#imagining a modern day life where they’re happy and not whatever endgame was

[lightsupluvr]

pov: steve finally convinced bucky to learn how to cook so he’s excited to cook for him for the first time. steve records bucky bc he’s proud of him and bucky gets embarrassed so he grabs the camera and points it back at steve.

[outerspacesteve]

headcanon #10: steve and bucky’s notebook

[TFATWS EP. 3 SPOILERS]

So... Bucky is using Steve’s notebook, leave me alone to cry, please :’)

Imagine Steve giving him the notebook after Endgame, because there’s finally some peace and quiet, so he suggests to Bucky that he catch up on some of the things he missed since WW2.

And later, when Bucky is flicking through the pages, he stumbles across a note:

“Buck,

If you ever need grounding, if you ever need reminding of who you are, just come here. I know this is an awful thing to think, and that everything you went through was horrific, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like, but I’m glad we got to see each other again. 

When I woke from the ice and ran into Times Square, I remember the first thing I thought. It wasn’t confusion, it wasn’t shock or anything like that, no, it was “Bucky would’ve loved this.” It was like something straight out of those sci-fi books you used to read. So, in that sense, I’m happy that you get to see it, that you now have the time, and the peace, to explore.

It’s bittersweet in a sense - they got rid of the old laundromat that was down the road from your ma’s, and the grocery, where you used to sneak some extra food from when Mrs Smith wasn’t looking, that’s gone, too. They replaced it with some modern hipster café thing, I don’t really know, I only went there once. I wouldn’t recommend it though, the coffee wasn’t great. 

But he parks are still fairly similar. I never did find out whether our old apartment was still standing. I didn’t really want to know; felt like finding out they’d replaced it would be like cutting one of the last threads tying me to you, and our old life. 

But I got you back. Can you believe that? You were sent to hell and back, countless times, and yet we still found out way back to each other. That’s some next-level destiny shit, Buck.

You were the one person who always knew me. The real me, not the Captain America bullshit. Just plain old Steve Rogers, the little scrawny kid who you had to constantly check back alleys for, any time you were somewhere without me. You never did care for the whole stars-and-stripes façade, and for that I’m thankful. 

I could write pages and pages of things I’m grateful for, or memories that I treasure, but bottom line is, you were everything to me, Bucky, you are everything to me. I’m not sure what I would’ve done without you. You’re worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. You managed to save my sorry ass more times than I can count. And no matter how many times I told you that I could get by on my own, or that I had them on the ropes, you said you knew, but you stayed anyway. 

Remember in ‘37, and winter had just begun, and I had come down with another bout of pneumonia? It was the first time I was bedridden for weeks on end since my ma died. I remember you doing everything you possibly could to help. Of course I was the most uncooperative son of a bitch on the planet.

I must have been a pain in the ass; coughing all night so you hardly slept a wink and would be dead on your feet the next day at work, being too stubborn to let you help me cool down or warm up, refusing any of the soup you would make me. But none of that ever made you leave my side.

I remember, whenever you weren’t fussing over me, or telling me, “Steve, I swear to god, drink this soup or I’m going to force-feed it to you,” you would be telling me about this new book you’d seen in the shop window on your way to the docks. 

You said it was called The Hobbit. You said it was an adventure book, about a group of dwarves searching for some dragon-guarded treasure. You practically had the blurb memorised! You couldn’t afford to buy it, what with me out of a job, and you spending all your money on food and medicine, but you went to the bookshop every day, just to look at it. You said you tried to read a few pages each time you went, but that Mr Robinson soon caught on and threatened to ban you from the store the next time you left without buying anything. You even checked the library, but it was a new book and they didn’t have it there, either.

You didn’t let me get a new job that winter, said it was better not to risk getting ill again, and that we would be able to figure anything else out. Obviously, I put up a fight, but eventually, you managed to convince me. I did take up a few art commissions, though. And I managed to scrape together enough money to buy you the book for Christmas.

I remember the way your face lit up. Even though our apartment was freezing, and our Christmas tree was tiny, and dying, and all kinds of pathetic, none of that mattered. I was just glad to see you so happy after all the stress that I’d put you through over the last few months. You said you didn’t mind, and you gave me the tightest hug, and said that your present looked kind of meagre compared to the book. It wasn’t, but even if it was, I would have loved it anyway, because it was from you.

You devoured that book within days. I don’t think I ever saw it more than a few feet away from you. The pages yellowed, became worn and thin, the cover faded and creased, but you still carried it around as though it was your prize possession. I was secretly so happy that it was me who had put that smile on your face.

And then the following spring, when I was once again ill and bed-ridden, you would sit by my bedside, and read The Hobbit to me. Even through my fever-induced haze, I could tell how much you loved the book - it shone through into your voice, into the small smile you’d wear when we got to your favourite parts. I don’t remember much of the storyline, but I do remember you. I think I paid more attention to you than to the book itself.

They wrote sequels, you know? And there’s movies now, too. I never did get around to reading or watching them, though. I couldn’t bring myself to do it without you. Felt like that was something I should be doing with you. You should watch them, sometime. Sam says they’re good.

Anyway, I love you, Bucky. Never forget that. None of it was ever your fault, it wasn’t you. But you’re free now, free to do whatever you want, free to be whoever you want to be. And if you don’t believe that, then believe me, at least until you can believe it for yourself. 

Thank you, Bucky. Truly. For everything.

Love, Steve”

And on every few pages, randomly spread throughout the notebook, there’s a little drawing or doodle that Steve has done. Sometimes they’re drawings of memories shared between him and Bucky, sometimes they’re things Steve thinks Bucky would like, and sometimes they’re just completely random things that he felt like drawing. There’s even a cartoon drawing of Sam doing something stupid, and Natasha just stood off to the side, rolling her eyes. 

Bucky loves all of them. But the one he likes best is the drawing of him and Steve on the bench at Coney Island, sat shoulder to shoulder, mouths covered in ice cream, and massive grins on both of their faces.

On the bad days, when his head is too loud and he can’t seem to quiet it, he’ll open the notebook. Sometimes he reads the letter, sometimes he just looks at the pictures. Usually, though, Bucky will open the notebook to one of the lists Steve had written when he came out of the ice, and he’ll watch something that Steve had already crossed out, signifying that he had watched it.

He would imagine what Steve’s reaction to the film or show may be, and what Steve might have thought of it. And sometimes, it really does feel like Steve is right there watching with him.

[3pirouette]

Fic: Iterate (1/1)

Title: Iterate By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette Spoilers: Up through Endgame. Disclaimer: They're not mine. Word Count: 2953 Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Summary: Steve lived through the 21st century twice, the second time hurt much more than the first.

A/N: I literally made myself cry today on the way to work while I was working this out in my head. It was SUPPOSED to be FLUFFY. I’m not exactly why I decided on this format, all I know is that it felt right. I hope you enjoy. Steggy is just mentioned, more Steve-centric. 

It was supposed to be a stupid, fluffy story about Old Steve living with his granddaughter and being a LITTLE SHIT to her all the time because he’s 100% comfortable with modern things and it drives her nuts. I’m sorry.

Also, please pay attention to vague time stamps. Certain details are changed for impact. Hence, AU (Even though I FULLY BELIEVE that once the stones are placed back there is only ONE main timeline where Steve lived, was Peggy’s husband, and that’s how he showed up at the end of Endgame. Fight me.)

AND I’M SORRY.

~*~ October 2023

He supposed he’d always been waiting for this day. Steve knew he’d be around for it, one way or another. At least, he’d always assumed that, though he’d thought he’d experience it in a very, very different way.

He didn’t know the exact time, just a vague recollection that it was early afternoon, that there had been sunlight they’d blocked out with the blast shields, that they’d tried to eat lunch but they were all too nervous.

Funny. Same thing happened to him today. He couldn’t manage to get anything to slide down past the lump in his throat, couldn’t fill his stomach to calm the butterflies. He tried coffee first. It was warm and robust but had no effect.

He pulled out the tin from the back of the cabinet and made a cup of tea from one of the few remaining bags there. He sipped it and imagined Peggy sitting across from him, telling him off for using old tea that would be bitter and teasing him for how much sugar he put in it.

He drank a beer and wished to god that he had just one flask of whatever it was Thor used to carry around. He needed something to calm his nerves.

He caught his reflection in the window over the sink. For just the briefest second he saw his young self, so broken by so much, not knowing that today would be the day he’d be put to his greatest test. But the sun shifted and he could see every wrinkle in the refection, every grey hair, the haziness to his eyes that the doctor said was the beginning of cataracts.

A lifetime ago this day had changed everything for him without him knowing. Today, he was just as eager for the moment when Banner would put on that glove, this time for very different reasons.

~*~

In the end, Steve Rogers managed to live a fairly normal life.

Once back with Peggy, he kept away from the spotlight. Unsure if he’d created a parallel timeline or if he was living in his own, he did his best to avoid changing things.

Because even when he wanted to change things, he realized very quickly, he couldn’t.

He became enamored with sci-fi and fantasy that included time travel, with physicists who wrote books on the subject. He wanted to understand it, to know the unknowable.

He eventually decided that he was prescribing to the Doctor Who Theory of time travel: that it was all very, very complicated but that some things, no matter what, had to just happen in their own time and some things were simply fixed and would always happen the way they were supposed to. He’d seen this first with Zola- as he’d tried to get the man and his influence away from SHIELD they only dug their heels in deeper and kept him. It was later reaffirmed when, despite every effort, The Winter Soldier escaped him and Howard and Maria were left for dead in their car, young Tony devistated.

After that day, he stopped trying so hard to avoid squishing butterflies and focused instead on enjoying what he had.

What he had was, after all, quite a lot: A wife, two young boys, and a second chance at the life he’d missed while fighting other men’s wars.

~*~

Despite knowing all that laid ahead for him and his friends in the future that was now his past and yet somehow once again his future, Steve eventually started longing for the new millennium as decades past him by. He missed the technology, the ability to have whatever kind of entertainment he waited at the tips of his fingers. Though he’d known a good portion of what would happen from history books, once he’d gone back, he’d lived an entire lifetime full of surprises, experiencing things like the moon landing and the Vietnam war first hand. But now, as he grew older and he knew his days with Peggy were numbered, he longed for the small comforts of familiarity, for e-mails and smartphones and heated steering wheels on cars that parked themselves.

As the 2000’s arrived, he felt himself get more and more comfortable with the things around him: the news, the events he’d already experienced once and would again in a different way. It felt good to feel at least on solid ground with the world around him, knowing what was to come for him.

His home was lonely after Peggy was gone, and he made his only granddaughter an offer she couldn’t refuse: free room and board if she helped him keep up the house. An elementary school art teacher, Maggie was happy to step in for a little financial relief as she tried to navigate the churlish economy.

If he never told her that he was perfectly capable of taking care of the house by himself, it didn’t quite matter. The company was more than enough. And if when she smiled she looked just a little like her namesake and it warmed his heart… well, that wasn’t a bad thing, either.

The best part, he’d found though, was that it was hilariously funny to drive his granddaughter crazy. He’d lived through the early decades of the 21st century as a young man. He’d learned how to navigate the internet, interface with the most complicated technology there was to offer, and listened to music that wouldn’t be written for years to come. He loved watching her face as he sang along to Billie Eilish on the radio or realize that she didn’t have to explain to him how to use an iPad or Facetime.

~*~

She yelled at him the first snowfall. Skidded her car (all-wheel drive, thank goodness he’d convinced her to get the newest model) into the freshly shoveled driveway and tore out of the driver’s seat, yelling at him a mile a minute.

They’ll think I’m some kind of self-centered princess letting a centenarian shovel this and try to kill himself!  She’d yelled, trying to take the shovel from his hands.

He was still stronger than he should be, and held his ground. I don’t want you hurting yourself on this stuff.

Me? She’s screeched, and he’d laughed. He couldn’t help but smile and find her concern at least a little comical. Deep down he understood, knew that he should be trying to sell his age a little more, be trying to hide that he was still strong and fast and in better shape than some of his middle-aged neighbors.

As much as he’d like to push her off, tell her to go inside, he couldn’t. She wasn’t a self-centered princess, but she was his princess, and he bent to her whim like a branch in the wind. He’d kissed her on the head and finally handed her the shovel, leaving her the last bit of the path to her to clean up, and promised to take better care of himself.

She didn’t know that when she left for work, he still went down the basement and bench pressed 225 on an easy day.

~*~

She teased him about his record collection. Even though records had come back in style, she still thought it was silly to have a whole wall dedicated to them when she could access nearly all of musical history on her cell phone. He showed her his own digital playlists and popped in his airpods when he was reading sometimes, but he loved the sound the needle made when it hit the wax.

One night, when he couldn’t listen to her teasing anymore, no matter how good natured it was, he played dirty.

You know, there’s a new song coming out by one of those artists you like. WAP? Heard it’s a cover of a song your Nana and I used to dance to all the time.

Two weeks later, he heard the familiar opening bass to the song Barton had played incessantly in the gym while he was working out and had quoted for months, the song that he hadn’t been able to get away from even in the past with random phrases like macaroni in a pot popping into his head at the most inconvenient times.

Barely half a verse in she’d either shut it off or turned the music way lower. At dinner she couldn’t look at him.

That was not at cover, Pop Pop. And I don’t want to think about you and Nana like that… ever.

~*~

She cried when she came home, a year after Peggy’s death, to see Peggy’s beautiful vanity had been moved into her room, Peggy’s jewelry box on it front and center.

What did you do? She’d kept asking him, tears in her eyes.

She’d want you to have it. He knew it was the truth. He hugged her tight as she sniffed and knew he’d made the right decision. He remembered Peggy sitting with Maggie on her knee on the small stool, letting the girl paw through her necklaces and play with her big fluffy make-up brushes. Maggie reaching for her eyeshadow and Peggy deftly pulling it away. Peggy being just a little too slow with the lipstick and the toddler bouncing around the house, proudly showing off the circle on the bottom half of her face to anyone who would look at her.

They’d loved their boys, but Maggie had both of their hearts in a way they hadn’t been prepared for.

Steve had to make up and excuse to leave the house the next morning when Maggie came down to breakfast, wearing the single pearl drop necklace he’d gotten for Peggy on their 25th wedding anniversary and her signature red lipstick. It was a good pain, but the first time he saw her in her grandmother’s necklaces, it was pain none the less.

~*~ Spring 2018

He knew the date it was supposed to happen. He’d kept up enough to know that it would, too. His other self was out there, somewhere, fighting what would become the biggest battle of his life.

Steve decided to focus on the small things. He kept the house stocked up with food and drinks, nonperishables that would last months and even years, toilet paper and paper towels. He ordered big metal shelves for the basement and made sure there was enough for multiple people for the long haul.

He didn’t know what would happen to his family in the snap- who would make it and who wouldn’t, but he was going to be sure whoever survived would be set for the following months where there was chaos, food and water shortages, and fear.

It would be a long five years for anyone that was left.

Even though she was home most nights, he asked Maggie for a standing Thursday night date. Some nights he showed her how to keep the house up: where the water main was, how to shut it on and off, where the gas line was, what to do if the roof started leaking. He made notebooks full of lists of things to do, how-to’s for the house and for life, and even, when he was awake in the middle of the night, wrote her letters so she wouldn’t be lonely.

Somehow, he just knew it would be him this time. He had survived the first snap, but if there were two of him and one survived, the other, statistically, did not. Thanos was very clear on how half worked.

Maggie, at first, had been scared. His family knew he had a knack for predicting the future, but didn’t know quite why.

Are you dying? Maggie had asked, fearing the worst when she started to realize that their Thursday night take-out and movie date was about more than just spending time together.

No, he’d said so very often, I just want you to be ready for anything.

Despite all of her questions, she went along with it.

When the day came, he couldn’t quite keep the sadness out of his eyes. Couldn’t quite smile at her. They ate pizza in front of the TV, watching a comedy Maggie had picked. He kept his eyes on his watch. It was coming.

His fingers itched. Like he could already feel his cells pulling apart.

He reached out, taking her hand in his and covering it with is other hand. “Maggie, you know I love you, right?”

She smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She’d sensed his anxiety all day. “Of course, I do. And I love you, Pop Pop.”

He looked away and then back at her. “I promise you, whatever happens, I’m alright, and I’ll be back.”

“Pop Pop,” her eyes filled with tears, “What are you talking about?”

He shook his head, “I’ve left you everything you’ll need, and I promise I’ll be back.”

A tear fell from her eye as she squeezed his hand tighter. “But where…”

It was as if the world went silent as it started to happen. Though the television droned on in the background, he could swear the air was stiller. He started to see the dust fill the air and tried not to breathe.

But it was wrong.

It wasn’t him.

Her hand was falling to nothing in his, the fear in her eyes haunting as the skin of her cheeks flecked into the air, swirling before falling along with the rest of her into a pile on the couch.

It was so fast. So fast.

And it wasn’t him.

“No…” The word fell from his lips as a whisper, sobs starting to form in his throat.

~*~

He wondered, nearly every night for five years, if Thanos knew. If it had somehow been a conscious choice to keep him alive, to make him suffer just a little more. To make him watch his other self on television trying to promote healing.

Sometimes, he realized that this was a blessing. His sons and granddaughter were safe while they were snapped, protected by the fabric of the universe. Bucky had told him that he didn’t remember anything from being snapped, didn’t feel any different when he woke up than if he’d taken a long, heavy nap.

Somewhere, his family was taking the universe’s longest nap without him.

But they’d be spared these memories. They’d be spared lonely nights of missing loved ones and too little to eat while the world sorted out the jobs that were suddenly empty to keep things running for those that were left behind.

They’d be spared the fear of the gangs that started roaming the streets of half abandoned cities, looting for food and clothes in stores that had never officially closed but also couldn’t open with their owners simply gone.

They’d be spared the rolling blackouts and the contaminated water scares.

They’d be spared the fear of the country as the government suddenly found itself missing elected officials and the infighting and the rhetoric that came with martial law and hasty elections.  

They’d be spared so, so much pain and loss.

Every day, he relived it all, twice over.

He counted every day for five years, making his way through each week and month motivated by only one thought: they were coming back. He needed to be ready for them, for her.

He helped his daughter in law keep their house, managed his other son’s apartment in DC and kept his things ready and waiting, made sure Maggie’s things were safe and in working order, made sure her bank account stayed open and her phone bill was paid. He’d never, not once, considered he’d be the one left behind, and the logistics of all there was to do left him busy for the first few weeks.

Everyone told him his hope that the dusted would return was infectious, but after the first year, people stopped listening. He knew, for a fact, they’d come back, but everyone else didn’t. Even the past him was operating on the idea that they’d never be back.

Some days he didn’t make it out of bed. He laid there, talking to the ceiling, whispering to Peggy, wishing she could talk back, wishing she could be one of the ones brought back. He missed her with a ferocity that hadn’t changed since the first time he’d been in this time, but had only been tempered and strengthened by a lifetime together.

As the days drew closer to the five-year mark, he began to make arrangements.

~*~ October 2023

He cleaned the living room and set it to the way it had been that night. He pulled out every note and letter he’d written Maggie and his children and put them in the kitchen, ready and waiting.

He sat on the couch, facing the blank television, a new, piping hot, pepperoni pizza sitting in front of him, untouched.

He still couldn’t eat.

He still didn’t know if this was the right timeline. As he’d gotten closer to this day his faith had wavered. What if all he’d come to believe wasn’t true? What if this wasn’t the one fourteen million? He wanted to believe, but he didn’t know for sure.

He looked at his watch, watching as the seconds ticked by. What were a few seconds to him? He’d lived more than one lifetime, and that had been enough. He had barely made it through these five years the first time. The second time had almost truly broken him. He was ready for this to be over. He was ready to stop having to deal with loss and to be able to live whatever time he had left with the family he loved.

He held out his hand, and waited.

[embarrassingresultofmyfreetime]

2020 Masterlist

Here’s a list of all the fics I’ve posted this year! (Listed by category, then chronologically:)

Link to my ao3 where you can read all of these: embarrassingresultofmyfreetime

~

Currents wips:

And They Were Quarantine Mates

An old disease has resurfaced on Earth- one which most humans recover from but is permanently lethal to Time Lords.

Because of this, the Doctor stays on Earth to make sure her humans make it through okay.

And because of the Doctor, the Master- against his better judgement- also chooses to stay.

Reluctant to leave the safety of the Doctor's Tardis, the Doctor and the Master find plenty of ways to pass the time but it can be difficult to enjoy each other's company with so many things left unsaid.

Good thing they have plenty of time in isolation to work it out.

Word Count: Currently 88,172

-

Spyfall: Battle For Humanity

This is a little number I like to call: Roleswap AU with Dhawan!Doctor and Whittaker!Master

It's sort of a rewrite of Spyfall p2 but it's better.

Word Count: Currently 5,688 (will be about 12k when finished)

~~~

-

Main fics (completed):

Please Tell Me Why Do We Worry

Summary: After learning about the final loss of Gallifrey, the Doctor takes some time to grieve and finds herself with surprisingly mixed feelings about the whole ordeal.

To her surprise, a knock at her Tardis door soon reveals the Master not only alive, but in uncontrollable mental agony as he reveals that the Doctor's suffering has been amplifying his own emotions via their telepathic bond.

Note: (After so many kind and positive comments on this fic, I finally gained the confidence to start posting more! A huge thank you to so many people it means so, so much to me!)

Word Count: 5,068

-

Second Chances

When Graham finds a teleportation cube offering an all-expenses-paid vacation, he, Ryan, and Yaz take up the offer and give the seemingly-distant Doctor some time to herself.

After the events of Skyfall 1&2, the trust between the trio and a certain timelord is shaken. However, when their vacation quickly becomes a nightmare, it's up to the Doctor to bring about peace on an upsettingly familiar planet.

Note: (A rewrite/fix it of S11 episode Orphan 55)

Word Count: 7,130

-

All’s Fair In Love And War

Having escaped alive and alone, the Master dwells on his failure and uncertainty at what to do next.

Purely by accident, he runs into a version of the Doctor he's never met before and she gives him a much needed perspective on their relationship.

Word Count: 4,653

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Truth and Reconciliation

“I... I destroyed a lot of things, but not this... trove of secrets. This is what started it all.”

Missing Scene where the Master goes to Gallifrey and discovers the truth of the timeless child for the first time + alternate ending to The Timeless Children episode

Word Count: 7,563

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The Doctor Finally Gets Some Rest

(Ch2 update Missy pov)

The Doctor promised to guard Missy for 1000 years, but Missy doesn't mind returning the favor.

Word Count: 5,671

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I Wouldn’t Wish It On My Best Enemy

"Just deserts appeared to finally be served for the Doctor. All her running had come to an end, all the lives she's taken or caused had finally been assigned a numerical value, and all the morals she had once believed in seemed to crumble to dust right before her eyes.

A life sentence.

She had JUST BEEN TOLD she would never die, and the first thing the universe does is give her a life sentence.

What kind of cruel joke is that?"

Basically: The Doctor reflects on herself while in prison, the Master rescues the Doctor and actually helps her, and idk read the tags

Word Count: 4,629

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Brand New Reality

In an alternate timeline: The Master is killed in the Time War but the Doctor finds a way to salvage his oldest friend's mind by binding it to his Tardis and building him an android vessel as a way to interact with the physical world.

The Doctor also manages to save the Time Lords from their war- but he is still a renegade in their eyes. As punishment, the High Council uses the Doctor- and by extension the Master- as their personal diplomats/field agents.

The Master isn't too happy about being trapped on the Doctor's Tardis, the Doctor is fed up with being the equivalent of a dog on a leash to the Time Lords, so in a moment of anger and also pure luck- they break out from their world and end up on a parallel one with a very different version of their universe and very different versions of themselves.

(Shalka!Universe Doctor and Master meet their modern counterparts- the Thirteenth Doctor and Dhawan!Master)

Word Count: 10,148

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The Imposter(s) Among Us

The Doctor has been searching the universe for the Master, but it's only when she takes a break to help a damaged space vessel that she runs directly into him!

The Doctor has a hundred and one things to ask him, but there's no time for any of that now. The ship is barely functional and if the mysterious murderer doesn't get to the Doctor first, then the trigger-happy crewmates might throw her out the airlock before the killer gets a chance.

Word Count: 12,655

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My Dear, Doctor…

The Doctor investigates an anomaly to find that her previous self has stood up their oldest friend for the umpteenth time.

Confused as to why the Doctor can't recall ever receiving Missy's invitation in the first place, the Doctor goes searching for answers and ends up finding far more letters than just one…

Word Count: 6,657

~~~

-

Series:

And They Were Happy Au Parts 1-4:

Part 1: Dinner and a Show

All his lives, the Master had always believed that he and the Doctor could hold on for about the same amount of time. He always imagined that when they reached their last lives, they would both give all this up and spend their retirement years bickering and raising bees or whatever. The Master didn't particularly like bees, but he had always imagined that the Doctor did and as long as they were together, that was enough to satisfy him.

What he had discovered in the Matrix had proved his ideal endgame impossible.

The revelation that the Doctor was The Timeless Child meant that the Doctor would always live on. They would always evolve and survive no matter what happened. The Doctor would always race to people in need; and now, they would never have any reason to stop.

(AU where the reason the Master wanted the Doctor to kill them both in The Timeless Child is bc he's on his last life)

Word Count: 5,120

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Part 2: Dinner and a Show One-Offs

"The Doctor did her best to space out her visits with O. For every couple adventures she had with her 'fam', she would stop by his home once or so. Sometimes she let months slip by, because she knew that the longer she waited, the less of O's limited time she used up.

She felt guilty to calculate it, but if O was already in his mid-thirties and he lived a full human life...

Suffice it to say, she wanted it to last for as long as possible. She had never had a situation as stable nor as safe as she now had with O. After everything they had both been through to get to this point, she refused to jeopardize a single moment.

For all the pain the Master had caused her, O was well worth the wait."

(By popular demand, a continuation of 'Dinner and a Show')

Word Count: 10,926

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Part 3: Unjustifiable

O- having no recollection of his actions as 'The Master'- returns to being Earth's Horizon Watcher.

O is proud of his work and he cherishes the Doctor's frequent visits, but it's becoming increasingly apparent that she's been keeping more secrets about his past than he had theorized.

To make matters worse, the arrival of an advanced species of aliens on his doorstep brings with it a whole new plethora of problems. Something terrifying resurfaces when O hears they're searching for a Tardis and things go terribly wrong.

Word Count: 23,870

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Part 4: Found Family

The Master finally gets around to seeing the universe in a more peaceful way and runs into a young woman looking for her father.

Word Count: 3,663 (Will possibly be updated at a later date, but complete for now)

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Oneshots Inspired by others (specific inspiration in the beginning notes of each):

All Alone In The Dark

While heading back to Earth, the Doctor hears someone calling for her help.

She tracks it back to the Master- injured yet alive- and finds him trapped in his own head, reliving his last confrontation with The Time Lord Council before the destruction of Gallifrey.

Word Count: 1,926

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You Again

The 10th Doctor and Missy each escape their last canon appearances believing that the other is dead for good.

So imagine their surprise when they run into each other at a party in the 1920's.

Word Count: 6,943

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Sick Day

The Master has everything set up for his latest evil scheme but when he tracks down the Doctor, he realizes his best enemy is in no condition to fight. So the Master does what any good nemesis does and takes care of him.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Word Count: 2,807

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Prompt: "Right now, I don't know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge!" "Can I pick?"

The Master’s Tardis had traced the call seven minutes in advance to this exact time and location. He pushed open his Tardis door to find himself in front of some no name bar with graffiti scrawled on the side, situated in front of an empty ravine. He was on Earth, and there was probably a similarly ramshackled city around him, but he didn’t so much as spare it a glance.

The Master’s steps were determined, his jaw clenched, and his hands shaking despite his signature device in hand.

He had been on the other side of the universe, licking his wounds like any old villain would when disappointed by their latest nemesis showdown. It all made his blood boil to have caved so soon. To come back and HELP the Doctor.

The Doctor still had O’s number and her call was scheduled to be made in exactly seven minutes. A hysterical, agonizing call that begged the Master to intervene. He wasn’t sure what was worse, hearing the Doctor in so much despair, or the disappointment that hearing her in such agony somehow didn’t lessen his own.

Word Count: 2,410

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The Beginning and The End

Prompt: First Doctor, Dhawan!Master, Gallifrey, and the dialogue: "I know my words mean close to nothing for you. But I do, in fact, love you very much."

Basically Theta (Academy Era Doctor) accidentally runs into the Master on a burning Gallifrey

Word Count: 4,499

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Kisses Like That

The Doctor's never understood why humans enjoy kissing so much- but a certain, somewhat familiar woman piques his interest.

(Missy goes back in time to give 10 a lil kiss)

Word Count: 1,885

Spyvember 2020

Collection of short fics I did inspired by Spyvember prompts (from Tumblr)

Word Count: 15,506 (6 separate chapters)

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Thank you to everyone who has inspired me, commented on my work, read any of my writing, and overall has just supported me in any way this year!! Thank you for keeping me motivated and helping me improve as a writer!

My best wishes to you in the new year! <3

[iamanartichoke]

Hi! For the ask game: Iron Man 1, 2 & 3 and Loki

iron man 1 - what made you first get into fanfiction?

I’ve been into fanfiction, in general, since before I knew what it was. I grew up in the 90s, so the internet wasn’t really a thing, but I still spent time writing fanfic - Baby-sitters Club, the Outsiders, etc. When I did eventually get the internet (around 2001), I discovered fanfic communities and started writing/posting stuff.

I did that for a few years before I delved into writing original stuff, so then fanfic wasn’t really a thing for me until Loki. I specifically got involved in fanfic for Loki bc I just had such strong feels for him. I didn’t set out to write any; mostly, I discovered AO3 and started reading it, but the more I read, the more I wanted to write my own. And now here I am.

iron man 2 - are you a secret fan or does everyone know you love marvel?

Kinda both. My family and a few irl friends know I love Marvel and write fanfic (and by irl friends I mean my ex-boyfriend and @mostlytoska​ lmao) but mostly, no, I kinda keep it to myself. I sort of prefer that? For one thing, keeping it to myself makes it feel more mine, somehow, but for another thing, I also don’t really like the effort it takes to explain it. As someone who’s spent most of her life explaining the appeal of various nerdy things I’m into, I’m just kinda over it. If that makes sense.

iron man 3 - underrated fanfic trope?

For Thorki specifically, there aren’t enough “50k+ words,Thor starts out as an asshole, he and Loki severely clash and create lots of angst, then Thor slowly becomes a better person and has to reach out to Loki and they start seeing eye-to-eye  while Loki has to decide if this dumbass oaf is worth it or not (while he pretends he’s not falling in love with him already)” fics - but, that is literally just an “underrated to ME” trope, haha. I tend to prefer if they’re human AUs as well, but that’s not a requirement. Idk why, something about asshole!Thor becoming a better person bc of Loki specifically (instead of Jane) really revs up my feels engine. 

It’s a fine line - I don’t like Dark!Thor, bc dark Thor without redemption is just depressing to me, so it really does become a little niche of fics I really, really like that I don’t find nearly often enough. 

Aside from that, though, I don’t really have any other tropes that I wish there were more of; I think my tastes tend to align pretty well with what’s been put out there already. Oh! I do wish there was more asexual, demiromantic Loki fics, though (again, preferably for Thorki but I’d read other pairings, too). To date, I think I’ve found like, two. 

loki - what’s the most outlandish (or it could just be your favorite) au you’ve ever read/wanted to write/thought of?

Ahh I don’t know! I don’t tend to have a very outlandish imagination, lmao. My favorite AUs are human!AUs, though. I like them because I love to see how the characters we know and love in-universe are reimagined in modern settings and how it makes their dynamics change. With Thorki, there are a lot of human AUs where they’re not related and have various creative “meet-cutes,” like Loki owns a bookstore and Thor walks in one day, or Thor is a doctor and Loki is the whumped-out patient who ends up on his rotation, or whatever. 

For writing personally, I’ve wanted to write a human AU where Thor and Loki are the modern equivalent of princes, or at least politically visible, so they’re like members of a royal family (like a fictional version of William and Harry). I’ve also considered Odin being POTUS and Loki and Thor are the “First Sons,” just bc I’ve always (before Commander Cheeto, anyway) been a little fascinated by the dynamics of the “First Family” (I watched Air Force One a lot as a kid). 

I also really, really want to write a reincarnation fic I’ve had in my brain since Endgame came out, which I think I’ve posted about before but basically Thor, about 500 years after Endgame, crosses paths with a Loki who is the reincarnated version of his brother, only this new person has no idea who he was or even that reincarnation is a thing. (Subconsciously, he remembers.) The fic becomes about Thor pursuing Loki and Loki running away from his subconscious memories and feelings, so yknow, lots of angst with an inevetable happy ending. I haven’t attempted anything with it yet bc I’d want it to be pretty epic and so far I just haven’t had the brain energy to make it happen. One day, though. 

Thanks so much for the ask! 

mcu fanfiction ask game. 

[misscrawfords]

Shipper asks: 1, 2, 4, 19, 27, 30, 32, 40?

1. Talk about the first ship you ever had.

Probably Laura and Almanzo from the Little House books. My mind was blown when I got to the end of Little Town on the Prairie and Almanzo asked Laura out and suddenly little 7 year old me (or whatever) discovered romance. I can still basically quote the dialogue from the proposal scene in Those Happy Golden Years from memory.

2. Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life.

Harry/Hermione. My first fandom OTP, the first ship I wrote fic for, the first ship I read and wrote meta for that essentially took me through my entire adolescence and formed my views on relationships, fiction, writing, and fandom. I love you, H/Hr.

Matthew/Mary. The ship that got me back into fandom for better or worse after a long break, which introduced me to some of my closest online friends and at least one genuine offline friend too, the ship that led to me writing a novel that I’m truly proud of (it’s Consolation Prize and you should go read it now) and become semi-well-known as a writer to the extent that I met a literary agent in Manhattan. (Tragically, I have not yet actually written anything for her and it was like eight years ago now so IDK if she would even remember me or care about me but still - it happened!) Matthew/Mary was literary, intelligent, historical and full of longing and I basically did a masters degree because of them.

Ben/Rey. The ship that smacked me in the face one day when I watched a trailer and suddenly realised that they were the culmination of every literary and romantic impulse I had been searching for since I was about 15. I was not expecting to fall so hard and so deeply. They’ve reignited my writing once more and I have learned so much from them and the fandom that has passed on into my understanding of stories and mythology. Once again, I owe a fictional ship a heck of a lot.

4. What’s your current NOTP?

I’ve been thinking about this all day trying to think of one and I don’t think I have one... There are ships that don’t do anything for me, of course, and ones that make me go “Huh? How on earth do you get “romance” from that?”. Ron/Hermione is my biggest one. Finn/Rey is another (and currently even more so thanks to JB’s ill-advised comments). But NOTPS? Nope. Because ultimately shipping is fictional and there’s no such thing as a bad ship, just personal preferences. I actually quite like (as a kind of academic exercise) taking the apparently least obvious couple you can imagine and then somehow finding a way to make it work, because actually what it’s doing is nothing to do with romance per se, but everything to do with finding common ground and developing as a person through your relationship with another person and that is a very rewarding thing to think about and gets to the heart IMO of what makes an interesting ship.

19. Have you ever shipped something despite yourself?

That feeling of “We’re going here? Oh yes, we are definitely going here” and hating yourself? I feel like I have... but I can’t think when! I’m trying to think of my most absolute trash ships but... but usually they’re not really bad.

27. Is there a ship you’ve shipped for most of your life?

I guess, Darcy/Elizabeth? I first read P&P when I was 7 and I started reading P&P fanfic when I was 11 on the computer in the library and I guess I still ship them so... yeah!

Also Fatty/Bets from Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers series because I definitely shipped them before I understood when shipping was and I must have been very young when I was reading those books.

30. Name a couple of fandoms in which you have no ships.

Being in a fandom with no ships!? What is this!? Well, I guess I haven’t really shipped anything in Doctor Who since the days of Rose Tyler so that probably counts. And I can’t say I really ship anyone in The Good Place. Like, Chidi/Eleanor is fine. It’s cute. It’s obviously endgame. But I’m not invested, not going to read fics or anything. If it didn’t happen I’d be okay also.

32. Share five must-read fics.

Oh, this is LOVELY. Fic rec time!!

1. A Girl in Black by @khaleesa 

I'm not as sad as I should be. That's what makes me sad. The Titanic sinks, Patrick dies, and rather than wait at home to meet the new heir of Downton, Mary tries her luck in London, where she meets Sir Richard Carlisle instead. [Alternate S1]

Richard Carlisle/Mary Crawley. (Such an aBooSiVe ship lolooolol.) Still the definitive Downton fic for me. Such a good AU!

2. Down the Isle by @loversinfiniteness 

Down the Isle, a reality dating show, is roommates Jane and Tom's guilty pleasure. Under the sun of an indeterminate hot country, millions watch the contestants in their search for love. The weird twist? They're all characters from P&P, Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion. But this isn't a butchering of Austen: love, whether it's in bikinis or bonnets, is ever the same thing...

(A slightly unhinged Love Island AU featuring many of Austen's characters. Everyone is wittier and less eager for romance than the real contestants on the show. NOW COMPLETE!)

If you like Jane Austen and you like modern AUs you need to read this even if you think it isn’t your cup of tea. Trust me, it is.

3. Disconnect by Weatherbug02

Rey was an unpopular YouTuber for years before her channel skyrocketed. Kylo was a YouTuber with millions of subscribers who couldn't keep his mouth shut. After a misunderstanding, both parties became part of a famous rivalry known throughout the internet. Neither had seemed too keen on resolving it, but after five years, people start to notice a change between the two.

Reylo social media modern AU and one of my favourite fics. I would recommend Play to Win here but basically everyone has already read it!

4. The Eagle’s Nest by HeartofAspen

COMPLETE! Hermione's eighth year at Hogwarts is already going to be difficult in the aftermath of the war, but it is further thrown into upheaval when Headmistress McGonagall orders a re-sorting of all students to promote inter-house unity. But when the Sorting Hat sends Hermione to Ravenclaw with Draco - and without Harry or Ron - how will she cope? [AU, Dramione] Prevalent alchemy.

Yep, this is 70 chapters of slow-burn Dramione with very interesting world-building. Go read! 

5. And All the Devils Are Here by queenofchildren

It's a simple story, really: Girl meets Boy. Girl hates Boy. Girl and Boy infiltrate the most popular reality dating show on television to expose its unethical treatment of contestants and have to act like they're falling in love... And suddenly, the lines get blurred between the sparks flying on screen - and the real thing that grows when the cameras stop rolling.

This is a Benvolio/Rosaline from Still Star Crossed modern AU reality dating show fic. Huh? You might say. Or maybe you’ve never watched the show. Not important. This is a great fic with bonus Shakespeare references.

40. If you could change one thing about your OTP, what would that be?

The ending, of course.

But which OTP does this refer to, I hear you ask.

ALL OF THEM, YOU FOOL, ALL OF THEM.

Ask me about shipping

[ramajmedia]

Sean Gunn Interview: Avengers: Endgame | Screen Rant

Plenty of actors have played multiple superhero characters, even in the same franchise: Mahershala Ali's announcement of Blade comes after he's already been Cottonmouth in Luke Cage. But only Sean Gunn has played two characters in the same movie. Most Marvel fans will recognize him as Kraglin, the Ravager inheritor to Yondu's arrow in Guardians of the Galaxy, but he also serves as the on-set reference for Rocket.

Gunn reprised both roles in Avengers: Endgame (although the former was pretty much cut from the release movie), and was recently on the film's I Love You 3000 celebration tour. With Endgame now available on digital, Blu-ray and DVD, Screen Rant caught up with the actor to discuss his role in the MCU.

How's the whole I Love You 3000 Tour going?

Oh, man. It's excellent. I understand this is a crowd around the block here. I’m really happy to be here; I love interfacing with fans. It's really one of my favorite things.

And it must be quite nice, now that both Infinity War and Endgame are out, that you can actually talk about these movies without fear of accidentally saying something; without having to worry about spoilers.

Oh, you got that right. I'm no longer living in fear of a poison blow dart around the corner, because someone may have overheard me spill information that I shouldn't have been spilling. It's good.

I mean, how was the secrecy element for you? Especially in Endgame, because Rocket’s in it so much, and you’re obviously there on set again in the final battle again as Kraglin. How was that for you, dealing with the amount of information that you had?

It was crazy, actually. Because I knew for a long time, exactly what was going to happen in those movies, more or less. I mean, we don’t get full scripts, but the rules are really great about letting the actors know what it is that they need to know. So, I had a pretty good sense of the plot of both movies for a long time. Now, fortunately, I'm solid. I don’t have loose lips; I know to talk in circles when I need to, and I know how to steer a fanboy in the wrong direction.

For you, how different is the experience of being on an Avengers project to a Guardians film? Obviously, you're much more focused on doing the Rocket stuff than the Kraglin stuff. But how is doing that different in this sort of environment?

You know, it's different only in the sense that all projects are different from one another based on who's producing and directing and making the movie. They're more the same than they are different. I mean, certainly the Russos have a different way of working than my brother does, but all directors are like that. Every artist has their own their own way of working. But all the movies have Kevin and Lou and Victoria as part of the whole process, kind of steering the ship. In that way, they're very similar, and it was very comfortable for me to be on set.

I don't know if you've seen, but you're becoming a bit of a social media star now that the Endgame home video release has happened. There's so much behind the scenes footage of you on the set of this movie, on your Rocket legs, walking around. People are absolutely loving it.

It’s hitting me now. I didn't realize it was such a big deal, but I keep getting asked about it, so maybe it’s bigger than I thought.

It's massive. Every day, it feels like you're popping up on my timeline in one scene or another. How does that feel to know that your performance as Rocket is obviously meant to be there to help the other actors. You're not meant to be the center of attention at all. And, all of a sudden, you are. How does that feel?

Yeah, it's a strange experience. Because you're right; I think of my work as Rocket being one piece of the puzzle. You know, it takes a whole lot of people to make the character; it's very much modern filmmaking. Rocket is a computer-generated character that a lot of people collaborate to make as realistic as possible. And I'm one of those people; it feels great. But it's not my face, it’s not my voice, and I don’t ever feel that I’m looking for recognition for it. I'm really there to kind of help tell the story and help make the movie. But I don't know, man. It's cool. I don't know what else to say about it.

Bradley Cooper does the voice of Rocket, and it's such a big part of giving that character so much of his innate emotion. How much do you guys work together? Do you discuss stuff, or is that something that doesn't happen? What was that situation like?

No, we don't work together all, actually. I think the work he does is brilliant. And it just so happens that the first movie that we made, I was there and did my thing to help the [visual] effects team and help the other actors. And then my understanding is that what he needed was there for him when he got in the booth to really make the character whole and bring as much life as possible into it. And that worked, so that's the process that we've continued over the course of the movies. I kind of do my thing, and I let the VFX team use what they need and try to give the other actors what they need. And then, hopefully, Bradley's got all the pieces of the puzzle, and then he puts the puzzle together.

It really is, as you say, modern filmmaking. It's this amazing, collaborative thing where no one person has ownership. It's a fully collaborative thing.

It really is. It really is, I agree.

Did you ever imagine you’d end up doing this thing that is just so forward-thinking, so creative? Did you ever imagine you’d fall into this sort of thing?

No. If anything has helped me in modern filmmaking, it’s the fact that I'm very old school when it comes to being an actor. I come from a tradition of people who are performers and stage actors and commercial actors and things like that. And you go where the work is. That's the old showbusiness thing for actor is it, whatever the work is, that’s what you pick up, and that's what you do. And it just so happens that in the modern age, that includes things like video games and participating in playing computer-generated characters and every new thing under the sun. So, I think that that helped me. Yeah, man, I go where the work is.

I have to ask about Kraglin, who was obviously also in Endgame as a really a small cameo and stuff. I wonder if you could talk a bit about the new fin that he has?

Yeah, all I can tell you is really what we shot. Obviously, some of the fragment footage was cut from the final battle for good reason. From a narrative standpoint, they didn't want to cut to the Battle of the Sky, which makes sense, but I all I can say is that Kraglin was wearing his fin. He had the Yaka arrow on him, but it was sheathed and remained sheathed. So, I think all of that qualifies as canon, and the rest of it is up to anyone to speculate on that one.

Next: Avengers: Endgame’s Final Battle Cut An Entire Aerial Sequence

source https://screenrant.com/sean-gunn-interview-avengers-endgame/