathed in the country air, catching whiff of a faint salt smell from an ocean in the distance. So this was Pallet Town.

...Why I didn’t actually name the file “Chasing Rainbows” - which was the title I had planned for this - I don’t know.  This dates back to an old idea I had where I believed Molly Hale from the third Pokémon movie was secretly the true “God” of the Pokémon world - in the sense that the entire universe was an unknowing fantasy of her own creation, similar to Haruhi Suzumiya (ok fine this was totally a crossover/rip-off of the same concept so sue me OTL).  In a place where children never seem to grow up and can go on grand fantastical adventures forever, Gary always struck me as an anomaly who willingly *chose* to forego such a life to pursue more “adult” interests by becoming a researcher.  So I saw him as filling the role of “Kyon” - the cynical narrator who was destined to ground “God” and bring her back down to earth, but at the same time be won over by her innocence and charm and learn to appreciate “kids’ stuff” again.  However, the Legendaries were actually aware of the power Molly holds, and so saw Gary as a threat to their very being - as by “waking” the dreamer and having her face reality meant erasing their kinds’ entire existence.  As the “apocalypse” nearly occurred in the third film, Mew and Celebi took on human disguises (in the form of May and Max respectively) to investigate Ash, who was able to calm Molly and “save” the world by “perpetuating” the delusion (and whom Molly totally has a crush on btw *shot*).  So it’s a bit of a love triangle lol, with Mew and Celebi (*cough* an alien and a time traveler, get it? *shot*) acting as mediators/interference.  (Although Mew might’ve secretly shipped Gary and Molly herself. ;O)

Betrayal

And these blades, these damned scythes that attached themselves to my arms when I was born, a curse upon me since birth, though it had not been apparent up until now.  They were covered with blood, the vital crimson liquid that flows through our bodies, now dripping down the steel surface in a webbed pattern, drops beginning to splatter the pure, emerald grass below.  The arm felt heavy and weak as I tried to lift it, as if it did not belong to me, but that was only a wishful thought.  I gazed calmly at it, inspecting the intricate designs the flow of the substance had created, as if it were an abstract piece of artwork. Tentatively, a pink tongue rolled out and caught a small droplet of it just before it fell from the sharp edge, just to convince myself that it was real.  The semi-sweet, metallic taste confirmed this.  I had indeed taken these men’s lives, just as I had taken hers.

So I remember this was written from the POV of a Scyther who seemingly went on a murderous rampage.  I only know that I wanted to give him an “Edward Scissorhands”-like story, since the idea of having such sharp objects attached to one’s limbs so that one could never directly “touch” another without being a danger is pretty tragic.  I suspect “her” was someone (a human?) he cared about but killed by accident, and after that he was only seen as a symbol of power/treated as a tool to incite fear before eventually rebelling against his “master”... Roses

“If you love someone, you should give them something that’s yours. That shows how much you care for them.” In the darkness, I pictured his smiling face, explaining to me as he wrapped a present for his girlfriend. His blue eyes were shining with a sort of spirit unfamiliar to me; I guessed, a feeling of love.

Another “dark” take on a Pokémon’s biology (I really liked writing explorations of those back then lol), this time of Roselia.  The idea was that a Roselia was so in love with her trainer that she would do anything for him - including allow him to cut off her arms so he could give them to his girlfriend.  I actually ended up turning it into a poem at one point:

Love is like a rose they say, And affection leads to grief they warned. For in the end love betrays, Its Beauty maimed by a poisoned thorn. You gave me pure water with a smile. Your cheerful face became my sun. I offered up my blood to you, And in return demanded none. Chop off my wrists, and tie them together. I’ll gladly bleed myself to death. In order to give you that which I hold most dear. My dear, my dear, Won’t you accept this bouquet? You take it, smiling warily. A blush creeps onto your face. And in those eyes I can see A garden of roses stretched out, Composing a wondrous place. Then you bound my hands in lace, And brought them to the girl next door. You presented them to her with grace. … My blood continued to pour.

Fanfic

She smiled at me, although something about her expression indicated something wasn't quite right.  I watched as she glanced over towards the west, her gaze lingering momentarily on the setting sun.  The glowing, orange sphere was slowly sinking behind the distant mountains, peaks cloaked in a pale, lavender haze illuminated by flickering beams of gold and scarlet cast across the horizon.

More accurately, I found this buried in a “catch-all” file where I had several (mostly finished) fics saved.  This was meant to be from the POV of an Eevee who had just evolved - supposedly into an Espeon due to happiness and bond with her trainer, which is what both wanted.  However, since it took place at sunset, she didn’t realize she had become an Umbreon instead, and her trainer ended up abandoning her for it. ;( It was a warm

Children’s shrieks and laughter echoed across the park as they flocked towards each other, and soon were chasing one another round the playground, weaving in and out between the swings as they partook in an innocent game of Tag.  One child was It; she was trying desperately to catch one of her friends so that they would take over the job instead.  Then it would be her turn to run away, for none of them wished to play the loathsome role of It.  Or was it because they feared being tainted by the person’s touch?  It must have been one of the two, for while she would struggle to reach them, catch hold of them, they would only flee, thoroughly enjoying the fact that they were vexing her.  Twice she nearly caught one.  Her fingertips were almost within reach of one of the other girls’ dresses, whose russet tresses were flowing wildly from the rush of movement and shining with golden highlights as the rays of the sun struck individual strands.  The target shrieked and shook her head, whisking her skirt free in time to escape capture, laughing with glee at the sight of the girl left behind, miserable and alone. 

Yeah I totally just went with the default beginning of the first sentence lol.  I guess this comes full circle with the first Kagepro fic I mentioned (although I’m not even sure I was aware back then that the Japanese version of the game literally called “It” a “demon”, which is even more fitting).  I believe this was part of a Pokémon series I was writing involving a creepy little girl and Mewtwo who would bring about the end of the world or something like that, but generally I guess I was just going for a “Catcher in the Rye” feel. *shrug* Golden Lights

The pale, rosy fingers of dawn were filtering in through the Granite Cave entrance, basking a small area near the opening in pinkish illumination.  Just out of reach of its expanse sat little Mika, huddled in the gloom of the shadows, watching the light creep steadily towards her as the glowing ball of fire rose slowly towards the East.  She knew about the Light that came from Outside.  There were plenty other small apertures broken into the cavern walls and ceiling that allowed some thin streams of gold brilliance to trickle through.  She had always done well to avoid them.  The brightness was like poison to her skin.  But they weren’t the Lights she’d had described to her by the old Crobat that always resided now deeper within the underground chambers, dozing now, most likely.  He wouldn’t awaken until night came round, and she did not wish to rouse him and perhaps disturb him from a pleasant dream.  She was very wise about things like that, being the young child that she was.  Still, she would have liked to hear a story to comfort her just then.

Last one I could find, about a Sableye who, like Icarus, literally “flew too close to the sun”.  In this interpretation I imagined that Sableye were creatures who could not stand sunlight at all, as it would cause their skin to burn.  But Mika (pronounced like “Mica”) always dreamed of going outside to see the “Light” anyway.  She was eventually tempted by Mew to leave the cavern under her angelic PROTECTion and step into the Light, who was acting as Ho-Oh’s messenger to “recruit” souls to “live eternal as an element of Ho-Oh’s Guarding Flame“, as the PROTECT faded and a “holy fire” began to spread.  I guess I was going for a Biblical/”Rapture”-esque reference.  (...Man I sure was obsessed with the endtimes as a kid. *shot*)

[aphrodaisyacs]

Chapter summary:

Tony (internally): Oh my god I bet he still hates me. Steve (internally): Oh my god I bet he still hates me.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: Gen Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Heimdall (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff, Bruce Banner, Thanos (Marvel), Stephen Strange, Tony Stark, James “Bucky” Barnes, Guardians of the Galaxy Team, Steve Rogers, T'Challa (Marvel), Peter Parker Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Shitstorm with a Happy Ending, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, POV Multiple, Loss of Limbs, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon-Typical Violence

Links if you want to read on tumblr:

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

Can you believe I completed my first fanfic? Me neither.

Here’s the epilogue, aka the long awaited Steve & Tony reconciliation below:

Tony slept through the entire ride back to Earth.

It wouldn’t have been such a bad thing, per se, if it weren’t for the fact that he did it while slumped over the Milano’s main table in a hard stool.

Tony stretches, then winces at the series of cracks that follow.

He’s getting too old for this.

The arrival of the group from Titan receive a less than warm welcome from those in Wakanda. Which, fair enough, since previously all spaceships to Earth had meant bad news. The Wakandan soldiers only put down their weapons after everyone steps out of the Milano. Tony gets practically tackled and squeezed to death by Rhodey, and he can faintly register Heimdall suffering the same fate behind him, courtesy of Thor.

Turns out he had missed a laundry list’s worth of things since stowing away on that space donut, which was only what, a day ago? Bruce is back, so’s Thor and even Loki (who’s apparently blue now and no longer crazy and bent on taking over the world). Steve and the other ex-Avengers are here too, and Tony does his best to ignore the twinge in his chest at the sight of them.

Luckily for Tony and his aversion to long overdue conversations, Thanos’ latest army had left such a mess in Wakanda that everyone is needed to help with the clean-up. There isn’t much they can do about whatever the hell happened to the grass fields, so they focus their efforts on the scattered corpses and whatever alien tech had been left behind.

But unluckily for him, Steve is determined to talk to him, and Tony can’t believe he’d almost forgotten how damn stubborn the man can be. Steve has been unsubtly glancing at Tony’s way for the past ten or so minutes with that slight furrow between his brows, and Tony feigns ignorance and continues hauling alien corpses as if he wouldn’t rather launch himself into space again.

After all, he’s quite sure that Steve hates him.

Sure, Steve had said that he’d help if Tony needed him. But what if the moment he sees Tony again, he gets reminded of how much he hates the man who forced him to give up his shield, his symbol? The man who attacked his best friend, over something that said best friend was forced to do while tortured and brainwashed, even? Fucking hell, the more Tony thinks about it the more he feels like human garbage. He’s terrified at the idea of looking at Steve again for the first time since their fight, only for the other man to look back with hatred, disgust, disappointment or even apathy. And somehow apathy is the worst of the lot, because then it’d be as if Tony no longer means anything to him and that would hurt.

“Tony.”

Think of the devil.

Tony deliberately throws another alien corpse into the back of the clean-up vehicle before turning around.

“Cap!” he exclaims, with probably a bit too much forced enthusiasm. Steve gives him A Look, and yep, definitely too much enthusiasm, because he isn’t buying it at all.

An awkward silence hangs between them and Tony struggles not to fidget too much as he turns his gaze towards everything but Steve’s face. Come on Tony, say something, say something-

“So… I heard that you’ve teamed up with Loki over there. Guess your type is tall, dark and murderous, huh?”

Tony instantly regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth, because if the expression on Steve’s face is anything to go by, he doesn’t find the half-assed joke funny at all.

Figures Tony would ruin things before they can even begin.

The awkwardness of the silence now has a sour edge to it, and the idea of being launched into space again to fight a Thanos 2.0 is becoming more and more appealing.

Suddenly a different voice cuts in.

“Well gee, this is getting painful to watch,” Barnes huffs. He meets Steve’s withering glare with a raised eyebrow as he strides over to them. He turns to Tony.

“Now that I’ve recovered and gotten all the trigger words out-” Barnes heaves out a sigh and looks straight at Tony with a startling amount of sincerity. “You can arrest me. I promise I won’t run anymore.”

“Buck-” Steve begins, but stops when Barnes merely shakes his head. They wait for Tony’s response.

Tony takes in Steve’s tense stance and Barnes’ kicked puppy look. Instantly, any and all emotions he had been feeling at that point drain out of him, leaving him empty and exhausted.

“Look-” Tony begins, “I’ve had some time to think about it and I really shouldn’t have gone crazy on you like that. You were tortured for what, 70 years? I can’t stay mad at you for that, I mean, back in-” Tony’s words get stuck in his throat at the creeping memories of dark, cold and pain.“Back in Afghanistan I barely even lasted like two days before I…” Tony swallows. “Look- I’m sorry. For being hard on you.”

Barnes’ eyes widen.

“What are you-”

“Nuh! Uh! Shh! Let me finish!” Tony cuts in, and winces when Barnes visibly startles. “I’m not saying we go run off and get friendship bracelets or anything, but. I don’t hate you. HYDRA wanted my parents killed, and if it wasn’t you who did it, they would’ve ordered someone else to. So I don’t blame you for my parent’s deaths. I was an asshole to do that two years ago, and I’m sorry, okay?”

Tony’s heart is thumping loudly in his ears, from the dizzying exhilaration of finally getting to word-vomit the messy apology that had been stewing in his mind for too long. That, and also because he doesn’t know how Barnes will react.

Barnes blinks at him, but the act does nothing to stop the tears sliding down his face. He sniffs and shakes his head.

“No, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” His voice is unsteady with barely suppressed sobs. “It was still me that did it, my own hands. You had every right to be angry.”

Tony gives a tired smile, even as his chest twists with guilt. On the side, Steve doesn’t even bother trying to hide his pained expression at the sight of Bucky’s tears.

“Well, I’m not,” Tony says. “Not anymore. There wasn’t a point to staying angry at you. Got better things to do- suits to upgrade, Wakandan tech to play with, spiderlings to look out for…” He knows he’s rambling at this point, so he falls silent as he watches Barnes heave in shaky breaths while Steve rubs soothing circles on his back.

Eventually Steve leans in and says something to Barnes’ ear, to which makes Barnes straighten up. He gives Steve a parting hug, and nods at Tony after letting go. Barnes directs a final “don’t fuck this up” look at Steve, then walks away.

As Steve watches Bucky leave, he becomes acutely aware of the way his best friend had eased the discomfort of the silence hanging between him and Tony.

It’s a relief to see that Tony had forgiven Bucky. But if the way he is still refusing to look at Steve is any indication, then well… Steve can’t exactly blame Tony if he still hates him. Steve would understand if Tony never forgives him for what went down last time they saw each other. But at the same time, it’d feel wrong if he didn’t even attempt to mend bridges. Especially since for the first time in two years, they finally have a chance to talk.

“I thought that Earth lost its greatest defender,” Steve says before the silence can descend into awkwardness again. “But then it turns out that he went off to take care of the real problem. So thank you for saving the universe.”

Tony lightly scoffs at that and crosses his arms.

“Nah, that was mostly Gamora and Nebula. I helped, a little.” He finally looks at Steve, with a carefully neutral expression. “But you took care of things on your end too didn’t you?”

“Well,” Steve says. “That was mostly Wanda and Thor actually. But I guess I helped, a little.”

Tony lets out a small huff of laughter at that, and Steve can’t help the amused smile spreading across his face.

The silence between them is now companionable. Steve would like more than anything to bask in it a little longer, but he clears his throat.

“I’m sorry. For hurting you. And for hiding secrets from you.”

Tony is wearing an unreadable expression on his face, but he doesn’t say anything so Steve continues.

“I could’ve- This could’ve been avoided if I just told you about the stuff I found on Bucky from the SHIELD-HYDRA files. But I just- couldn’t. I thought it would be better if I didn’t. And I was wrong.”

Tony sighs and drops his arms.

“I’d be a hypocrite if I pretended that I didn’t do the same thing with Ultron. I knew you guys wouldn’t approve so I kept it all hush-hush. I thought that I’d show you after it was done, then I’d be proven right and you’d have nothing to complain about.”

Steve rubs his hand over his face. What a pair they make. No wonder it had taken so little for Zemo to tear apart the Avengers.

“And I guess…” he continues. “I also want to thank you for forgiving Bucky.”

Tony waves a hand dismissively.

“Like I’ve said, I’ve had some time to think on it.”

He glances over at Steve.

“But what are you gonna do now?”

It’s a loaded question, and they both know it. Being constantly on the run hasn’t been easy- it’s something that Nat had gotten used to while he and Sam kept pushing themselves forward, but he can see the toll it’s taking on Wanda, even without the additional tiptoeing she had to go through to see Vision. The Accords have diminished the Avengers in more ways than one, and Steve has to admit that they only won this fight against Thanos through pure luck. Things would be so much easier if they just worked together again, without the shadow of the Accords looming over their heads. And now the tentative thread of reconnection that he’s formed with Tony might get ruined again by the very thing that tore them apart.

“I don’t know,” Steve finally admits. “But… probably back to what I was doing before.” He shrugs. “There’s not much else a wanted criminal can do.”

For the first time since the conversation started, Tony looks him dead in the eyes.

“But you don’t have to be one.”

Steve sees the faint glimmer of barely concealed hope in Tony’s eyes, and suddenly it clicks. Of course- Tony doesn’t hate him. Or at least, not anymore. Somewhere along the way, he must’ve forgiven Steve as well. It makes sense now, the way Iron Man and the Avengers’ hunt for Captain America and the other ex-Avengers on Ross’ orders always seemed half-hearted at best. Tony’s always had a bigger heart than he’d let on.

“Tony, I- I’m sorry, I really am, but…” Something sinks in Steve’s chest at the way Tony’s expression begins closing off. “There’s no way things can go back to the way they used to be. The Accords- they’re gonna look at this-” He gestures in the direction where the group from Titan- the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they had introduced themselves as- are playfully competing to see which one of them can clear the most alien corpses. “-and see dangerous individuals who need to be controlled and contained, even though they helped save the universe.”

Tony exhales loudly.

“Well I think that given all the shit that just went down in the past 24 hours, they’re gonna have to update the Accords anyway. This whole thing’s gonna be a paperwork nightmare, but…” he trails off, and waves vaguely with a hand.

“Yeah,” Steve says, understanding what Tony’s too tired to articulate. Then, something suddenly crosses his mind.

“Loki and Bruce also said that Asgard’s been destroyed- there are escape pods filled with Asgardian refugees who were evacuated from the main ship after Thanos attacked. Chances are, they’re gonna be heading to Earth now that it’s safe.”

Tony blinks at that, then sucks in a breath and runs a hand over his face.

“Hoo boy I am not looking forward to that. Our government bigshots already get their panties in a twist when it’s refugees from a different country, but from an alien god planet? It’s gonna be a complete shitshow.”

Steve grimaces, because he knows Tony’s right.

“Well, at least Thor will be the one representing them, since he’s now their king,” Steve offers. That, and Thor has a track record of being charismatic and well-liked by the general public. Not that either of those things had helped Steve much at all, but he can only hope that things will turn out better for his friend. After all, he can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to be forced to flee your own planet.

“Then will you be sticking around to help?”

Steve is aware of the way Tony is watching carefully for his reaction. He turns his gaze towards the devastated Wakandan fields, at everyone who is helping with the cleanup. He imagines standing with them, giving a statement to the general public on the intergalactic war that had taken place right under their noses. He looks at where Thor is laughing with the Guardians as he joins in with their games, and tries to imagine the myriad of ways in which the international governments would object to their very presence on Earth, would object to the Asgardian refugees on Earth. His mind is already spinning with counter-arguments for each and every one of them. He looks at the other Avengers scattered throughout the field, at the way they’ve seamlessly clicked back together as if they were never separated in the first place. He looks at where Princess Shuri is chattering excitedly with the young spider boy, and he looks at where the raccoon had broken off from the Guardians to speak to Bucky about something which makes his best friend frown.

Steve looks back at Tony. He’s not quite smiling, but it’s close.

“Maybe.”

He’ll see where things go from here.

[dachi-chan25]

Game of Thornes- Season 7 episode 2 Recap (Pt.2)

Warnings: Spooooooilers; not a D@nee fan my dude, no hate either just critizism; Jonsa shipper so most of the fandom thinks I’m delusional.

————-

6.- Dat raven from Oldwarts reaches WF (OK but like where is Edd’s raven about Bran???) and Jonny boy is in Brooding mode, he calls for the Lords to tell them the situation, they are not happy at all about being all buddy-buddy with a Targ (and rightfully so) but Jon has a good reasons for going himself (even if I don’t like it):

- He is KitN and unlike other rulers J0n has already proven (remember when he wanted to have a 1 on 1 fight with Ramsey so no one else would die??) he takes responsability over his people and if it’s a trap he’ll rather sacrifize himself than an innocent.

- He is the only one who saw and fought a WW and the only one who can explain how much of a threat they are.

-The raven asked specifically for his presence, and to be allies (they both seek that) there should be some amount of trust, he NEEDS their help after all.

Of course it’s not so simple, because D@nyy has Melissandre with her (you know the same J0n exiled) and she wants him to surrender the North to her (which wasn’t mentioned in the raven and OH!! That if we believe the leaks she is gonna send him on a pointless stupid hunt to prove he says the truth (so no trust on her part I see)

Also, Sansa speaks up to remind him about their grandfather and how he was invited and then killed by a Targ (very fair point) and of course she doesn’t want him to leave!!!

“You’re abandoning your people! you’re abandoning your home!”

Some fellow shippers (I’m not saying your feelings/thoughts aren’t valid guys you are allowed to have your own reading and I am in no way trying to impose my view) mentioned they were wating for her to include ‘you’re abandoning me!’ but she already did in adding home, what makes WF his home is not the fact that he was raised there but that his family is! So in a subtle way she did acuse him of abandoning her.

And can you all blame her??? Sansa already lost so much, and wheter you ship them or not, it’s clear she loves him and doesn’t wanna loose him.

Problem is Jon is the same, y'all remember he wanted to fuck off to Essos after being brought back?? He had nothing left to loose and no fucks to give anymore, Enters Sansa giving him a purpose to live and someone to give a fuck about so of course he is gonna do anything in his power to protect her and the home she fought so hard for!! He is once again gonna fight for her now on the political side and honestly I dig so much this ship!!!

Anyway Jon is not getting much support (even Little Lyanna doesn’t want him to go) but he already made up his mind, Sansa is worried about who the fuck is gonna run the place in his absence and, be still my heart, because he says the North is hers (my shipper heart!!!!) and she is sooooo touched. Also that Jaime/ Brienne parallel.

Creepyfinger is pleased and honestly I can’t wait for Jon to choke the slimy bitch.

7.- Back in the Citadel, Sam says to Slughorn (I can’t remember his actual name, sorry) he knows how to cure greyscale (how very convinient) but hold your horses Potter!!! the thing is dangerous and you really shouldn’t do it. But of course he is gonna do it anyway, because I guess it’s more important to cure his ex-Lord Commander’s son than keeping his place on the Citadel (Slughorn said the procedure was forbbiden so I’m guessing they could expell him for this) to become a Maester for the NW like he was supposed to. Honestly this is all so convinient to have one of D@€nerys stans out and about again *sigh* Also the dialogue was like a porn and I was laughing way to hard even though the scene was disgusting.

8.- Eww that transition was just ewwww I’m glad I wasn’t eating when I watched it, so now we have Arya on her way to KL, and Yay! Hot Pie, I Love him so much, and LMAO Arya and her pies.

So at last Arya hears about the BoB and in that moment she forsakes her revenge to go home (Imma cry again) I think that’s the best damn decision because things are going to be ugly in the south.

9.- Jon in the crypts!!! (It’s happening y'all!!!) I must say that’s a pretty good looking statue of Ned tho. So LF is supposedly trying to get in his good graces but is he really??? I mean his words and tone are polite, he talks about how HE was the one who sent Ned’s bones back to WF (ya you trick ass bitch but you got him killed!!!) and wistully talks about how despite their differences they both loved Cat, and then smoothly reminds Jon about how Cat didn’t care about him and even says she was wrong (I called it!!! That LF was gonna say the last best chance quote from the trailer to Jon) but why was he talking about such a thing, we know Cat (and his bastard status) is a very touchy subject for Jon, as a matter of fact on a deeper level one starts to think maybe he was trying to provoke Jon (Starks. Quick tempers, slow minds is his motto afterall) and even I was surprised by how calm he acted when LF wanted a thank you for saving my life (that FUCKING creep). Until we get the ‘I Love Sansa, like I loved her mother’ it’s such an intresting way of phrasing it, isn’t it?? Because moments before LF states he loved Cat in a romantic way, and when he says he loves Sansa adds the last sentence to leave no room of doubt about what kind of Love is it and what his intentions are. What shaked me was Jon’s expression, he was furious, while moments ago he let LF words slide, a single mention of Sansa and he wants to kill the creeper. Jon’s threat is both terrifying and unexpected ( also I know everyone was freacking out about the sister but Jaime also called Cersei that and they had like 3 children together, same applies to but J0n said D@ny’s name OMG twu wuv, like LMAO Qyburn also said her name and I don’t see anyone shipping them) if LF wanted to provoke a reaction out of him it wasn’t that one definitely. Far to raw and protective to be brotherly.

Jon’s anger doesn’t fade even when he let’s the little creeper go!! He is downright murderous. But then he looks at Sansa and it’s like his whole demeanour changes, I was like what in the Seven hells is this!!!! And the little wave gives me hope they’ll see one another again in this season.

Now what I find real intresting is that last bit with LF. He gets outta those crypts, baffled and massaging his neck, when suddenly he seems to figure something out (you can see it in his eyes) and his first reaction to whatever he was thinking was looking at Sansa (she is looking at the spot Jon just left in such a wistfull and sad manner) and I think he knows something is happening there… Or maybe I’m delusional.

10.- Arya and Nymeria reunite and all is sad, but I think it linda makes sense, Nymeria is not her because Arya herself is not her fully, she had to strip from her identity to become a faceless man, and was using that to take revenge, but now she is stepping back from that destructive path because she has the option to come back home and it’s beginning to be herself again. maybe when she finally does Nymeria will come to her.

11.- I totally lost my shit in here, so Yara and Ellaria are flirting and drinking (so much for this is a war!! ) and far to relaxed and distracted to be part of a group that wants to take the Iron Throne, (Theon is super done with them btw) suddenly all hell breaks loose and Euron’s armada is on da house (he got to get that gift for his Lady) everyone gets crushed, the snakes are murdered and Ellaria/Yara taken prisioners. Also Theon is like LOL no I’m out. But are we supposed to think OMG Euron is totally GOT’s Jack Sparrow!! Cuz I think Ellaria and Yara (also Varys and Theon) were total dumbasses. In being sneaky 101 we learnt that if you wanna smuggle someone somewhere you gotta be disguised (see: LF getting Sansa on the Eyre and Varys taking Tyrion to Essos) Ellaria and Yara had those huge Greyjoy banners like 'here we are!!! The enemy!!!) and they also already knew about Euron’s armada but they choose to believe he was just gonna stay in Pyke pouting.

Like I said totally moronic!!! They could have disguised the ships and the people, traveling in broad daylight and maybe then they could have succeded.

Problem is everyone underestimating Cersei (except Sansa) even when they worked for her (Varys) and lived with her (Tyrion) and that’s what is allowing her to gain footing. As of now D@nys lost her armada and Dorne, her only allies are the Tyrell and with the Unsullied gone her only option is to go dracarys on KL (fuck the writers for this tho, she was actually making a good decision and you force her to hurt people, but maybe it’s intentional)

Also Sam is helping Jorah, but the leaks said the Tarly were going to die by D@nys hands. Looks like someone is gonna regret his decisions.

Anyway, leaving out the Stark bit I wasn’t very happy with this episode because the leaks keep being confirmed and they are still such bullshit (still I’m hoping some or most are fake)

That’s it. And yup I know I didn’t mentioned Greyworm/Missandei sexy time but I am very meh about it, yes it was tender and all but kinda pointless to me even if I like these two a lot.

[kittensjonsa]

Some thoughts on season 7 plot leaks, general GOT, jonerys and Jonsa (Meta)

Hi, first of all I wanted to say thank you for your tumbrl. It’s always full of nice and positive quotes, articles and metas. I’m a sucker for ships, I guess I just like to see people happy. Jonsa has quickly become one of my favorite ships. I don’t have a tumbrl or any real platform to express my opinions about it but if you allow me I would like to share some of my thoughts with fellow shippers. 

Well, first I have to say I didn’t watch GOT since the beginning, actually I started watching after season 6 was out. My first introduction to the show was a clip of jonsa, I thought it was the clip of a couple and then I read they were siblings (this was confusing and disturbing…. until the pilot, I’m talking to you J/C). If you want to keep watching GOT you have to get over incest issues or…. family sexual intercourse, so I got over it. Then I watched the whole show, I haven’t read the books cause I don’t want to confuse myself with information that has not been revealed in the show yet or may never be.

I was surprised to see how many people hate Sansa in the fandom, I find her character and story arc very interesting. I love her story, and I love Arya’s, and Bran’s, and Jon’s. Why is people comparing them? Why is people pitting them against each other? Specially the 2 sisters. One is not better than the other, they both make mistakes, very stupid mistakes but they also survive in their own right. Arya is not strong because she knows how to fight (physically), she is strong because of who she is. Fighting is an skill, just like playing an instrument, sewing, drawing or being good with numbers. I’m a terrible athlete and I can only do maths for daily use but that doesn’t make me weak, stupid or less awesome. I have other abilities and those are my strengths. You are strong when you know what are you good at, that’s how you play your part in a larger picture, that’s how you fight. Sansa has her witty, her courtesy and her words, she is fighting from inside (by the way she has no blame on what happened to Ned, she is responsable for getting herself stuck in Kings Landing which she fully knows and understand)

Then I saw a very vocal group of people shipping jonerys and after 6 seasons I have to say…. I still don’t see it. Yes, I see the parallels but there are so many parallels with so many other characters. I do believe a meeting between these 2 characters is inevitable and needed for the story to progress. But this is not a romantic love story between the 2 heroes. This is a story about power. D&D said it 6 years ago when they started the series. This is a story about people who wants power ( Littlefinger, the Tyrell’s, The Frey’s, Daneyris and so on), the ones who have power and want to keep it (the Lannisters) and the ones stuck in the middle (the Starks and the realm).It’s about what power do to people, all that they loose in the process and the pain it causes them. It’s very well explained in the first season.

What I love about GOT is that everybody can be the hero or the villain, it all depends of the lent with which you see it. You are a hero if you play for your family and a villain if you play against them. Honor is not that simple either. Why is an oath-breaker less honorable for saving millions of lives? why is an oath-breaker better for following his heart? Do you ever really win? There’s no absolutes in this world. 

I know this is long but I have a lot to say, bare with me please. Which leads me to the leaks and promo pics. There’s been endless discussions about them, I’ve heard all kind of opinions, pro and anti. That’s why I write about them now. The leaks came very early on and with them set pics that corroborate most of them. Jonsa shippers where pissed off and disappointed. I know I was but mostly cause those weren’t little hints or clues of what’s to come but entire plot lines and episode scrips. But here are the good news. Plot lines don’t give us real context or understanding of how the characters are feeling about their situations.

- Littlefinger is plotting and pitting Sansa and Arya against each other ( doesn’t tell us if this is working, it’s setting a dramatic conflict. Guess what? This is a drama)

- Jonsa is having arguments and they are separated the whole season (doesn’t said in which terms, we haven’t seen any dialogues there)

- Jonerys is having sex (according to the leaks they meet in the second episode, get separated at the third and reunited and have sex in the seventh. It took Jon and Igrytte 10 episodes with no separations to finally get in bed together…. and they were in love) And since the structure of the show gives us an average of 10 minutes per character each episode, sometimes even less. How are they gonna develop a real relationship there?

Lots of characters haven’t been mentioned in the leaks either. I doubt they don’t have story arcs this year. Also most of the leaks were predictable and very plausibles. Jon meeting Theon and being super angry at him (we all saw that coming). Jonerys meeting (at this point of the story it’s necessary). Arya and Bran coming home, also very necessary. Sansa is taking care of littlefinger…super necessary. Euron is siding with Cercei, yeap, very predictable. All the signs are in the last season.

JONSA  AND JONERYS THOUGHTS

I’m a jonsa shipper. I’m a shipper but I love good stories more. When one of my ships don’t work on a narrative level I understand. What frustrates me is when writers try to fit a ship  as fan service. Now, I’m not a Danerys fan. The only moments I get to enjoy her story is when she learns something and show some humility. Unfortunately this is not very often. I love Tyrion and Jorah. Her best moments so far has been with them cause they are actually smarter than her and humble. Danerys has been since season 2 very entitle, very proud, she even crowned herself (until you get to Westeros and you are appointed you don’t have a real crown, otherwise everybody can be crowned). Saying you are king or queen doesn’t make you either of them as the show has proven so far. Dario said last season she wasn’t born to sit in a palace and give orders, she is a conqueror (very different from being a ruler). She lacks humility which Jon has in spades.                             Her story has been very separated from all the important ones and that’s everybody complain, mine too. That’s why excite me she is finally making it to Westeros, her story will actually matter. It can be argue that Jon story has been separated from everybody too but he is a Stark (ok, %50 Stark) but a Stark nevertheless and all that happened in Kings landing and the North affects him for that reason. I love Jon, he is my guy.

Putting aside my feelings for Danerys, having J/D falling in love doesn’t do any real service to the story, at least not from my point of view. They would be a terrible couple. She is power hungry, wants the Iron throne more than anything and will do anything for it. Jon wants to serve the people, fight for their lifes. Danerys wants a king just in title, she wants to rule alone. Jon doesn’t want power but he knows he wasn’t born to be a submissive husband either. They would be fighting to be on top all the time. Two people on the top at the same time is physical and mentally imposible. As I said before the plot leaks don’t give too much room for a romance development there, everybody is busy doing their thing, but we won’t know until we see. If what the show is trying to do is a political alliance by marriage then why jonerys would have sex first and soo quickly? It can only go downhill from there ( that’s actually good news for jonsa shippers). Also Jon parentage revelation will be huge. It will change everything for whoever makes it into the final season. That’s what excite me the most. If jonerys hook up I really hope it serves the story somehow and not be just fan service.

I needed to get through jonerys first so I could explain why jonsa makes more sense narratively speaking. Sansa and Jon started being so idealist and they had a hard awaken to the world. They endured so much to be who they are right now, they were the last people they expected to rely on at the end, and that makes it even better for me. While everybody was hyped for a reunion between Jon and Arya (that would be awesome) I found jonsa more suitable.Two characters we have never seen interacting with each other but with previous history. Both really free for the first time, both damaged, both carrying their scars and still feeling the pain. Jon needed purpose and Sansa had a big one. All their scenes together were a delight to watch, from their first meeting, through the fights and the “we have to trust each other” moment. That’s how you develop a relationship. No sex there, no making out session, that last one was a real intimated moment. Aside from my enjoyment of Kit Harington and Sophie Turner on screen chemistry and the way their scenes were edited and directed, jonsa works narratively as an end game. Jon could die at the end, that’s a real possibility, I know. But damn, Jonsa getting married at the end for political reasons, for duty, to keep the North and the realm together is far more satisfying. Cat said this to Robb once, what Ned and she had grew stronger and lasted longer than passion. I’m team Stark all the way, that’s the family we spend more time with, we are rooting for them, for Ned’s family. 

Me:

A lovely meta was sent by a nonny and just had to share it for the Jonsa perspective.

Oh yes my kink is seeing ppl happy and enjoying themselves and letting them ship whoever or whatever they want because honestly if my tumblr could be anything, it’ll be for anyone to have a good time, a good laugh and just see that there’s always a silver lining no matter what. Life is hard and can’t let that get to you. If any of my silly posts made you smile then my work is done 😊 Oh and sorry for the bad jokes/puns lol. Also, for this less than eloquent reply.

And I ship JonSa like it’s the air I breathe lol I have been since the books (low key) - their POVs and values are so similar like how a couple should be.

So imagine me when S6 came, I pounced on it with everything I had in me, that ship gives me life!! And so I am glad to have found a fantastic fandom right here on tumblr and Jonsa shippers are just the best! (really they are!)

Thank you for the mail Nonny!! Bless you and hope you’re having a great day wherever you are!! And yes, Jonsa for life babyyy!! 😘