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ghostcombustion · 3 years ago

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Rebound

Steve Harrington x F!Reader

A/n : this is my first time posting on Tumblr so don't be scared to give me some construction criticism

NOT EDITED

Summary : Y/n has been in love with Steve since they were children. Everything changed when Steve turns a different page and leaves Y/n behind. When they meet again, Y/n realizes her feelings never went away.

Mentions : depressive thoughts, one sided romance, heartbreak, suicidal tendencies

You hated to admit it but you had been in love with Steve Harrington since the first day you met him. As a kindergarten, you didn't fully understand what your parents meant by getting a divorce. For a hot second, your immature mind thought it might of been a good thing.

That was until your mother moved out. That's when it hit you that divorce wasn't a good thing.

Tommy Hagan, your neighbor, was one of the first to hear about your parents divorce and he wasted no time picking fun at you because of it. Every minute of every day, he bullied you non stop until one day you just went silent instead of arguing. The young boy stood their confused but still continued.

The next thing you knew, he was on the ground holding his eye and crying like a baby.

"That's what you get..... bitch..." You snarled while flipping her hair.

And that's when you saw him, Steve Harrington. Your heart fluttered as he laughed at the boy crying in the ground.

From that day on, you two were close. Constant playdates, lunch swapping and playing stupid made up games.

Everything was good until highschool hit. The two of you went two different directions. Steve started getting close to Tommy and soon was one of the most popular kids. His preppy style and love for sports brought him to the top of the pyramid.

On the other hand, there was you. Your love for grunge and singing songs on your guitar while occasionally rocking out with Eddie Munson or Jonathan Byers had brought you to the very bottom. You'd been classified as one of the freaks.

For a while, you didn't mind. Popularity never really mattered to you. It was a foolish thing to think that.

Slowly, you felt Steve pulling away from you. The constant excuses of being sick and grounded just broke you to bits. The one day, you just stopped. Why chase a guy who wanted nothing to do with you?

It was painful to watch your first love and your best friend fade into a different person. You spent endless nights crying in your pillow and wishing that he would someday change his mind and come back. There were multiple nights that you were lost in the though if you dying. And each time you thought of it, you'd imagine he would be there. Steve would be there and apologize for being a shitty friend and would show he cared.

But that was all a fantasy. A stupid fucking fantasy.

Unlike the other "freaks", you were never bullied. Tommy was scared of you and warned the others to stay away from you like you were a plague.

You helped in the search of Will Byers seeing as he was your friend's brother but ended up getting looped into a new world of things you wished you could unsee.

When Dustin Henderson came for you to help, you didn't hesitate and helped him with everything he needed. That included trapping an interdimensional dog in a storm cellar.

Before you had time to even breath, you were working with the one person you doubted you would ever talk to again.

His eyes staring into your own ignited a flame you thought had been blown out. When he stood by you, you couldn't ignore the way your heart felt like it was going to jump out of your chest. How when his hand brushed against his, your body just melted and everything would feel so right.

It was the night after everything had finally finished. The demodogs we're finally gone, the mind flayer had been defeated, and the gate had finally been closed.

To blow off steam, you went your own way. Not really wanting to be apart of the celebration at the Byers. Nobody protested when you left. They were just all so excited to have life return to normal.

Unbeknownst to your knowledge, Steve had filled you into the forest. It wasn't until you heard a large snap from behind you that you noticed.

You had heard from Jonathan that him and Nancy had sorta broken up. Not officially but both parties knew their time together was coming to an end.

"Why are you following me?" You questioned while resting your body on the side of a random tree.

Steve casually shrugged, "Just felt like it." He replies casually much to your dismay. His hand ran through his hair making your heart burn.

"I was thinking-- I dunno." Steve took in a sharp breath and began walking up to you. "Y/n..." He breathed while blocking you from leaving.

Your mind went blank and your body went totally numb as his soft lips pressed against your own. Of course you wanted to kiss him. You really wanted to fucking kiss him. Maybe call him your own and finally become what you always wanted to be.

Instead, a pit in your stomach grew and a single tear fell from your eye. You pushed him away.

"No." You said sternly while harshly biting on your bottom lip.

"what? No it's obvious you like me Y/n!" He reasoned and furrowed his bushy eyebrows.

You shook your head and sighed, "I do. I can't lie Steve. I've been in love with your for years but I not going to do this. I'm not going to be your rebound after Nancy."

The brunette in front of you scoffed, "A rebound?"

"Steve, it's been like two fucking weeks. You can't get over someone that quickly." You swallowed while trying to hold back the tears threatening to overflow.

"You're crazy..." He laughed while pacing back and forth. "You think I'd use you as a rebound? I thought we were friends!"

"We were friends!" You shouted. Your face scrunched up and you turned your head to the side. "We were friends until you blew me off to be friends with Tommy and Carol. And maybe we had something going on okay? A redemption of some sorts but Steve, you ruined it. I'm not going to let my feelings influence me into being a distraction for you!" A soft breath left your lips. "You can't use me as a distraction--"

"I can if I want!" He blurted out. Immediately his eyes filled with regret and he reached a hand out to you. "Y/n, I didn't--"

You smiled and shook your head, "Like I said, a rebound."

#steve harrington #stranger things #oneshot #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington angst #steve harrington being an asshole #one sided crush #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington romance

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 4 years ago

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Dream SMP Recap (June 1/2021) - All Roads Lead to Rome

Ponk tears down one of the towers of L’Llamaburg for overshadowing his supreme fridge.

Tubbo creates a new outpost just outside Las Nevadas to overlook the country.

Techno has a birthday party with the Syndicate and Quackity comes over to bring a message.

Quackity speaks with Foolish in Las Nevadas about his future plans for the country and roads.

Niki finds out about Wilbur’s revival.

Bad asks for Techno’s help with destroying his enemies, as he’s upset about L’Llamaburg violating the buffer zone agreement. Puffy confronts Bad about the brewing war.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Foolish

Tubbo

Technoblade

Nihachu

BadBoyHalo

Captain Puffy

---

- Ponk tears down one of the towers of L’Llamaburg

- Ponk sends Foolish through the labyrinth he built

- Afterwards, they visit the turtle sanctuary

- Ponk shows Foolish that he tore down the tower for overshadowing his supreme fridge. Foolish points out that he and Puffy don’t have the best history. Ponk is still bitter over Puffy destroying Sacrifice’s shrine

- Tubbo creates an outpost on a mountain just outside of Las Nevadas to keep an eye on the country

- Quackity comes over and asks what Tubbo is doing. He says he’ll speak with Tubbo later

- If anyone asks, Tubbo will say it’s just a cookie outpost from Snowchester

- Foolish comes over as well and tells Tubbo that he sent Punz on the mission to find the nuke

- Tubbo asks why Foolish has left Snowchester. Foolish says he’s trying something new -- he’s joining Las Nevadas, actually

- Foolish takes Tubbo on a tour through Las Nevadas. He asks if Tubbo would want to join Las Nevadas, but Tubbo declines

- Techno starts off in his house. He walks outside to find Niki, Phil and Ranboo launching fireworks for his birthday! They also set up a table outside the house with some cake

- After they eat some cake, Techno asks what he’s missed. He’s gone off into the wild to train, while Phil thought he was hibernating. Techno asks if they found out Tommy actually died. Phil tells him he did, but Dream brought him back

- Speaking of things brought back...Wilbur is back too. Niki and Techno are both shocked. Phil tells them that he’s actually living in Phil’s house currently. He tells Niki Wilbur’s changed for the better

- Techno brings Steve out

- He notices the new forest, which the others say sprouted up. It just appeared

- The subject returns to the revival book. Niki says, if Wilbur and Tommy have been brought back, there’s one person left that can be brought back that they don’t want back: Schlatt

- Niki asks if there are any new governments. Phil says no, Snowchester is still there but nothing much has happened that they need to step in on

- They solved the government issue with brute force. Techno says it was “mild property damage,” but Phil disagrees, saying it was mass destruction. They agree to just blame everything on Dream

- While he was away, Techno studied the blade. He suggests a training session for Niki and Ranboo

- Techno has something to do. He leaves, noticing Quackity standing on a hill nearby

- Quackity says hello. Techno tells him it’s his birthday (he’s not sure how old he is, though) and Quackity thanks him for helping with the Egg. He asks if Techno has visited Dream (Techno hasn’t)

- Techno went to the Dream SMP equivalent of Italy on vacation

- Quackity tells Techno he’s been visiting Dream, and that while in prison Dream seems to be a completely different person. Techno asks if Dream’s been treated well, and Quackity says he’s fine

- Just a few days ago, Dream told Quackity that he wanted Techno to visit, that he finally wanted to call in a “favor”

- Techno explains that the “favor” is that he has to get Dream his favorite meal at some point, since they were at a restaurant once and Techno forgot his wallet

Quackity: “He’s changed a lot. If you walk in there, he doesn’t seem like the person he’s always been, which is weird, how a person can change just like that.”

Techno: “It’s strange what five months of near total isolation can do to a person...as we know, it’s always a positive effect.”

- Sometime during this weekend, Techno will visit. Techno asks if Quackity has any written message from Dream, and Quackity says he can probably get one. He only has notes right now

- Techno asks if Quackity is telling the truth. He would hate to be lied to on his birthday...Quackity says he’s not lying, and as he said, he’s glad they set aside their differences

Quackity: “At the end of the day, scars fade away, Techno...”

- Quackity says goodbye and leaves. Techno wonders if he can trust him

- He returns to the others and they celebrate some more

- Phil takes them all down to show off the training arena he made in the basement

- They go back up and talk some more

- Meanwhile, Quackity meets Foolish at Las Nevadas. He asks about Tubbo’s outpost, and Foolish says it’s a cookie outpost. Quackity tells Foolish not to trust it, realizing he actually hasn’t talked to Tubbo recently

- Quackity is bothered by how clear the view of Las Nevadas is from the outpost and questions why Foolish didn’t stop Tubbo from building it

- He asks the last thing Foolish did in Las Nevadas as they walk over there, and then whether or not he’s already discussed the possibility of a “contract” of formal citizenship

- Quackity wants to get to know Foolish better. He makes sure that he can trust Foolish, confide in him certain information

- Foolish remarks that Quackity seems like the kind of guy who would make a lot of enemies, and gives him a set of Netherite armor

- Speaking of making enemies, Quackity takes Foolish over to the lake to look out at Wilbur and Tommy’s headquarters. Someone paid them a visit

Quackity: “Have you ever met...Wilbur?”

- Foolish hasn’t. Tommy told him a bit. Quackity points out an empty spot in Las Nevadas where he wants something done. He tells Foolish he just paid a visit to an old friend and he went unprotected, so the Netherite is a good idea

- Only two people have just given Quackity armor, and one of them is Quackity’s “right hand man” at the moment: Sam. Foolish mentions Sam screwed him over with L’Sandburg

- Quackity points out Eret’s cobblestone ocean pyramid. This country needs more citizens, more things built

- He shows Foolish the gambling machine and gives him diamonds to try out. Foolish wins Linda!

- Their objective with Las Nevadas is to build the biggest, most powerful country, and Quackity’s read his fair share of Sun Tzu. He’s actually helped run a country before, which Foolish is surprised to learn (countries are before Foolish’s time)

- Quackity says he’ll talk to Foolish soon and leaves for a couple minutes before returning. He asks for PVP lessons, but Foolish hasn’t done much fighting for a while

Quackity: “I do all my fighting through dialogue, if you haven’t noticed...That’s my biggest weapon, Foolish, it’s the way I say things, everything, all that. But I think, you know, given what could come of all this...”

Foolish: “I was gonna say, I don’t know if that will work forever...unless you’re very, very good with your words, eventually you’ll say the wrong words.”

- Quackity suggests they make their own lookout outpost

- Quackity has some plans to show Foolish, a project he thought of when he was thinking about making Las Nevadas. His first plan was to build a highway system

Quackity: “They say all roads lead to Rome...in this case, all roads lead to Las Nevadas.”

- He shows Foolish some sign ideas and Foolish says it would be no problem to build up some roads

- Quackity shows Foolish an old idea for a path with rail lines on both sides, layouts for advertisements

- The first place Quackity thinks the road should go is the Spawn area, for when someone joins or dies. Quackity is annoyed that Tubbo blocked the route, but they can go around it

- They plan out the path of the road. Foolish asks if Quackity wants the road to go to Kinoko Kingdom. Quackity goes silent before saying he wants to focus on the main attractions right now

- Quackity leaves again to go check some things

Foolish: “When you choose a side, there’s always other sides...which means I can’t be buddy-buddy with everyone forever.”

- Foolish does the boat slime jump. Quackity comes back with food and continues to discuss plans. Besides connecting everyone, they also need to make cash off of this highway, so he wants to make sure there’s plenty of advertisement

- L’manburg is destroyed, but it also has a lot of history. Quackity’s noticed no one’s really claimed that area. Wilbur and Tommy are neighboring them now. Foolish asks if they’re enemies...Quackity says he’ll explain that in a bit

Quackity: “We can make L’manburg a main tourist area.”

- Foolish knows a few people might be against that. Anyone from L’manburg, maybe. Quackity reminds him he was in the cabinet, and proceeds to tell him the story of Wilbur:

---

When Quackity joined the server, L’manburg was the biggest nation. Quackity asked to join, and he was declined because he wasn’t British -- the one requirement. He didn’t like this, he felt left out, he wanted to be a part of something.The election rolled around, it was SWAG vs. POG.

(They walk over to the ruins of L’manburg)

Wilbur was going to run a “democratic” election with only one option available to vote for, which Quackity didn’t think was very democratic.

(Quackity gets interrupted by George calling him)

Each party had a Vice President. Foolish assumes that Wilbur’s was Tommy...and Quackity’s was George. Quackity points out King’s Court to Foolish in the sky, the place they had their debate. After their debate, Quackity and Wilbur had a talk, a conversation that stuck with him for a very long time.

Then it was Election Day. What happened was, each party had sponsors. Who endorsed Tommy and Wilbur?

Vikkstar.

Tommy accidentally posted the Vikkstar endorsement video in the Discord before deleting it seven seconds later, but that was still enough time for George to get the link and send it to Quackity, and Quackity needed the one person who could match that endorsement: KSI.

Unfortunately, KSI never replied, as it was quite last-minute.

That’s when the turning point happened, and Quackity calls it the worst day of his life. George slept through the event. Quackity had no endorsements, no Vice President. The other party was going strong -- but they made a mistake. Their second endorsement was Schlatt. However, Schlatt arrived drunk, and instead of endorsing Wilbur and Tommy, he made his own party on the spot. SCHLATT2020. Not only this, but Niki and Fundy also made their own party too: COCONUT2020.

The votes go out. POG2020 wins. But, Quackity had an idea, to pool votes with Schlatt. They ended up with 1% more votes than POG, and that’s how Quackity ended up as Vice President of the country. However, this was a big mistake. The policies Schlatt enacted were to exile Tommy and Wilbur, took down the walls, changed up things -- and to be fair, Quackity did join him on this. He was down with taking down the walls. Everything started going downhill. Schlatt would constantly undermine Quackity’s Vice Presidency, his policy ideas, and he did the worst thing to Quackity -- took down the White House that Quackity, Wilbur and Tommy built together.

Schlatt didn’t care. He started teaming up with bad folks like Dream, other people, and the rest is history. Imagine everything that had to happen to lead to this...

(he gestures to L’manhole)

Foolish: “Do you regret it all?”

Quackity: “...No.”

Foolish: “So, you would’ve let it all go the exact same way, down to Wilbur blowing it all up?”

Quackity: “I wouldn’t have changed a damn thing, Foolish...And let me tell you why...All these mistakes, all these things, have made me the person I am now, Foolish. All these experiences, all these bad moments in my life, have made me the man I am today.”

“And you never...you never mess with history. Because everything happens for a reason, Foolish. Everything happens for a reason. You don’t ever pander with history, you don’t ever try to turn it around or change it, because the way things happen are the way things happen at the end of the day. And that’s how we build character. I wouldn’t have Las Nevadas if not for all these...for all these...mistakes, maybe.”

After that, something happened with Wilbur. Quackity didn’t know much about it, but he changed. He was so obsessed with his country that if he couldn’t have it, no one could. He blew up the entire thing, and in that process he ended up dying, and that’s when Ghostbur came to be.

So many more things happened (Foolish finds out that this crater isn’t just from Wilbur), but...it is what it is.

“And if you dwell in the past, you’ll live in suffering your entire life. So take it from me, Foolish. Take in all the experiences you’ve ever had, and apply them to something greater than what you used to be. Take one last gander at...the country that never was.”

---

- Quackity shows Foolish his old house under Karl’s. He’s not seen Karl in a while. He sees that it’s been blown up, and there’s an old message to him from Sam. He’s not sure what happened.

- Quackity shows Foolish the message. Just as he’d said, Sam had given him Netherite armor once. Sam has a good heart. It’s in the right place, he just needs some guidance.

- He leads Foolish down the Prime Path, showing him the other buildings. He takes Foolish over to the museum.

- They look at the maps and discuss routes again. Foolish asks about a road to the prison, and Quackity says improving his “commutes” would be nice

- Quackity is glad Foolish is taking the chance on Las Nevadas. Quackity has to leave to address some business, but he’ll get on to help Foolish build the roads later.

- Foolish goes back to Las Nevadas, looking out over at Wilbur and Tommy’s headquarters.

Foolish: “It’s kinda been a while since I’ve really had enemies enemies...but I have the feeling that is gonna change soon enough...Maybe not even enemies, but certainly not friends. Kind of a shame, though, I’ve yet to really meet Wilbur...”

- He gets out his shulker box from an Ender Chest and looks inside. There is a stack of TNT.

“It’s been a while...”

- Niki is at the Arctic. Wilbur is back. She thought she got rid of him and doesn’t know why he’s back now, in the only place she feels safe

Niki: “Who are you going to manipulate next, huh? Because it’s not gonna be me this time! It’s not gonna be me this time.”

- Tommy? Tubbo? Jack? Jack wouldn’t fall for it. Niki is upset that Wilbur didn’t check up on her. Why would he change? He never changes or cares

- Why would Dream revive him? Dream was his enemy, but at the end he was pretty fond of him

- Niki heads back through the Nether to her secret city. Now the world revolves around Wilbur again

- She still hasn’t finished her city and hasn’t been able to sleep. She goes to a chest to find the diamonds Wilbur once gave her

- Niki saw the TNT when she broke the wall, but she didn’t tell anyone, covered it back up. But Wilbur still blew it up anyway

- Niki puts the diamonds in a chest buried deep in the wall and covers it back up

- She goes back to the main area, to L’manburg. When she was in Manberg, Wilbur promised that he would get her out of there, and she waited weeks. And then Wilbur wasn’t the same person anymore

- Niki thought maybe while Wilbur was still alive, he could still be rescued, could still be happy

Niki: “But you will never be happy, because all you want is what you can’t have. And when you have everything...what will you fight for?”

- Niki wants to see him, ask why he never came back to her. She walks back to the Nether portal and the stream ends

- Bad shows up to L’Sandburg and notices L’Llamaburg next door. He’s upset about the new castle and wonders why Foolish would allow this, as it violates the agreement

- He reads the purpose of L’Llamaburg and is enraged. There’s only one option, and that’s war. He sets fire to the walls of L’Llamaburg, builds an extension on top of his tower to make it taller than Puffy’s build, and builds a giant sign saying “LIAR”

- After visiting the main area to get some resources, he meets Antfrost on the Prime Path, who has a new skin for pride month!

- Bad goes to the Arctic to bake a cake for Technoblade’s birthday. After finishing it, he leaves a letter requesting Techno’s assistance:

---

Dear Technoblade,

Greetings on this fine evening. I hope this letter finds you well and I hope your polar bears are doing excellent. It is with my sincerest apoligies that I disturb your peace but I must inquire about possibly obtaining your services.

Important matters aside I have built a delicious giant cake for you in honor of your birthday. I hope this cake finds you well and may you have many excellent birthdays to follow. If you would be interested in possibly destroying my enemies for me and salting the earth they call home so that they never find happiness again that would be most kind. If you would like to discuss this matter further you know where to find me.

Kindest Regards BBH

---

- Later, Captain Puffy hears of this brewing war and comes online. She confronts Bad about the missing tower from her castle. Bad insists it wasn’t him, it was Ponk

- Puffy reminds Bad of Puffy and Ponk’s conflict from a while ago in which they destroyed each others builds, and says it’s only fair that, if Ponk really did destroy the tower, then she should destroy Ponk’s fridge

- Bad tries to reason with Puffy to not retaliate, while Puffy thinks tearing down the fridge would be doing the place a favor

- Bad brings up the buffer zone violation and they start arguing with each other over Foolish’s land, the turtles, Puffy blames Bad for killing her son, one thing leads to another and soon enough Puffy tells Bad that his L’Sandburg llama citizens are all into BDSM

- They go to the turtle enclosure and see Ponk’s ransom note. Bad says Ponk has to die. Puffy points out they could start with the fridge, and Bad says they should take his other arm. Ponk stole Shelly, they have to kill him

- Puffy gets angry at Bad not wanting to take down the fridge and brings up the death of her son again, how she thought Bad was going to turn over a new leaf at the Banquet and then that leaf ended up covered in blood instead

Puffy: “I should have taken your goddamn arm, Bad!”

- After talking more, the two finally work together to take down the supreme fridge

- Once finished, the two write a return note to Ponk. Bad wants to discuss things with Ponk, and there’s a place in Las Nevadas that he thinks would be good to meet

The note reads:

---

Dear Ponk,

It has come to our attention that you’ve been responsible for some heinous crimes!

Not only did you completely demolish Puffy’s original mushroom house which she let slide. You now have destroyed a tower of her sand castle. BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THERE!

WHERE IS SHELLY PONK!? You’ve not only commited crimes against Puffy but Bad as well! You’ve kidnapped Bad & Sheldon’s dearest Shelly for ransom!

So me and Bad decided to return the favor and give you a taste of your own disgusting medicine!

YOU’RE FRIDGE NO LONGER SUPREME! YOU’VE MESSED WITH THE WRONG MUFFINS AND TAKEN OUR KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS TOO MANY TIMES!

We all need to talk immediately before this escalates more then it already has.

Leave a book back giving us a time and a place and we will try to attend.

You’ve been warned!

With love, BBH & PuffDaddy

---

- Bad still wants Puffy to move L’Llamaburg, but Puffy wants to stay and protect her son. Bad suggests an alliance: what if L’Sandburg and L’Llamaburg simply combine their territories? It would be beneficial for both nations

- Puffy is skeptical about Bad’s idea and decides that relocating is probably the smartest idea, as Ponk will probably retaliate against her

---

Upcoming Events:

- The final Egg lore stream

- Technoblade’s visit (this weekend)

- Puffy’s lore

- Tales From the SMP: “Space Race”

- Ponk’s lore stream

- Dream’s lore video

- Sapnap’s possible lore stream

- Awesamdude lore stream

#what a day huh #dream smp recaps #dream smp #long posts #hhhahfdsjajhdfja #sorry if I missed any details with this one it was A Lot

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s-c-r-i-p-s-i · 4 years ago

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Castigation

[Dead by Baelight’s Kinktober // Day 2: Trap]

🖤 🖤 🖤

You couldn’t explain it if you tried, but it was like he was seeing through you.

Right to your guilty, nasty core.

🖤 🖤 🖤

Pairing: Pyramid Head x Gender-Neutral AMAB Reader

Rating: Explicit

CW: non-con/dub-con, smut, tentacle/tongue sex, reader is a coward and does shitty things, dissociation, canon-typical violence

Word Count: 3,238

You didn’t like what this place was turning you into.

Before the fog you were… you wanted to say normal, but in reality, you’d led a pretty privileged life. Not in the sense that you were rich, or blessed with preternatural wit, intelligence, or beauty, or anything like that. You were just sort of hit with the mediocrity stick. While most people had brushes with hardship at least once or twice in their lives, you’d somehow managed to avoid anything interesting happening in your life ever. Or that’s how it felt, anyway. You never had to discover what kind of person you were under stress. If you’d rise or fall to the occasion. Or the things you would do to save your own neck.

But you knew now.

For the most part, it started small. Hiding in a locker longer than strictly necessary. Letting someone else go for the unhook even though you were nearby. And, yes, sometimes your waffling around got some people killed. Indirectly. But the worst thing they could blame you of was being too cautious. Or, at worst, a coward. And - it wasn’t like they stayed dead.

Then somewhere along the line, things started to get… intentional. Shit you’d have a hard time trying to justify to someone’s face - but on the rare occasion you were caught, you tried anyway because you weren’t about to own up to it. You started to do things like stealing offerings and items from people’s personal piles in Limbo while they were off in a Trial; the place was like a homeless camp, everything out in the open and nigh impossible to secure. Just like in life, you never seemed to find anything special on your own, and it didn’t seem fair. This you tried to justify by never taking any personal effects - Kate’s guitar, Ace’s lucky shot glass; that kind of stuff always went untouched. But if you were being completely honest, it wasn’t out of decency. It was because they were worthless to you.

All you cared about was surviving another day. Or whatever passed for a day in this hellscape. After a while, you didn’t even feel guilty about it anymore. It just became your new normal.

And then you did something kind of fucked up even by your standards.

It was in a match against Myers. Just you and Claudette remained, both injured, both one strike away from death, working on the last gen so you could hopefully get the hell out of dodge. She’d offered to heal you, but it didn’t feel like there was enough time. And sure enough, before you could finish it off, there came that infernal heartbeat.

She reacted faster than you could, quietly slipping into the nearby locker that you’d had your eyes on, but had been too slow to secure for yourself, running to the thing just as she closed its doors.

And it was the only one in the room.

You heard her whisper, “Sorry, sorry!” But it didn’t mean jack to you. Something unfamiliar flashed through you then. Hot, simmering rage.

It wasn’t fucking fair, you remembered thinking. Why did she get a chance to live, and not you? Just because she was a little bit faster than you? Just because she happened to be on the side closest to the lockers? Why did she get to choose?

You even knew where the hatch was, you’d passed by it on the way there. Survival was so close you could taste it, could hear the phantom draft of the open hatch in your mind already. You could visualize it so perfectly. Everything but how to get there.

Then you figured it out.

And something inside you just… shut off.

Myers entered the room. Stared at you. You stared back. And then slowly, deliberately, never taking your eyes off the empty voids staring back at you, you rapped your knuckles against the locker. Once. Twice. Then made a run for it.

You knew when you heard her screams behind you that he’d taken the bait.

She wouldn’t remember, anyway. Not the pain, and not the betrayal. The last few moments were always foggy. Whether that was a kindness of the entity, or just a testament to the human mind’s ability to repress awful things, who knew?

But you’d remember. And you’d carried that guilt with you ever since. In the moment, you hadn’t felt anything but when you saw her back in Limbo, and every time after that, you felt… dirty.

You’d gotten pretty good at justifying your shitty behavior. There was always some excuse. But not this time. You could come up with the right words, yeah - ‘People die all the time. And it’s not like she died died. I was just doing what I had to do to survive.’ But no matter how you sliced it, nothing seemed to fill that black hole of guilt eating you alive from the inside out.

It made your stomach twist just thinking about it.

Part of you wished there was something you could do to make it up to her.

Another part of you wished there was something that could be done to you. You found yourself wishing she would just… react. That she would cry or scream or shout or push you around, just so you could have something. Some kind of consequence for your actions. You did something bad and nothing fucking happened. That’s not how the world was supposed to work.

But she’d never react, never do anything because she didn’t even fucking remember. You were the only one who knew. You hated it. You were miserable.

Little did you know all that guilt was about to make you a fucking magnet for the Executioner.

You were following your usual tactic for whenever a new Killer entered the fog, which was avoid discriminately. (Coincidentally, that was pretty much your tactic for everything.) And it went mostly without a hitch. There was one death, but Nea was looping him in the distance while Steve worked the exit door. You were just kind of waiting, sat in the alcove near the gate watching the chase. You’d managed to avoid him the whole trial, so you felt pretty safe. Impatient to get out of there, but safe.

Then he - it? - just stopped. In the middle of the fucking chase. Turned, slowly, as if just now realizing that the exit gate was almost open and that he was being given the runaround.

Except you swore he was staring right at you. It was impossible to tell with that enormous metal helmet thing on his head, or if he even could see, in the traditional sense, but freezing cold dread swept over you in an instant. You couldn’t explain it if you tried, but it was like he was seeing through you. Right to your guilty, nasty core.

The gate buzzed, doors noisily sliding open, and you, Steve, and Nea, who was just a couple paces behind, were home free. But right before you crossed over the threshold into safety, you chanced a glance back. He was still just… staring.

What did he want from you?

Nea caught up, pulling you through the fog by the wrist, and just like that, you were back in Limbo.

You were shaken up by it for a while. That’s not how killers acted. Abandoning a chase? If he’d kept at it, he probably could have had at least Nea. That would have been two out of four - not bad. So what the hell could he have seen that was more important than that?

You weren’t sure you wanted to know.

But either the Entity had it out for you, or you just had real bad luck these days, because it wasn’t long before you faced him again.

You were doing a great job avoiding him, though. Until you weren’t.

You hadn’t even seen that shit on the ground, but you sure knew when you stepped in it, a wave of pure agony shooting through you the moment your incautious foot planted itself in that bloody trench. A shriek ripped through your throat and you tore away as if you’d been burned. But the damage was already done.

The torment was like a wreath of barbed wire around your heart, constricting tightly as his heartbeat began pounding in your ears, quiet at first, but building cataclysmically. Alerted to your location, no doubt, by your scream, and making a beeline straight for you. Shit.

You weren’t ever keen on being found - that feeling that things were life and death, even when death didn’t mean anything here, never truly went away - but this filled you with a special kind of dread, remembering the way he’d just turned and stared at you before. You still didn’t know what that was about, and you still didn’t want to know.

Frantically, you looked around for a place to hide, you weren’t good at looping like the others, you weren’t good at anything. Fuck, fuck fuck. There were no lockers, no nothing. What were you going to do?

You watched with horror as he appeared in the entrance to the jungle gym and then paused. As if remembering you - or maybe just seeing whatever it was he saw before.

You didn’t wait around to find out. You threw yourself into a sprint for the nearest window, trying to put something between you and him besides distance. But he grabbed you mid-scramble over the sill, throwing you back, your ass skidding along the dirt.

He began stalking towards you, and desperate for space, you hastily tried to crabwalk backwards on your elbows and feet until you were backed up against the wall. Holy shit he was bigger in person - maybe it was just the angle, but he was monstrously large.

Now you could see everything, up close and in high definition. And you wished you couldn’t. Vein-like clumps of flesh clung to his helmet and hung from the edges in meaty strings, the way they just… dangled making you feel sick to your stomach. But his skin was worse. Far worse. Mottled - burned, maybe - flayed chunks of exposed muscle and even bone, you realized, slivers of rib and shin and finger bones glinting in the moonlight.

Despite the obvious damage, it didn’t seem like it was hurting him - or that it was even any kind of hindrance at all. By all means, for someone who looked like they should be falling apart, he was… very put together. He didn’t shamble or limp. He didn’t so much as falter.

You were mesmerized, in some morbid way. Like a train wreck; it was hard to look away. You almost forgot to worry about what he was about to do to you.

The beast seemed to consider you for a moment, looking down at you before his other hand clapped onto the hilt of his great knife, grasping it with both hands. That put your priorities back in check real fast. But before you could even think to shout something out in protest - how would you even begin trying to bargain with something like him? - he drove the knife into the Earth at your feet.

You weren’t sure what happened next. Briefly, you thought it was a sign of mercy. Wishful thinking.

It was as though you were sinking into the earth. Your arms shot outwards, trying to pull yourself up before your face could be swallowed up by the dirt, lungs wrenching in panic at the realization that you were about to be buried alive, and you gasped for breath, thinking it might be your last.

But then you were being thrust back up by an unknown force somewhere completely different, rising, not like a phoenix but a puppet.

Two spikes simultaneously shot through your shoulder blades, suspending you in this metal cage you found yourself trapped in as you howled in pain. It was about as bad as a hook, in terms of pain. Difficult to compare infinities, but, maybe more, maybe less. There were two entry points, but better distribution of your weight.

You treated it like a hook, anyway, slowly allowing yourself to hang, shifting all your focus onto flexing and curling your hands into fists. Open, close. Open, close. Rinse and repeat. That was all you could do to keep yourself from thrashing and hurting yourself more.

Open, close. Someone would come for you. Open, close.

And someone did. It just wasn’t who you were hoping for.

Your eyes rolled closed at the familiar sound of a heartbeat kicking up in the distance. Why? There were three other people he could go after. Why you? You could hear his knife dragging across the ground as he tread closer - not digging, just quietly scraping along. And then it stopped. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes. When you opened them again, he was standing right in front of you.

The bars of the cage moved on their own, magically giving way for him as he stepped forward.

“Why? Why me?” You asked, voice scratchy and reedy and thin from blowing out your vocal cords earlier, barely pushing out anything more than air. You weren’t even sure if he could answer, but you had to know. You weren’t connected by the same universe. You weren’t special. You didn’t even think you were a threat. Why was he singling you out like this?

Betraying, you think, some kind of sentience, the helmet tilted slightly, and for a moment you almost thought it was going to speak. Instead, it leaned forward, and something began to crawl out from the corner of his helmet. There was an opening where the metal was curled back, and a dark, blood sausage-like tendril was slithering out. Cringing, at first you thought it was a parasite - or some kind of symbiotic thing that lived inside his helmet - and you were that convinced whatever it was, it was about to murder you. It reared back like a snake, and you flinched, expecting it to strike. Instead, it touched your neck - not… gently, exactly, but not with the violence you were expecting, either. Almost like it was feeling at you. And that’s when you realized it was part of him.

You weren’t… completely celibate. Knew a tongue when you felt one. Even if it didn’t really look like one. Frustratingly, your body seemed to think it felt familiar, too, and you had to tamp down some… inappropriate, knee jerk reactions as it traced the curved of your neck, sweeping down to your clavicle.

It felt like there had to be a logical reason for this, it wasn’t sexual, you were just thinking with your human brain. Maybe it was trying to… taste something out. You didn’t know. But he must have made some kind of decision about you, because he made a low, groaning vocalization that was almost like a hum.

Then he started grabbing at your clothes, huge, grotesque hands pulling and ripping into them as easily as tearing through gauze. You tried kicking at him, but pain shot through your shoulders where you were still impaled, and you couldn’t -… You just couldn’t. You were trapped. There was nothing you could do. What was left sat on you in tatters, skin exposed to the cool air.

His hands roamed over the curve of your waist, over your hips, shaking you by them briefly, as if testing them out, while you croaked at the way your shoulders protested to even the slightest movement. What was he doing? Why didn’t he just kill you already? His tongue dragged down your stomach and your muscles fluttered, heat pooling in your loins against your will. You tried to push down the obvious reaction your body was having as it continued to travel down, down down, before it began curling around your erection.

“Oh fuck,” you wheezed hoarsely, “No, please.” You’d had a good half-chub since he started licking you, but you didn’t want this. Inhaling sharply, your eyes fluttered back, pinching closed as it started to move, experimentally jerking you off despite your begging. The feeling was unreal as it was unwelcome, unlike anything you’d ever felt before. But it didn’t last long, and you panted in relief as the tongue unfurled from around you. You hadn’t even realized your whole body was tense until you felt it deflate.

You didn’t understand why this was happening to you. This was no accident, he’d chosen you.

You weren’t allowed to dwell on it long. The respite was short lived, the Executioner’s hands hooking under your thighs without warning and hoisting your legs up.

This, oddly, was actually more comfortable in the sense that it hurt a lot fucking less, the support relieving almost the entirety of your own body weight off the spikes. You were still skewered in two places, that couldn’t be undersold. But at least now it didn’t feel like gravity was going to rip them through you like a heavy earring ripping through an earlobe.

But it was a whole lot less comfortable in the sense that you’d seen enough hentai to know what was coming next.

Whole lower body twitching as his tongue probed your backside, it swept over your entrance and prodded, testing it’s resistance before punching through it anyway, a broken cry purling from your busted throat as it forced you open and began violating you. Past the pain, you could still feel with perfect unholy clarity the alien way the muscle squirmed against your walls, stars and red-orange flashes dancing behind your eyes every time it fucked in and out of you. In need of something to hold, to ground yourself, your hands flew up to grasp at the spikes on one of the bars behind you.

You couldn’t even begin to think clearly, even as the motions slowly just turned into noise. But maybe- maybe you deserved this somehow. For what you did. Maybe the universe, or the Entity was finally throwing you your comeuppance. Or maybe you were looking for reason where there wasn’t any. Maybe everything was chaos and nothing mattered. But you’d take it. You’d take it, and maybe you’d come out on the other end feeling pure and exonerated.

You didn’t know how long it was before he withdrew and pulled you off the spikes- you thought you heard a generator ping on the numb fringes of your consciousness once or maybe even twice, but eventually you felt the slide of them leaving your body. Or rather, you leaving them.

He manhandled you a bit, and you confusedly let him, trying, somewhat, to cooperate but you were disoriented and slightly less helpful than dead weight. But that was fine. He had full control of you, turning you around and pressing down between your shoulder blades so you were face down, ass up, jerking your hips up so you were just how he wanted you, and if you rocked on your feet a little, it didn’t matter much.

You didn’t have to look behind you to hear the scrape of fabric as he moved the loincloth aside. Haggardly, you pulled up your head, vision obscured by tears and a veil of your own sweaty, stringy hair. Staring forward, you grabbed onto the spikes, one hand, then the other, fingers tightening around them as his tongue began snaking around your waist.

You deserved this.

🖤 🖤 🖤

Thank you for reading!!!

🖤 🖤 🖤

Notes:

A Cage of Atonement is kind like a trap, right? 😉

Thank you to Pugge as always, for beta'ing and being my hype man. (Also the entire server, they’re so supportive!!!)

Thank you to Null/Gabe/Slaandere for answering my every question (I’ve never played a SH game in my life) and enlightening me about the existence of PH’s tongue. This one’s for you, bb. 💖

This piece was written for Day 2 of the 🔞 Dead by Baelight 🔞 Discord server’s Kinktober.

Anyone over 18 is welcome to join here.

#dead by daylight #dbd #pyramid head #the executioner #silent hill #my writing #oneshot #scripsi

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

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Survey #465

“the old man then prepares to die regretfully / that old man here is me”

Did you have a boyfriend in kindergarten? No, but I had a guy who wouldn't leave me alone since pre-k. Did you ever read the Magic Treehouse series? OMG I forgot about those!! I loved them!!! Did you ever watch The Land Before Time movies? AHHHHHHHHH yes!!! :') Did you collect anything when you were a kid? Stickers. My dresser was COMPLETELY covered in them. Who did you look up to most as a child? Steve Irwin, 100%. He was my hero. Did your parents let you drink soda when you were little? Some, yes. I wish they hadn't, with the dependency I have now. Did you ever watch The Powerpuff Girls or Dexter’s Laboratory? Of course! I strongly preferred the former, though. Did you watch Blue's Clues? HOW TIMELY. :'''') I did! My little sister and I loved it. What was your favorite kind of cake as a kid? Just gimme a good 'ole double chocolate cake and I was one happy kiddo, ha ha. Did you ever want to grow up? Sure didn't. I was smart. How often do you listen to classic rock? It varies, really. Sometimes I'm in the mood for it and binge it, other times I want newer music. What about country? Just about never. What is the most amount of money you have ever lost? Not a whole lot. I'm very careful with money. Have you ever hurt yourself just to get attention? No. Whenever I did it in the past, it was always to relocate the pain I was experiencing, and because I felt like I deserved it. Last person to get on your nerves? I'd rather not give it the time of day. Are you in any pain right now? No. Last thing you ate? It was one of those chocolate chip Clif Thins things. I HATE every Clif product I've ever tried until these, so they're a good option if I really want something sweet that's actually decently healthy and doesn't taste like I'm eating pure fiber, like most of their products. Name three things apart from trust and loyalty that you need in a relationship. Open, honest communication, similar interests as well as morals, and pro-LGBTQ+, if I'm just naming three. How far away are you from the place that you were born? Like... not even ten minutes. Do you live near anybody who creeps you out? Nah. Then again though I know pretty much nobody in my neighborhood. Is there anywhere that you are too afraid to go to alone? Where? Hm. If for whatever strange reason I had to, I would absolutely not want to go into a men's restroom alone. Would you be upset if you had a child who decided to make “adult films?” Despite the fact I don't negatively judge porn stars if they are smart, cautious, an informed about what they do and how to stay safe... I think I'd be very, very scared if my child wanted that, especially if it was my daughter, because she can actually get pregnant. Yes, abortion's an option, but... still. I don't want her to have to be faced with that decision. I also would be terrified of my hypothetical son getting someone pregnant, especially because he's then not the one with say on what happens to that child. So ultimately, if I was ever in this situation, I feel like I'd need to be alone with my partner to just cry for a while and then talk with them and look at the situation factually and with regard for my child's happiness. What pizza topping would you never, ever, EVER eat? Sardines. /gag What annoys you most about your computer? The microphone is broken. Do you prefer to read blogs or watch vlogs? I'm not huge on either, but watch vlogs. Do you know anyone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas? No. Do you own a snowglobe? I wish I did, they cute. What was the last thing that upset you? It was more disappointing than upsetting, but I was nevertheless super bummed that my bf had to scoot us hanging out a day back today when I was v excited for it. What is something you are behind on? It sounds unbelievable, I know, but I am IMMENSELY behind with Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. Like, I'm somewhere around four episodes in. It's so hard to explain: like, I want to watch it badly, but I don't want to set aside time to sit in front of the TV to actually do it? It makes very little sense. I'll catch up eventually, I just... haven't yet. Who DO you go to for advice when you need it? Mom, Sara, my therapist... Will you go caroling this year? God no. Never have, never will. Would you ever be friends with someone who was suicidal? Bro what the fuck, of course I would. Would you rather have a daughter or a son? Daughter. Did you get bullied more as a child, a teenager, or an adult? I'm very grateful that I was never truly bullied. If you’re female, would you feel uncomfortable having a male gynecologist? FUCK YES. Are you allergic to your favorite animal? I wouldn't know; I've never been near one. :( What’s your favorite country besides the USA? Lol what a presumptuous question. Probably Africa. Did you get senior pictures taken? No, even though I wanted them. :/ I don't remember why I didn't? How often do you like to have sex? I don't care. Whenever it feels right. Are you any good at math? OH MY GOD NO Do you like Dairy Queen? I fucking love Dairy Queen. Ever had their Oreo Cupfection? *chef's kiss* If you had to get advice from someone of the opposite sex, who would you go to? Girt. Or my psychiatrist. Really depends. Does talking about sex make you feel uncomfortable? GODDAMN RIGHT IT DOES. Few things make me MORE uncomfortable. Are you more scared of going to the doctors or dentists? Doctors. Dentists are ezpz for me. At the doctor, meanwhile, I'm scared of them finding something seriously wrong. Do you get along with your significant other’s friends? I've only met one, and that was YEEEEAAARRRRSSS ago. He was chill, though. Do you enjoy the sound of crickets at night and birds in the morning? omfg YES Do you enjoy board games? Not really. Do you need a haircut? I actually just got one the other day. It's shorter than I would've liked, but it's whatever. Hair grows back, and mine does fast. Do you feel bad when you kill bugs? Yes. They've got the same right to be here as we do. What’s the longest stretch of time you’ve spent completely alone? A week or two when my mom and sis went to the beach (I think?) for a dance competition. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed a lawyer? Yes, when I presented my disability case. Do you know anyone who has been evicted? My mom, sister, and me because we couldn't keep up with rent. What’s your favorite macaron flavor? Never tried one. How often do you have friends over to your house? The only "friend" that comes over to my house is my boyfriend. Have you ever done a flip on a trampoline? Front flips, yes; never back flips, because I was scared of breaking my neck. What about a flip off of a diving board? No. Does your country have free healthcare? No, but it fucking should. What is your sexuality? Bro I don't even know anymore lmao. I just say pansexual. "Queer" might fit me best, though. I really don't know, but it doesn't really matter. What’s the last show you watched? Attack on Titan w/ Girt! I'm actually keen to see more of it. The darkness and heartbreak of it is right up my alley. How is your road rage? I don't really experience road rage because I'm too engulfed by terror to focus on anything else, honestly. Do you have any facial piercings? Yeah; I have a vertical labret in my lip. Have you ever been to a rehab center? So this is dumb as shit, but all the psych hospitals I've been to doubled as rehab centers. Which made NO goddamn sense because those who are suffering with mental illnesses leading to suicidal thoughts/tendencies are unique from those dealing with addiction; both require individual treatments and should not be grouped, imo. How long did your shortest relationship last? Not even a day. What would your life be like if you had married your first love? That's... scary to imagine. Sometimes, that was all I wanted. But seeing as he left because of my depression... it probably would have been catastrophic. He was the only person I ever wanted kids with, so there probably would have been children involved in all that madness, which no little one deserves. Him leaving ultimately led to my healing, too, so I don't know where I would've been mental health-wise if he stayed. What is the most difficult or time-consuming thing you’ve ever cooked? Would you make it again? I don’t cook. I need to learn, though... Have you ever had a platonic friend that everyone insisted you should be in a relationship with? He's my boyfriend now, ha ha ha. Is there anything about a person’s sexual past that might stop you from wanting to date them? Yes. I'm too lazy to get into that stuff rn, though. If someone asked your closest friends/family members what career path might suit you best, what do you think they would say? I'm almost certain they would all say veterinarian. How did you and your significant other celebrate your last anniversary? Slow down buddy, we haven't even been together a month lmao. Who was the last person to make you a home-cooked meal? What did they make? Mom, but I don't recall the last thing she made from scratch. Girt is doing that tomorrow, though! :') He's making grilled chicken stuffed with jalapenos and spinach and something else I can't remember and it sounds BANGIN'. What’s the weirdest, rudest, or most ridiculous thing a guest has ever done in your home? Hmmm... I'll have to get back to ya on that. Has anyone ever told you you’re manipulative? I think someone has, yes. Do you know anyone who owns their own business? Yep. Who was the recipient of your very first kiss? Jason. Do you prefer shrimp or crab? SHRIMP. Crab is mushy and disgusting. Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction books/movies? I strongly prefer fiction. Have you ever seen an eclipse? Plenty of lunar eclipses, yes. Who is your favourite video game character? Pyramid Head, Spyro, Cynder... I have a lot, those three are just panning out as strong contenders. Are you the type of person who knows exactly what they want in life? lol Do you have commitment issues? Not at all. What was the last thing you felt nostalgic about? uhhh Does anyone in your family smoke? My dad. Have you ever had a pet escape and run away? OMG one time in his prime, Teddy got loose on a snowy night and went on a full-blown adventure. I was SOBBING. My dad had to chase him down. Do any of your exes know each other? Juan knows Jason, Jason knows Juan and Girt, and Sara knows Girt. What’s an opinion you find impossible to take seriously? "Vaccines cause autism." Fuck out my face. What was the very first election you voted in? This most recent presidential one.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''the unforgiven'' by metallica

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mitsususu · 4 years ago

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If you take the serum from Captain America, you’ll still have to deal with Steve. Good luck! Below are my Top 5 Favorites:

“The large and the smol of it” (E, 63k) by Kalee60

Bucky, a freelance operative: codename Winter Soldier, has been working with the Avengers on the regular, which was great, he loved the extra cash, could hone skills he’d picked up in the army and no-one cared about his metal arm. Best of all he got to work with Captain America, a man out of time whose identity is shrouded in secret, which made having a big fat crush on him problematic, since no one knew the Winter Soldiers identity either. But this doesn't stop Bucky being drawn to Cap in a way he’d never felt before.

So it’s a surprise when Natasha drops off a small injured mystery man 'Grant' to him for protection and to patch up, that he finds himself utterly taken with the snarky man. Feelings he couldn’t work out as Grant was the worst patient, stubborn as hell and pushed Bucky’s buttons in all the wrong (and right) ways. He needed to figure out who Grant was, and what he had to do with SHIELD before he either killed or kissed him stupid.

Throw in Hydra’s infestation of SHIELD, unsanctioned science experiments, being hunted and keeping identities secret, all while trying not to fall helplessly in love with a man who had more secrets than the Pyramids. Bucky’s simple life was now anything but.

+ Shrunkyclunks. Mutual secret identities, mutual crushes, and mutual obliviousness. The sequel is Steve’s POV.

-☆-

“In The End It All Comes Back Around” (T, 12k) by attackofthezee (noxlunate)

“You’re being dramatic.�� Natasha tells him, perched on the kitchen countertop, and like this, with her there and Steve leaning against the countertop next to her he has to look up at her. It gives him a strange sense of vertigo and he does his best to ignore it.

“I think I’m being just the right amount of dramatic here, thanks.” Steve mutters, glaring at a spot on the refrigerator like it’s personally wronged him. He hates this. Hates it. The 21st century had been confusing enough when he’d had a purpose. What the hell is he supposed to do now?

“You think maybe this is a chance to be a normal person, Steve?” Natasha’s tone is strangely gentle. Steve hates it.

“I think all this is is my chance to see what being sick is like in another century.”

+ Defrosting to WS. Steve wakes up de-serumed, becomes an agent anyway, saves Bucky and lives his best life

-☆-

“No Place Like Home” (T, 4k) by stele3

"HEY YOU LITTLE MOTHERFUCKER I MISSED YOU BEING THIS SIZE, LET ME TAKE YOU DOWN TO THE GYM AND THROW YOU INTO SOME WALLS."

+ Post WS. When Bucky sees Steve, it’s like it’s 1938 again

-☆-

“nothing goes over his head” (T, 1k) by fmo

In which Bucky gets knocked out briefly during a mission, wakes up fine, and then spends a day enduring strange hints, clandestine looks, and cryptic texts from his friends. Steve will never let him live this one down.

+ Post WS. After a mission, Bucky can’t figure out why everyone’s acting so strange

-☆-

“To the Marrow of Our Bones” (M, 22k) by Sproings

"I'm Grant," the guy said shyly. He had jet black hair with streaks of bright blue that brought out his eyes, even from behind his thick rimmed glasses. "I'm Captain America's assistant."

"Am I supposed to be meeting Captain America today? Because I am not prepared for that," Bucky said. He tried to play it off as a joke, but seriously, he would have found something nicer to wear if he'd known he was going to meet a national icon.

"Uh, it's only me," Grant said, biting his lip a little, just enough to show off the bright gold of his lip ring, and Bucky kinda wanted to help out with the whole biting thing, because Grant's lips were lush and pink and very biteable looking.

+ Shrunkyclunks. Steve needs a bone marrow transplant, and the donor needs to be just as Good

-☆-

-☆- Bonus Freebie! -☆-

“all systems snot” (T, 2k) by galwednesday, silentwalrus, and skellerbvvt

They don't let you suck dick in quarantine.

+ Post WS. Not de-serumed, but the serum definitely isn’t working right

-☆-

*More de-serumed fics in the Propaganda list

#stucky #stucky fic #Kalee60 #stele3 #fmo #Sproings #galwednesday #silentwalrus #skellerbvvt #fic rec #Top 5 Favs #attackofthezee

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dreamlikeafangirl · 5 years ago

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A Christmas Carol

Summary: Loki can’t stand Christmas. You can’t stand Loki. But everything might change when he is forced to visit a Christmas market with you.

Prompts used: 113 (I’m good to go), 90 ([I] felt that winter wind blow cold), 55 (With you), 50 (Hand in my hand)

Pairing: Loki x gender neutral reader

Warnings: just festive fluff I guess

Words: 5,3k

A/N: ��My first fanfic on here, yay! Please feel free to point out any mistakes I made so I can improve my English :)

„I can’t believe it.“ You said. “It’s Christmas Eve, and I am alone on my way to the Christmas market. How is this happening?” Angrily, you threw your hands up. “They all let me down, even though they know how much I looked forward to it! Some friends they are.”

Your enraged breath created little clouds in the cold air when you continued walking along the street. You faced the ground underneath your feet, mumbled a few more unflattering words, and then took a deep breath. “Pull yourself together, (Y/N). It’s Christmas, the time of giving and forgiving. Let them stay home. I can have fun by myself, thank you very much.”

It was no secret to your fellow Avengers that Christmas was by far your favourite holiday. That’s why they had promised to join you to visit your favourite Christmas market many, many times. However until today, December 24, there had always been something in the way; important missions, meetings or training. But now it was Christmas Eve. Everyone had a day off, and therefore time for the market – right? You wished.

Clint, the Hawkeye, visited his family over the holidays and his best friend Natasha, Black Widow, came with him. In a last-minute-decision, he also took Wanda, the young Scarlet Witch. And naturally, Vision had followed in Wanda’s footsteps, so he was gone, too.

The same applied to War Machine Rhodey, who was also across the country with his family.

Then there was Iron Man Tony, who had declared loudly and dramatically that he would be spending the entire day with his fiancée Pepper and only her and God help the person that bothered them.

Steve, Bucky and Sam, aka Super Soldier, Winter Soldier and Falcon Soldier, had all volunteered to spend time with veterans and their families.

And lastly, Thor, to everyone’s complete surprise, had caught a heavy cold on one of your last missions. Nobody, including Thor himself and his wickedly smart stepbrother Loki, had known that could happen to Norse gods. But nevertheless, Thor was forced to stay in bed on the greatest day of the whole year. Bruce, part-time-scientist and Thor’s best friend, part-time green rage monster, was in charge of him. But spending Christmas Eve bringing Thor warm soup and enduring his never ending rants of self-pity? Even going to the Christmas Market all alone sounded better than that.

So you’d taken off, had left Avengers HQ and were now on your way to the next bus station. After checking the timetable (luckily the next bus would arrive in just a few minutes), you sat down on a bench by the station.

Finally, you were able to completely calm yourself. It was Christmas, the happiest time of the year. You were going to have a great day at the market, it did not matter with (or without) whom you were going to spend it. The Avengers didn’t know what they were missing.

It was only then that you noticed something weird. Being an agent, your senses were pretty well trained and it confused you that this was the first time you had this odd feeling. Your intuition told you that you weren’t as alone as you had thought you were.

You looked around and saw nothing. Nobody. Empty streets, empty sideways. “Aw, what the hell?” You muttered. You really weren’t in the mood for an ambush right now. Even though you could, of course, easily level a few robbers. But you hadn’t stretched or warmed up today, after all, it was a day off.

“Please, will you finally stop talking to yourself?”

You spun around. Where was this voice coming from? You still couldn’t spot anyone. “Show yourself!” You demanded loudly and hopefully in the right direction. Your muscles tensed and you clenched your fists, ready to defend yourself.

“Calm down.” The disembodied voice spoke. It sounded even more annoyed than the first time. “It’s me.”

“Ugh.” You began to figure out who it was – the only person you knew who turned himself invisible simply for the fun of it. “This isn’t funny, Loki.”

With a flash of green light, Loki appeared next to you, seemingly out of thin air. He chuckled softly. “It was for me.”

You scoffed and got up from the bench. “Douchebag. What do you want?”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Your friends seem to feel guilty for letting you go all alone. So my brother and Bruce insisted I kept you company.”

You groaned again. Thor and Bruce had send Loki to accompany you? Really? Him of all persons? You decided to have a very serious talk with them about that when you got back.

“Thanks, but I don’t need a chaperon.” You said, waving him away with your hand. “Bye.”

“Trust me, dearest (Y/N), I don’t like this any more than you do. But it is happening.” He said.

“There is no need!” You saw the bus coming. The time to get rid of Loki was running out quickly. “Really, Loki. I’m good to go alone. Thanks again.”

Loki crossed his arms. “I thought you didn’t want to go alone.”

You looked at him. “How do you … ?” Then you remembered. “Right! You made yourself invisible and eavesdropped on me.” I stressed the words in an attempt to make him feel bad about his idiotic behaviour. Judging by his cheeky smile, you didn’t succeed.

“You were the one talking to yourself. I had to listen to your whining.” Loki spoke, imitating my tone of voice.

What an absolute a-hole! Speechless, you turned towards the bus and stepped inside, not caring if Loki followed you or not. You couldn’t believe this was happening.

Loki had lived on your planet for quite a while now. Apparently he was a danger for Asgard and his throne, so to avoid being executed he had to move to earth, into Avengers HQ. You could tell he hated it. Hated the living conditions and the human society with its rules and values (including everything that had to do with Christmas). Hated having to be with the Avengers all the time. Hated to actually do good things when he joined you on missions here and then. But Thor had to have an eye on him almost 24/7, that was the only kind of freedom Loki got. And yes, it sucked. But it didn’t make him likable or his behaviour okay.

Being an Avenger, you were often around Loki. And just like your teammates, you had your unspoken quarrels with him. It didn’t matter that he was kind of good now. He’d still attacked your hometown New York with aliens. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t from earth; him being rude and completely oblivious to any human customs was still annoying as hell. It also didn’t matter that he was really attractive, you still didn’t like him one bit. That’s why you never talked to him if not necessary. And you had decided to keep it that way for today.

So you stayed quiet during the whole bus ride. It wasn’t very hard, you were still pissed.

When your stop came up, you got up from your seat and walked towards the nearest door, Loki did the same.

“Get lost.” You started a last attempt to make him leave.

He sighed. “I really want to, but I can’t.”

You got off the bus and a gust of cold winter wind blew you right in the face immediately. You shuddered and pulled your beanie down to cover your forehead.

Meanwhile, Loki eyed the Christmas market which was now right in front of you. It was a big square confined on three sides by tall houses and a church in one of the corners. In the middle of the place stood a giant Christmas tree next to a big decorative Christmas pyramid. Even though it was only early afternoon, everything was illuminated by bright lights. The place was crowded with groups of people, strolling by the many festively decorated stalls, drinking hot beverages and generally enjoying themselves and the time they spend with their loves ones. Everything oozed joy, happiness and Christmas spirit. Loki definitely hated it.

“You’re cold, let’s make this quick.” He said.

You didn’t even bother explaining to him that being quick didn’t make sense at an event like a Christmas market. You were too mad at him. How could a person be so barefaced? This was your visit to the Christmas market – on Christmas! And were you going to let Loki ruin it? Not a chance. That strategy would not work on you. You wanted this time, and like you’d told yourself earlier, it didn’t matter who you spend it with. Screw Loki and his dislike for anything human-y and nice. He had been annoying you from the start, now it was time to give back.

You turned towards him, a flashing smile on your face. “You can go anytime you want, you know.”

He just closed his eyes and sighed in defeat.

The Christmas market was every bit as beautiful as it had been in the last years. The market stalls radiated warmth and the smell of pine cones, punch and marzipan. Some of them played Christmas songs from the 80s and 90s that just towed the line between annoying and iconic. All these strings of lights were the most beautiful thing you’d seen in a long time. People chattered, the sky was a bright white. The wind hadn’t slowed down, but you didn’t care anymore. Your senses were overwhelmed, but in a good way. In a holy-crap-I-missed-Christmastime-so-much-way. It didn’t even matter that Loki’s presence resembled a dark shadow following in your footsteps, his eyes full of quiet impatience.

After you’d crossed the whole square, you stopped by a table. It was time you got something to drink. “I’m going to get some mulled wine, you want some too?” You asked, kind of throwing your no-talking-policy overboard.

Loki wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Mulled wine?”

“Yeah.” You replied, internally rolling your eyes at his immediate aversion. “And Loki, if you never try anything new you’ll never–”

“I’ll take it, (Y/N).” He interrupted you.

You raised your eyebrows sceptically. “Really?”

Instead of answering, Loki just sat down at the table and crossed his arms in an expectant manner.

You shrugged, turned around and went to get two cups of the deliciously sweet, heated wine. You’d seen Loki having discussions with your teammates several times. Giving up this quickly was very unusual for him. Had he accepted the offer just to satisfy you? To shut you down? You shook your head. Whatever. Even if so. You didn’t care.

When you returned to the table, Loki looked as grumpy as ever.

“Here.” You handed him one of the cups of mulled wine you just bought. “Wine a bit, it’ll make you feel better.”

His eyes shot up to you. “What did you just say to me?” He asked sharply.

“Woah.” Even though you weren’t exactly afraid of him, you took a step back. “It was just a joke, a play on words.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“Wine – whine.” You explained. For a god, and a smart one for that matter, his brain seemed to work pretty slowly when it came to puns. But you didn’t make the mistake of saying that out loud. However there was something else you just had to get out: “Besides, Loki, even if it wasn’t a joke, you told me earlier that my talking sounded like whining, so it’s only fair.”

Loki raised the cup of wine to his lips and drank. You noticed that this was already the second time of him not answering to something you’d said. And it made you grin widely. Had you really been able to freeze that silver tongue of his? You were so going to tell the rest of the team.

You drank your own wine standing up while looking around at the people passing you by. The beverage was just delicious. And another reason you loved Christmastime. Too bad that drinking this stuff was considered weird during summer. You could drink it all year long.

When you were done, you turned back around to Loki. He was slowly putting down his emptied cup, his eyes closed, and a light smile on his lips.

You blinked in surprise. A smile. He was smiling. Not that you had never experienced that before. No, Loki was often smiling. Just always sarcastically. Or maliciously. Never had you seen him smile out of joy. Not until today.

You pushed lightly at his shoulder. “Stop having so much fun, Loki!” You chuckled.

He opened his eyes and the smile faded. You almost regretted teasing him, but then he looked at you and said: “That tasted surprisingly well. It was not nearly as good as the wine in Asgard, but, for Midgard …”

You tilted you head, now making the same expectant expression he’d done earlier.

Loki rolled his eyes, but the smile returned. “Thank you, (Y/N).” He finally said.

“You’re welcome.” You answered, very pleased with yourself. “Now give me your cup, I’ll return it. And afterwards … if you want, we can get out of here. Go home.”

He handed me his cup. “We don’t have to leave yet.”

“Really? I thought you didn’t like it here.”

“I never said that.”

“Not with your words.”

He sighed. “Fine, I didn’t like it at first. But with you, it’s almost bearable.”

You laughed, and then turned around to return the cups, leaving Loki with these last words. “With me it’s ’almost bearable’, huh?” You said to yourself, giggling. You felt your cheeks turn red with happiness, and you didn’t know if it was because of Loki’s hidden compliment or because you now knew you could stay even longer at the market.

“Can I ask a question, Loki?” Now that you were exploring the Christmas market together, with him not just following you but actually walking beside you, you didn’t want the two of you to remain quiet. You hated uncomfortable silences. So you’d decided to start a conversation.

“Certainly, (Y/N).” He answered.

You had never noticed how soft and velvety his voice was. For a second, you almost forgot your question. “Do … do your people celebrate Christmas as well?”

He looked at you. “The Æsir?”

“U-hu.” You nodded.

“The Æsir are not my people.” Loki spoke. You could tell he was trying to hide the bitterness in his voice, but it wasn’t working well.

“Sorry.” You said quickly, even though you weren’t sure what exactly you’d done wrong.

But as quick as the topic had come up, Loki dropped it. “The folk in Asgard celebrates a festival called Yule.” He told you. “I believe it to be similar to your Christmas.”

“Yule.” You repeated the word. “Sounds beautiful. Tell me more.”

He sighed. “It’s a winter holiday celebrating faith, family and love, what more do you need to know?”

You bit your lip. Faith, family and love. From what you knew about Loki, he had little of either one. No wonder he hated Christmas. Or Yuletide. You looked at him, but his eyes were full of defiance rather than sadness. You decided not to bring it up. You didn’t know him well enough for that. Instead you said: “Anything else? What’s different from our Christmas here on earth? ”

“Hm, let’s see.” Loki looked at the sky, thinking. “Well, for once, the presents aren’t brought by an overweight old man.”

“Hey.” You gave him a playfully serious look. “Not a word against Santa.”

“Your ‘Santa’ looks like my adoptive father, Odin.” Loki grimaced. “Only the eyepatch is missing.”

You laughed, even though you’d never laid and eye upon Odin. “Does your adoptive dad also have a flying sleigh with eight reindeer?”

Loki shook his head. “No, but he does have an eight legged horse.”

You stopped walking and forced him to stop, too. “You’re kidding. Eight legs?”

“Exactly.” He seemed surprised you doubted him.

“No. That’s not possible!”

“Actually, Sleipnir is my offspring, (Y/N).”

You started laughing out loudly. “I don’t believe you, Loki.”

“I’m serious!” He asserted.

“Shut up!” You almost snorted with laughter. “There is no way, an eight-legged horse is your – how did you put it? – ‘offspring’.”

Loki sighed. “I guess I should call myself lucky to get this kind of reaction.”

You wiped away a tear. Loki’s story was too absurd, it could never be true. “So, then, if not Santa, who does bring the presents in Asgard?” You wanted to know.

“Will you believe me this time?” He asked.

“Depends.”

“Okay.” He sighed again. “It’s a goat. The Yule goat.”

You tried your absolute hardest to remain a neutral face and voice. “And, this Yule goat, is he your offspring too, Loki?”

“You offend me, (Y/N).” He said dead serious, looking into your eyes.

Then you both broke out into laughter. You hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time. Your eyes started to tear again and your belly hurt. But these things faded to the background when your gaze met Loki. You had never seen him laughing out of joy before, either. He was bending his head slightly backwards and one of his hands was pressed against his chest. Every sliver of spite, every hint of annoyance had vanished from his eyes and his features. He looked like a whole new person, a healthier one, a happier one. He wasn’t just attractive anymore, he was good-looking. Plus his laugh was one of the most pleasant sounds you had ever heard. You were completely in awe.

It took you a few seconds to notice that Loki had stopped laughing and was now looking at you with an awkward expression on his face. “Are you alright, (Y/N)?”

“Uh, yeah.” You stuttered. “I … I just had an idea. I’ll be back in ten minutes, Loki, just wait here, please.” And with that, you quickly turned around and practically ran away into the isle between the two nearest market stalls. Away from Loki and your embarrassment. You had probably stared at him with glassy eyes for who knows how long. The mere thought made you cringe. What would he think of you now? And in the same heartbeat you wondered since when cared what Loki thought.

The sky had already darkened when you were finally ready to leave the Christmas market.

You and Loki had both gotten another cup of mulled wine and you had introduced him to roasted almonds which (surprise!) he liked more that he’d previously thought he would. Then the two of you had inspected a good portion of the many market stalls selling all kinds of festive odds and ends. And you’d explained the Christmas pyramid to Loki and in that context also the whole story of Baby Jesus’s birth. He found the tale just as ridiculous as I had found the one about the Sleipnir, eight-legged horse.

But by now, it really was time to leave; even you had to admit that. You guided Loki back towards the bus station, which was overcrowded with people. Apparently this was a popular time to leave the market. “Oh, no.” You sighed. “I doubt we will all fit into one bus. We’re going to have to wait for the next one or even for the one after that if we want to get home.”

“Or” Loki took your arm. “We could walk. It’s not that far.”

You tilted your head. It was starting to get pretty cold pretty fast. And despite what Loki said, the way home was not only a short hop. But waiting for the bus? At least walking would keep you warm. “Alright.” You decided. “Let’s go.”

Turned out you were wrong. Even though you had chosen a swift speed, you immediately started to freeze. Shivering, you wrapped your arms around yourself.

“How are you not cold?” You asked Loki to distract yourself. You had noticed a while ago that he was only wearing an opened black coat over a thin grey sweater with a green and gold scarf decoratively draped around his neck. Nothing to cover his head and no gloves. Yet the cold didn’t seem to bother him at all.

You, on the other hand, had put on your warmest hoodie underneath your winter jacket. You wore your favourite woollen beanie and on your hands your thickest gloves. They were buried in your pockets as deep as possible. And you were still freezing cold.

“I do not get cold.” Loki said and shrugged. “After all, I am a Frost Giant.”

You were surprised. You hadn’t known that about him, but then again, until today you had never really cared for Loki. “That’s why you said that the Æsir weren’t your people.”

He nodded. “Now if you start asking questions about how the folk in Jötunheimr are celebrating Christmas …”

I cut him off, laughing. “I wasn’t going to.”

“Good.”

“For a giant, you’re kinda small, Loki.”

Okay, technically, Loki was a tall person. He was certainly taller than you, taller than Bruce and even taller than Cap. But you had seen humans larger than him. And that, in your opinion, made him small, at least for a self-proclaimed giant. And then another thought crossed your mind and you grinned. “Thor is taller than you!”

Loki stopped walking and turned towards you with a suddenly outraged look, pointing his finger. “Why did you have to mention Thor, (Y/N)? I swear, next time I–“ He interrupted himself. “Stop shaking.“

“I can’t.” You answered, your teeth chattering. “It’s really f-f-freaking cold. Can we w-walk again?”

You continued walking on the sideway. Luckily, Loki had forgotten his anger about being compared to Thor. He seemed to be more concerned about your wellbeing, his eyes never leaving you. Strangely enough, it made you feel like you were melting under his eyes. Even though the only heat you were feeling was the warmth of your bright red cheeks.

“C-can you please stop s-staring at me?” You asked after a few minutes as you felt slightly embarrassed by his behaviour and the lack of talking. “Or is the c-c-concept of freez-z-zing that f-foreign to you?”

“It isn’t.” Loki answered. “I just want to be able to catch you should something happen.”

Your breath caught in your throat. What did he just say?

“My brother and your friends would kill me if I let you get hurt.” He continued. “After all, they sent me to have an eye on you.”

Oh. Yeah, you were stupid. What the hell was going on with you? A few hours ago, there had been few things you loathed more than this guy’s face, and now? You could have looked at his face all day. And so, you did exactly that: you turned your head and looked into his eyes. “That excuse gets old, you know.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Excuse?”

“You know what I’m talking about. You could have had one of your illusions to ‘have an eye on me’.” You said. “You’re smart enough, Thor and Bruce would have never noticed. You could have made it stay invisible the whole afternoon, and I too wouldn’t have known.”

Loki laughed nervously. “That’s an allegation, (Y/N). I would never betray my brother like that nor would I invade your privacy.”

You nodded sarcastically. “Oh, sure you wouldn’t. You chose to spend this afternoon with me at the Christmas market, just admit it!”

Loki shook his head. “Even if I did, I–”

Fortunately for him, in that exact same second a large truck rushed alongside the two of you. And not only did the motor of the vehicle make ridiculously loud noise, but it also left you and Loki in a cloud of stinking exhaust gases.

“So, do you regret it?” You asked once the dust had settled and could remove your hands from your nose.

Loki shook his head after a few seconds of thinking.

“You seem to get used to our earthly customs, because anything else would have been rude.”

He ignored your comment and said: “Now it’s my turn. Why’d you run away from me earlier? What was that idea of yours?“

“You want to know if that was also just an excuse?” You smiled sweetly.

Loki sighed. “(Y/N), are you aware of how obnoxious you are acting?”

“I’m just giving you a taste of your own medicine!” You argued.

He laughed, but not happily. “You remind me of Thor.”

“Are you insulting me?” You couldn’t help but raise your voice.

“Being compared to your friend Thor should hardly be and insult to you!” Loki said just as loud.

“It was to you, and you’re his brother!”

“So what why did you run away from me?”

“I was buying you a Christmas present!”

Loki went silent.

You gladly did the same. You were freezing too much to really follow what just happened anyways. Also you were out of breath and it didn’t feel good, because the air was ice-cold.

“You bought me a present?” Loki asked.

You coughed and pressed your hands to your chest. Your lung was feeling like it was being pierced with a thousand knives every time you took a breath.

Loki’s eyes changed from surprise to concern. “(Y/N), are you feeling alright? Look at me!”

You would’ve loved to, but tears clouded your vision. You squirmed and gasped for air. It felt like your own breath was choking you.

You felt Loki’s hands on your back and shoulder, steadying you. “Breathe, (Y/N)!” His voice was near your ear. “Just breathe, slowly.”

It took you a little longer to collect yourself. But finally the pain wore off, so you could wipe away your tears and catch your breath. Loki was still holding you, which was a good thing, because your knees felt week. “Thank you, Loki.” Was the first sentence you said when you regained your ability to form words.

“Let’s get you home, (Y/N).” He simply answered.

For the remainder of the way, Loki let you lean on him, your hand in his hand. He held you as if he feared you could slip away from his grasp.

Half an hour later, you were lying in your bed in Avengers HQ. You had tucked yourself under a warm blanket and Bruce was bringing you hot chicken soup.

“Please don’t you get sick too, (Y/N).” He said when he sat down the bowl on your bed stand.

“I won’t” You promised with a weak smile. “I’m just tired. I – we – walked around a lot.”

Bruce scratched the back of his head. “I still feel bad about sending Loki after you, but he was the only one available. Did you have an okay day with him?”

“I did.” You were still smiling.

Bruce nodded. “I’m glad. Get better, (Y/N).”

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.”

You left your bed only once that evening, to return the empty bowl to the kitchen and make yourself a hot chocolate. On your way back you saw Loki sitting alone in the living room, reading a book, his forehead resting in one of his hands. His eyes didn’t seem to be focused on the pages at all, but maybe that was just you imagining things.

The next day was Christmas Day. You woke up early and tiptoed to Loki’s room, his present in your hands. You had figuratively and literally lost sleep over the question of when would be the right time to give it to him, since he didn’t have a Christmas stocking like all the others. Eventually you had decided on leaving it at his door, secretly, so that he would notice it when he left. A handover without personal contact. And definitely not in front of the other Avengers. That meant the least amount of embarrassment for you.

You crouched down in front of the door carefully. Everything was quiet, it didn’t sound like Loki was awake yet. So you carefully placed the present on the ground. It was a Yule goat, made out of straw, about the size of a shoebox. Sometime yesterday during your conversation with Loki about Yule, you had remembered seeing a market stall selling traditional Scandinavian Christmas decoration. Then, after, well, running away from him, you’d gone back there and bought the goat.

After delivering the present it was time for breakfast with your friends before everyone would empty their stockings. Bruce and Tony were the only ones in the kitchen yet, but that wasn’t the first thing you noticed after you’d entered. The first thing you noticed was Tony’s bright red Christmas sweater – the ugliest one you had ever seen. Christmas spirit at its finest. You loved it.

“(Y/N)! Merry Christmas!” Tony shouted when he spotted you and ran to give you a hug. He squeezed you tighter than usual and laughed a little louder as well. Was he drunk already? Probably. He was Tony Stark after all.

“Woah, good morning!” You chuckled and took a seat at the big table.

In doing so, your eyes crossed with Bruce’s, who had just wrestled the breakfast champagne bottle out of Tony’s grip. He looked exhausted already. Poor man. Yesterday it had been Thor, now he needed to take care of Tony. You gave him a sympathetic look. “Hey Bruce. Merry Christmas.”

However before Bruce could react, a tall figure sat down next to you. You turned around and looked right into a familiar pair of eyes.

“Uh, Loki, good morning.”

“A good morning, indeed.” He said with a broad smile.

You laughed awkwardly. “How comes?”

Loki leaned forward, his face only inches from yours. “Earlier, a little Yule goat came by my door and brought me a present.” He whispered.

Thor, who had apparently arrived alongside with Loki, settled himself next his brother. “Really?” He asked with his booming, yet at the moment a little husky voice. “A Yule goat?”

Loki shot him a murderous glare. “Eavesdropping is considered rude on this planet, brother.” He spoke sourly.

Normally, you’d now said something like ‘I really am a good influence on you, huh?’ And it would have ruined the moment.

You really had acted obnoxiously yesterday. Not everything needed to be said out loud. Sometimes it was enough to know. And right now, it was enough to know that you had made Loki a tiny bit of a better person.

“Thank you for the present, (Y/N).” He finally said.

“Do you like it?”

“Very much. It … it makes my room feel a little bit like home.” You met Loki’s eyes, and they smiled, he smiled.

And you smiled back at him. “You’re welcome. Merry Christmas, Loki.” Then, you leaned in and gave him a hug, wrapping your arms around his chest. It had been a completely spontaneous action, a kind of reflex, but you were glad you decided not to fight it.

You felt him taking a deep breath. “Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”

It was like a little sun had risen inside of Loki on this day. A light that fought away the bitterness. You could hear its warmth radiating in his voice every time he spoke, saw its glow in his eyes when he looked at you. You even felt the heat through his skin whenever he gently took your hand – which, from this Christmas Day on, would happen increasingly often.

#Loki #Marvel #MCU #loki fanfic #marvel fanfic #loki x reader #loki x you #fanfic #fanfiction #fluff #Jule'sffs #christmas

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maladaptive-ninja-returns · 6 years ago

Text

J.B.B. (13)

Bucky x Reader

Content: Who am I kidding. It’s all hurt, pain and the worst here.

Warnings: Please do not read it if you have a weak heart as I am sensitive bitch who cries and wants to watch others cry in the name of a good story.

Word Count: I’m sorry.

A/N: @lokis-lady-death as you can see this was inspired by the theme you followed. I cried so you have to cry. Those are the rules.

MASTERLIST

^J.B.B., ^Part 2, ^Part 3, ^Part 4, ^Part 5, ^Part 6, *Part 7, !Part 8, ^Part 9, ^Part 10, !Part 11, ^Part 12, Part 13

"How you been Buck?" "Not bad for the end of the world." Steve took him for his word. Clearly seeing the light in his eyes brighter than the day they'd first arrived in Wakanda; clearer than the daze he'd seen in his best friend's being when he had met him for the first and the last time here. Steve could see that something had changed about Bucky. There was his old friend from Brooklyn with a hint of something new. Steve couldn't really place a finger on it till he saw a familiar face walk towards him from behind Bucky. "Hey there, Captain." You greeted the man who had gone full nomad with his beard and suit.

"Y/N," Steve smiled up to his eyes as he hugged you tight, "So good to see you." "You too, Steve," you responded, your screaming nerves already feeling a little better, engulfed in his towering stature. Steve's here. Almost everyone's here. We should be good. "Come on, now you two. We're standing here too." Natasha appeared from behind him. "My favourite assassin," you gushed as you hugged her firmly. "My biggest fangirl." "Hey," Bucky quipped beside you, "I thought I was your favourite," his features clearly hurt at your declaration but you knew him too well by now to know what lied behind that humour. "Get over it, old man," Natasha teased him. "I'm surprised you're still here," Sam hugged you back, making you chuckle. "This country has good health insurance and pay benefits for teachers and science students. I'm surprised no one's moved here by now." "Who is she?" you heard a deep voice filled with unsurity whisper from behind the Falcon. "Right," Sam brought his face closer to yours to whisper, "don't be surprised," before turning aside and allowing your eyes to go wide at the figure of Bruce Banner and James Rupert Rhodes. __________ "I. Am. The. Worst," you grumbled. "Take it easy, tiger," Sam chuckled, "Banner has seen worse today. I bet you nearly squealing was actually a welcoming site for him." You scrunched up your nose at Sam while placing your comms in position, standing between him and Bucky, discussing the new threat that was out to get the earth. "How's Wanda doing?" Sam looked at you and you knew within a second it was the worst for her and Vision at the moment. "I wish I could help them up there in some way." You were clearly feeling useless right now. Shuri had taken the reigns and you knew for a fact she could help vision all on her own. "So," Sam raised his voice a bit, breaking your worrying thoughts as his eyes continued scanning the perimeter, "what's up with you two?" "Sup?" you asked Sam, not clear what exactly he was looking for. "You guys having something serious now or are you still trying to work stuff out." You inhaled the question and turned to Bucky, whose eyes mimicked your movements. The heat in your cheeks was rising by the second. "We..." you trailed off trying to calm the tremble in your voice before continuing, "have been living together for some time now." You eyed Bucky for some sort of visual confirmation and he nodded at Sam, who was elated at the news. "Nice. Cool." "Hey, Y/N," Rhodey called for you as he came back outside in his war machine battle armour, "the General says to remind you of something about the berries?" You groaned, your hand reflexively going towards your stomach as the mind revisited distressing nausea from this morning. "Berries? Is he talking about those berries?" Of course, Bucky was quick to catch on to it. We are at the verge of an alien invasion. How are we still discussing the berries? You took in one lungful of air. "I got sick this morning because of those berries." Bucky's entire body turned towards you to comprehend the words he'd just heard. "Again." You added, making his face feel a tiny jolt. "I'm fine now, really," you added before Bucky could say anything, "I wouldn't be geared up for battle if Okoye hadn't given me an all clear." Bucky shifted his weight to give you a sarcastic stare with his brows. "You are not going anywhere near the battlefield, doll. Not today," he announced. "I can only manage one crazy with no sense of self-preservation at a time," he grumbled not taking his eyes off you. "Wow. You two are cute." Rhodey stood beside you, making you squirm with his presence. The War Machine was friends with your friends who themselves were a bunch of superheros. What lifetime am I living? Is this real? Of course it's real. You've been living in a utopia for more than a year now...doll. Your boyfriend- who just asked you to marry him- is the softest supersoldier you've ever met. This is as real as it gets. Your lips involuntarily stretched into a smile. It is real. The breathing eased as you looked up, thanking the forces for this; all of this. All the pain you'd suffered were now bumps on the road that had always led to this. The clear blue sky sparkled. A tiny ray reflecting the golden you thought was from the sun. It was the smile on your face that disappeared first. "Guys," your voice bearly even a whisper, trying to bring the soldiers' attention-who were still bickering about the berries- towards the sky. "Guys!" You voice grew louder with urgency, bringing their focus to the direction you were looking in. "Cap, we got a situation here." Sam announced into the comms right the second his eyes caught anomaly. A dark solid structure burning up in the earth's atmosphere was headed straight for the capital. Right before its impact with the buildings, it blew up in the sky by the highly reactive forcefield that engulfed the city, sending the destroyed spaceship fracturing into every direction after the explosion. "God, I love this place," Bucky breathed. "Yeah, don't start celebrating yet guys," Rhodey voiced, "We got more incoming outside the dome," he declared for everyone to hear as a shower of similar golden specks went by towards the grasslands. The ominous alien pyramids landed with considerable impact outside the forcefield's perimeter one after another, destroying all the flora and fauna within the radius of their brunt, sending their vicinity in flames and dust that stopped at the edges of the protected borders. You activated your comms and adjusted the frequency to know what was going on inside the lab. "-need to destroy the stone now," Vision's voice crackled in your ear, making your nerves light up in the worst ways. Natasha was having none of it while T'Challa confirmed they will hold them off. "Wanda, as soon as that stone's out of his head, you blow it to hell." Steve's voice echoed through your ears, making you turn towards Sam and Bucky. Wanda was supposed to destroy the stone? "Steve," you whispered with the weight of the one question building up like an anthill creeping with the worst scenario inside your head. "I will," Wanda's voice showed no sign of hesitation. __________ "What do you mean I can't go?" "You are going to stay here with Shuri and protect her." It was getting really hard keeping pace with Okoye, especially after her unforseen decision of keeping you off the battlefield. "Does Bucky have something to do with this? Okoye!" She hit her staff on the ground, making you stand still opposite her. "Oh, he most definitely has something to do with this but right now we have enough mettle on the battlefield. I need someone to stay by Shuri's side who isn't present there just for exploiting my princess's knowledge. She could really use a friend right now." You felt like a moron for her having to explain the situation to you. "Have I made myself clear?" "Yes, general." "Good." Following her, you met Bucky outside where everyone was boarding the carriers. "Hey," Bucky stepped away from Sam, coming towards your direction. "I'm staying with Shuri." "Good." You hated it but the ease dripping in Bucky's poise made the sparks of rage bury themselves back in the core behind your eyes. You took his face in your tiny hands, making his pupils dilate at the gesture. "James Buchanan Barnes," you announced as you kissed him before the hidden ambers inside you ignited the sparks in his, "Give them hell." A smirk washed over his heated lips. "I'll tell them you send your regards." __________ The glass walls showed the carriers sending away platoons of warriors to the plane grasslands, near the edge of the border where the enemy waited. Dr Banner was suited up in the hulk buster because his green friend did not feel like it today and it was evident, from where you stood, that the scientist was having a hard time adjusting to it. The Jabari had already arrived on the plains, their cries being heard twice- through the comms as well as the tensed air surrounding you- while the rest of the forces filed themselves up. "Tell me if you need any help, okay?" you uttered to Shuri, who was gearing up the controls, calibrating them to function carefully and precisely around Vision's neuron threads. Shuri simply nodded, all her focus on the task at hand. "Can I get you two anything before she starts?" You asked, turning towards Wanda and Vision. "No, we're good. Thanks." Wanda didn't even make eye contact, which you probably thought was the best thing right now. But just as you walked away from the window, passing her, you heard her whisper, "And congratulations," into your ear, smiling through her bloodshot eyes. It took you a moment before you remembered what her powers were. She already knew about the proposal? Of course she did! She can read freaking minds when she's not controlling them, remember? "Oh! Thanks. We haven't told anyone yet," you kept your voice as low as possible, out of earshot from Shuri. Wanda's brows contricted a bit. "But wouldn't they already know, considering the reason that you're here ri-" War cries resonated through your earpiece, making you turn back towards the scene unfolding outside. "It's beginning." Bucky's voice cursed at the army unleashed outside the perimeter. They were all muddy dots from where you stood but their numbers were incredible. The perimeter lit up right where those dots tried to infilrate through but were evidently having a hard time. Shots were being fired at the ones who somehow made it inside from both the ground as well as air. A few from the cluster of muddy dots were moving right at edge of the perimeter but instead of breaching it they were running around it. "Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us, there is nothing between them and vision." Apparently the world renowned scientist was smart when it came to a battlefield as well. His words made your grip harden on your staff as you did not take your eyes off the dots getting bigger and closer to you. "On my signal," T'Challa's voice came, "open North-Weat Section seventeen." Containment. WIth the final warcry in the name of Wakanda, the battalions charged forward towards the masses of aliens running haywire over the land before the barrier was opened on the king's word. You could see two dark figures from the Wakandan battalions running past the army, charging right into the wild aliens without hesitation. "Oh, heavens," you muttered. It was one thing to hear about Steve and T'Challa's incredibly thoughtless methods of charging into a fight but it was a whole different experience to watch them do it from your own eyes. So, that's what you go through, Okoye, Bucky. "How much longer, Shuri?" T'Challa's voice called out through the comms. "I've barely begun brother," Shuri stated, her hands and eyes steady on the structural neurons hologram she was recircuiting as the precision lasers did the physical work for her. "You might want to pick up the pace." And there it was again. The unsettling slither raising the hairs on your skin. You picked up a pair of binoculars and moved closer to the glass. Dr Banner was doing a decent job of taking out the mindless aliens hungry for death and destruction. Rhodey was manning the entrance, thinning out the numbers where they were clustered the most. Steve and T'Challa were beating the hell out of any beast that approached them. Bucky was not missing any shot until an alien punched him, forcing him to lose his handle on the gun. You cursed as you watched the ugly thing tower over him as Bucky's knife went through the alien's skin. But that was not the only site that froze your fast pacing heart. Rhodey was shot out of the air, Steve and T'challa were overpowered by the growing number attacking them while the hulk buster was thrown into the sand as the alien claws tried to scratch their way through the metal. Your insides screamed at the sight of your friends being dragged through the dust one by one. Stop this madness, your inner voice tried to scream. If you're listening right now, please, do something. For a second it felt like a dream, the burst of light that came down right in the middle of the battle field. Was it another enemy attack? You zoomed in to ground zero to confirm the suspicions eating you right now. But what raised your confusion was the unidentified object that came out of the blinding streak of light, sparkling with electricity as it zoomed about, taking down all the aliens in its way. "Oh, God." you didn't realise you were blurting out loud right now. "What is it? Did something happen?" voices called from behind you. It was either Wanda or Shuri but you were too dazed to even notice the difference. "No," your senses tried to find balance, "no. I meant...there is an actual God on the battlefield. It's Thor. And..." you felt the daze coming back at the sight of his companions, "a...uhh...tree and a raccon." You moved the binoculars away from your eyes for a moment. "I swear I'm not high. That's just what they are." "Bucky, the raccoon! On your six!" You announced as you saw the little animal throw curses like greetings at the hoard of aliens approaching him. Bucky turned in time to pick the talking animal and out of their while aiming for their heads. You would be lying if said you weren't internally smiling at the scene unfolding you. "Careful babe, there are laws here against animal cruelty," you smirked. "That thing just asked me the price of my arm. And I don't think the raccoon will be the one pressing charges," he grunted. "By the way, I think the tree just made a new friend." "Let me guess," Bucky responded, clearly hearing your controlled but lightly elated whisper, "Steve Rogers." Before you could say more, a heavy rumble vibrated through the lab, making Shuri stop for a moment as Wanda moved towards the glass walls beside you. A line of greenery toppled down in a clean row till the perimeter where the ground swell up and gave way to connected weaponised wheels ten times the size of a human. And there wasn't just one of them. You turned towards Wanda, whose eyes faced away from the chaos unfolding in front of you. "Wanda," you whispered, placing your hand on her arm. Her eyes locked on to yours and you had no idea how you could see the volume of her pain through them. "Take care of him till I come back." It was more of a request. You tried your best to fight back the urge to accompany her. "I will." The next thing you knew, this woman was taking down the wheels and the alien hounds over the battlefield in numbers unmatched. The sounds of crunching bones and shrieks brought you back inside the lab. "Shuri!" You heard your voice call out for your friend, whose body flew down the platform as the figure of the assaulter came into display. The pale skin of the alien emanating malice shrouded in black was ready to jump down the platform. Before you could get yourself in position a force sent you off into the wall. "I'm sorry Y/N," you heard Vision's breathless voice whisper close to you as everything around you started going blurry, "but you are in no position to be fighting right now." Niether are you, you moron, you wanted to say, but the words never came. You could see outlines of Vision moving towards the enemy finding the table empty, grabbing him and taking him out and down through the glass. You wanted to get up but your head pounded with immense pain. It had been the one to take all the impact after vision had so treacherously moved you out of harms way. Your mind wanted to check on Shuri and call out for Bucky but nothing was moving and everything was turning into a colourful mess before lights went out. __________ The sharp ringing inside your ear didn't stop till you opened your eyes. Your mind took in the familiar surroundings of the lab, the table, the chandelier, the equipment, Shuri. "Shuri," your weak voice called out for her as your throbbing limbs tried their best to get up. The caught up breath in your lungs was released once you were sure she was breathing. You picked her up and laid her in the section hidden away from the rest of the lab, covering her with a blanket. "I'll be back," you assured the princess as your disoriented self walked out of there. "Vision? Does anyone have eyes on Vision?" Static. "Steve? Do you have eyes on Vision?" Silence. Your heart picked up the speed what your steps weren't able to do yet. Picking up a staff lying closest to you you made your way to the elevator. "Nat? Sam? Can anyone hear me?" The silence brought in a tide of fear. Your back felt the cold sweat run down your spine, not wanting your worst thoughts to come true. "Bucky?" your voice gave away. Silence. The cold sweats grew as the nausea came back. Tears ran down your cheeks, nothing stopping the shaking of every cell in your body. "Y/N?" Bucky's voice made a light scream escape your throat. You were already running out of the elevator and through the doors down towards the ground. "Bucky! Are you-" "My lady," a wakandan soldier approached you from the open, "you should stay inside. General's ord-" He stopped speaking and turned to look at his hand holding the staff whither away slowly into ashes, taking the rest of him with it, making the staff land with a loud clunk reverberating through your brain. "Steve?" Bucky's voice came again with a hint of unsurity hanging in his tone. You dashed towards the treeline where you had seen Vision fall in, trying to press away the nausea and pain building up in your stomach all the while pressing away the dark thoughts. "Bucky?" Silence. Your pace accelarated but dropped as the raccoon and the tree coming into view, the latter disintegrating right in front of your eyes. Your eyes wildly went around the forest, catching Steve leaning down into someone's ashes. "Bucky?" a crack called out in your throat as Steve looked up in your direction, not able to gather what just happened. "Bucky," you whispered, making him get up and move away from the spot. You shook your head as your body moved towards the remains. "Buck." Your limbs gave way under you, bringing you down to your knees. Hey, come on, now. Wake up. Bucky's first words of this morning echoed through you in his soothing voice. Okoye's cries for her king and Rhodey's call for Sam dropped in the background. Don't you have work to do today? Natasha came running towards the now lifeless body of Vision being turned by Steve while Bruce, Thor and Rhodey watched from afar. Goodmorning, sleepyhead. Rocket sat defeated near Groot's ashes. So did you, near Bucky's. As much as I’d love to, doll, I would not last a minute under Okoye’s stare of death. Your fingers traced the fragile remains under their skin. "What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodey called out. It's never going to be over. The place in your chest where you heart supposedly was splintered into a thousand peices, the force driving the wind out of your lungs. They need me. Steve needs me. It's the end of the world for all we know. Steve finally sat down, dejected. "Oh, God." How are you so calm right now? Your aching body no longer registered the changes occuring inside you into your head. I’m so glad I ran into you when I did. Parts inside you were falling to pieces. I love you, Y/N. Soft thump of the hulk buster's feet coming closer behind you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. "Jesus christ," Bruce's voice marveled. No, silly. I mean I want to marry you. Your breathing slowed down, the ache in your limbs increasing with every passing second, telling your numb mind to stop it. "Nat," Bruce softly called out for her, his eyes never leaving you. "Nat." I have you. The cold sweats made you shiver, the words adding to the lack of warmth inside you. Nat came in your direction, not yet over the shock of vision's lifeless body, looking at Bruce with half the interest. "Nat," Bruce's voice broke, his breathing growing heavy, "I think she's bleeding." Jesus, you’ve gained weight. Your hands rested on your thighs, half open towards the sky, purposeless. Nat looked at your armour, confused at the sight of no open wounds until her eyes went down. "No," she came by your side within seconds, her breathing fast, her heartbeat faster. You are here. "I'm here," your voice barely a whisper. Nat picked up your unresponsive limbs, Steve coming behind her to help. "She's in shock." Nat shook her head at Steve's words. "Steve, this is worse." "I'm here," the inaudible whisper escaped again. It didn't take long for it to dawn on him, all the last breaths leaving his tired lungs. "No." He looked at your lackluster eyes still stuck on the sight of the ashes. "No, God, no." His arms wrapped your shivering body into themselves, his hands stroking your hair. "Captain," Okoye’s trembling voice called from behind him, her tears from losing her king and friend still not dry, "we have to take her inside. Now." "I'm here," the words mechanically escaping one last time before Steve's arms carried you away, from where Bucky's remains rested, all the colours around you mixing into complete darkness. I'm here. Where are you?

^J.B.B., ^Part 2, ^Part 3, ^Part 4, ^Part 5, ^Part 6, *Part 7, !Part 8, ^Part 9, ^Part 10, !Part 11, ^Part 12, Part 13 ...

(Yes, I am the worst person right now, probably. But it isn’t over yet. This is definitely going to get a happy ending but for that we will have to wait for Avengers 4. So...I suggest you enjoy some of my fics which are far less torture and more fluff. Or not. PS- J.B.B. readers, I am going to start Steve Rogers fic soon so if you’d like to be tagged do let me know. No, we wouldn’t have to wait for a happy ending in that one so you can enjoy that one. I can only write heartbreak when it is served to me on a platter.)

TAGLIST

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J.B.B.

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godmerlin · 5 years ago

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i emoji tag

i was tagged by @stanning-seb thank youuu!

😃: favorite fictional characters: Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Bucky Barnes, Eric Forman, Quentin Coldwater, Eliot Waugh, etc. there’s a lot. lol

✈️: favorite city you want to visit: a city? hmmm. Paris I guess? I’m not sure. I have a lot of countries i want to visit but i rarely think about like cities hahah

💗: three things you like about yourself: my eyes, my humour, my fashion sense lol

💔: two things you want to change about yourself: my weight and where i live? lol

👻: one item from your bucket list: skydiving. hopefully i am going to do this this fall!

🎹: instrument you want to learn: piano.

🤥: one scent you love & one you hate: I love the smell of the woods! i hate the smell of grease.

🎵: one sound you love & one you hate: I love the sound of good music? HAHA i mean to be cooler i’ll say the sound of trees in the breeze. annnnd i hate alot of sounds but um the sound of cars on pavement..like the tires on the pavement. especially if it’s been raining.

🙊: unpopular opinion: uh? i’m not sure what’s unpopular lmao i really believe in the paranormal? does that count?

💵: one thing you can’t stop buying: clothes hahah

6️⃣: six words to describe your tumblr: marvel, sebastian stan, chris evans, old hollywood, TV, and comedians.

💞: your first follower ever: I have absolutely NO IDEA whatsoever. lol

💪🏼: useless skill you have: uhhh...every skill i keep thinking about isn’t useless hahaha i guess being able to text without looking at my phone? lol

🏠: could you live as a hermit: depends on the type of hermit we’re talking about. can i be the creepy old lady that lives on a hill with all the animals? cuzif so yeah. if not than probably not i actually like to do stuf fhahahahha

🤓: three random facts you know: Marie Curie’s notebooks are still radioactive lol. the largest pyramid in the world is in mexico. Dolphins have names.

👑: favorite disney princess & why: Jasmine. Because she’s awesome obviously? I just always wanted to look like her. she’s so beautiful and justtt like. SHE IS AWESOME.

idk who to tag sorry

#about me

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architectnews · 3 years ago

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Commenter says windowless student dormitory "looks just like the dorm in Squid Game"

In this week's comments update, readers are horrified by the design for a windowless university dormitory and discussing other top stories.

Billionaire investor Charles Munger's design for Munger Hall, a student dormitory at the University of California, continues to spark debate this week.

The design for the building, which was informed by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, was designed to house over 4,000 students in windowless rooms and attracted criticism last week from readers who called it "inhumane".

Munger has since defended his vision for the building, saying "it will last as long as the pyramids" and that his idea to replace windows with virtual windows came from Disney Cruise ships.

"I'm horrified"

Commenters are furious. "I'm horrified," said Nivora.

Stanley agreed: "In some jurisdictions, this would simply be illegal."

"As if a week-long holiday cruise is the same experience as three years minimum studying in college," continued Jack Melathass. "This should be illegal. If it passes, how long will it take for some other delusional 'philanthropist' to propose a similar design for low-income housing?"

"The dorms look just like the dorms for the guards in Squid Game," concluded A Gil.

What do you think of the windowless building? Join the discussion ›

Facebook rebrands to Meta and adopts infinity-loop logo

Commenter thinks Facebook's parent company's logo "looks like a blue McDonald's logo"

Social media brand Facebook's parent company has changed its name to Meta and updated its logo to an infinity loop that resembles the letter M. Readers aren't sold.

"The graphic in the meta logo reminds me of a superhero or villain mask," said Hosta.

"I just see a blue McDonald's logo," replied Steve Leo.

"The new logo connotes 'warped' rather than 'presence' to me," added Robert Becker. "I suppose that's an appropriate twist on Apple's Infinite Loop, juxtaposing the good with the evil in Silicon Valley."

Are you impressed by Meta's new brand identity? Join the discussion ›

UK government has "no intention" of delivering on its COP26 pledges, Cambridge scientist tells RIBA climate conference

Reader believes the COP26 "targets will be changed"

Cambridge University engineering professor Julian Allwood has said that the UK's net-zero strategy is as unrealistic as "magic beans fertilised by unicorn's blood" and will fail to deliver the emissions reductions promised by 2030.

Commenters agree.

"Sounds like some other agreement that the UK government signed up to recently... " said Dave.

"Decarbonisation will only happen as quickly as technological innovation allows governments to do so without losing votes," continued The Manchesterist. "The targets will be changed or the governments will be changed. Stopping air travel, getting rid of cement, widespread vegetarianism, heat pumps, smaller cars, and less driving won't happen."

"The so-called developed world," concluded Anare. "No surprises here."

Are commenters being cynical? Join the discussion ›

MVRDV's Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen opens, giving the public access to 151,000 artworks

Commenter calls MVRDV building "a timeless fusion of architecture and art"

Readers are discussing an art storage building designed by MVRDV, which is now open to the public in Rotterdam. It houses glass display cases filled with 151,000 artworks.

"This project is a timeless fusion of architecture and art," said Wil Worthington. "Another reason to visit the Netherlands."

Melon agreed: "Normally I hate mirrored buildings, but this one actually works as a sculptural object."

Design Junkie was less keen: "The layout looks and feels odd. A group of artworks in a glass rectangle. Strange."

What do you think of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen? Join the discussion ›

Read more Dezeen comments

Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.

The post Commenter says windowless student dormitory "looks just like the dorm in Squid Game" appeared first on Dezeen.

#Architecture – Dezeen

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micahrodney · 4 years ago

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Thread; Chapter 1 - Lost Boy

The following was a commissioned piece for MatthewCaveatZealot. Awakening with a start, Neil managed to bash his head on the ceiling of his dorm room. He collapsed back into his loft bed, running his hands across his temple. He had always known this was a distinct possibility with his sleeping arrangement; there was barely three feet of clearance between his mattress and the unsettling popcorn-style stucco which always left flakes in his bedding. The only damage appeared to be a mild contusion, and a slightly hurt ego. The boy glanced at the alarm clock, which was inelegantly tucked into a corner of the frame, cord precariously taut.

8:35 AM

“Shit!” Neil cursed.

In his panic, he practically hurled himself over the rail of his loft. Fortunately, his faded blue bean bag chair – presently covered by a week's worth of dirty laundry – broke his fall. Fishing in the bureau just beneath his bed, he managed to dig out a clean pair of jeans and a grey tee.

As he reached for his bookbag, he noticed he'd left his computer on. The dull white of a Lotus document was burning into the monitor. Upon reading the salutation of “Dear Erica” the previous night's phone call came rushing back to him; three years discarded in two minutes. He had trouble saying what he needed to say in that call. Truthfully, the shock of it had rendered him phased out of reality. There was a hollowness that consumed him upon hearing those words, an emptiness that had to be embraced lest it consume him.

He couldn't even bring himself to cry. Tears would only validate the nightmare. That had to be it: a nightmare. One that he would wake up from in a day or two when she called him back and apologized. When she remembered how happy they had been together and realized what she was giving up. After a few hours, he had passed from denial to bargaining. Every possible scenario played through in his head simultaneously, from magnanimous acceptance of her apology to him banging at her door and pleading to take him back. That was when the rational approach of writing her a letter presented itself.

Without bothering to save the document, he flipped the switch. The dull fizzling sound was always a strange comfort. To Neil, it represented the end of a day. Maybe that's how he should view Erica: just another chapter in his life that he would move past. And maybe, like the document itself, there really was nothing worth saving there anyway.

---

Voxton was once a whistle-stop town just outside of the state capitol. It was the home of an active farm community, and the state's number one exporter of unemployed drunks looking for better opportunity in “the big city”. Then somebody decided to build a college there in the wake of the 1973 stock market crash, presumably with hopes of turning the state's fortune around.

McCain University – presumably named for its founder, though Neil had never bothered to find out – had grown to become something of a Mecca for the technically inclined. If you wanted to break into engineering or computer science, you went to McCain, assuming your parents weren't wealthy or connected enough to ship you off to MIT.

Thanks to a grant from the Governor, the school had an entire campus building dedicated to the most powerful machines on the market. Perhaps this was why Neil insisted upon using a personal computer from the 80s, despite the fact that his father had offered many times to buy him something newer.

The IBM 386 was more than a little dated, but the chunky machine could do the important things in his life. Sure his classes had him learning on top-of-the-line Power Macintosh hardware, but it had been the computer he grew up with. Its impressive 32 MB memory was stuffed with the text-adventure games of INFOCOM. While his first love would always be Zork, it was the murder-mystery Moonmist that made him want to become a writer.

These dual interests had conflicted before, and while Neil's father was supportive he was also wary. Writing, after all, was a hard market to break into. But computer technology was in high demand and only rising. When he had embarrassingly tried to connect with his son by saying maybe he could learn to make “some of those Nintendo games”, Neil had politely laughed and agreed to consider it. The boy's consideration didn't take long. As a lawyer, his dad always was the better negotiator. Perhaps it was overkill to mention that it is what his mother would have wanted.

Neil opened the door to his usual morning haunt, a student-run coffee shop called “The Junction”. The place was barely bigger than his dorm, but they also had the best muffins in Voxton. He stumbled up to the register and barely sputtered out his order before his bookbag slipped off of his shoulder, sending his notebooks scattering.

“Damn,” Neil cursed. “Sorry, Angie. A blueberry muffin and a coffee to go please!”

“Running late again, Neil?” The senior asked, tying her long ebony hair back with a scrunchy.

“I know, they're lucky to have me as a student,” Neil mumbled bitterly, shoving the papers haphazardly back into his bag.

“Four bucks. Your dad's Amex, I trust?” Angie replied, extending her hand.

“Cash today. I forgot to grab my wallet, but luckily there was a five in my jeans,” Neil chuckled benignly, handing her the bill.

“Moving up in the world.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Lemme grab your breakfast, champ,” Angie smirked.

Neil took his change and leaned back against the bar. The place wasn't really all that bad. Sure two people couldn't walk side-by-side behind the bar, but the little brick shack was alright. He had particularly liked the ironic name. Before the University reclaimed land for a parking lot the place had been a rail depot. The result were tracks that didn't lead anywhere just behind the restaurant and for few miles north and south respectively.

“And in offbeat news today,” droned a local news anchor on the 16 inch TV in the corner of the bar. “IBM supercomputer 'Deep Blue' went six games against chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov yesterday. Although Kasparov won the match with four games to Deep Blue's two, this is the first time a computer has ever defeated a world champion under tournament regulations. Truly this is a sign of things to come. Just how more advanced can these computers get?”

“Neil!” Angie called, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Muffin, coffee, late for Computer Theory 221, remember?”

“Right, sorry!” Neil sputtered, grabbing his food and bolting out the door.

---

“Mr. Brown. How nice of you to grace us with your presence.”

Professor Barker was generally a nice guy, but Neil had tried his patience one too many times. Tardiness was just one of Neil's offenses against the would-be silicon valley elite. In short, Barker didn't like his attitude. He didn't like that Neil would sit through his classes, mind clearly on other things. But what he hated worse was the fact that Neil continued to ace every assignment in spite of his lackluster classroom performance. It wasn't Neil's fault that he felt he got very little out of the lecture hall experience, preferring instead to study on his own time.

“Sorry, sir,” Neil apologized half-heartedly. “Rough night.”

“Wait until you become an adult, then you'll learn what a real rough night is,” Barker scolded.

The aging technician looked like a slightly sunkissed Steve Wozniak. He had the beard and the plaid collar shirts, but his face was a bit more rugged. Barker had learned computers while serving in the Army during the 70s. The synthesis was a computer nerd who looked like he used to beat kids up for their lunch money.

“Now that Mr. Brown has found his seat,” Barker sighed. “Let's resume. Where were we now? Ah, yes! The potential of virtual reality. Now, this ain't your 'Virtual Boy', we're talking about actual virtual reality.”

Barker was nothing if not fond of the sound of his own voice. The lecture was more or less him pontificating about the achievements that had been accomplished with the budding technology and his wild-eyed fantasies of future use. Of particular note, Barker's assertion that we could one day use virtual reality to explore the entire planet's history in first-person seemed especially romantic.

“Imagine, if you would, you put on a visor and are instantly transported to the wild west. With a few mouse clicks, you are in the Roman Empire, or watching the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza.”

A loud digitized beep came from the clock just over the door. It was already 11 AM.

“Ah, well, I seem to have rambled on right to the end of class,” Barker chuckled. “Alright, that's a good stopping point anyway. I'll let you head out. Mr. Brown, a word.”

The students began to pack up and make their way towards the door, as Neil marched down the steps of the lecture hall, prepared for his weekly chew-out session. The beard of the middle-aged educator seemed to twitch in anticipation and annoyance.

“Neil, do you want to be in this class?” Barker asked bluntly.

“Yes sir,” Neil stoically replied.

“You know the class starts at 8:30 AM every Monday and Wednesday, right?”

“Yep.”

“The winter semester has only just started and in the six classes we've had together you have been on time to one of them.”

“That's correct, sir.”

Barker sighed and waved his hands about in front of him as if he was grasping for something to strike him with.

“I don't know what you expect from me,” Barker steadied his hands and pointed a finger in Neil's face. “But I know I expect from you. I can't have you barging in after the class starts. If I have to lock that door, I'll do it. Your work is good, but if you want to stay in my class I expect you to show up on time.”

“I understand sir.”

“Well, I hope so,” Barker grumbled. “I'm not kidding about that lock either.”

---

Monday was, by design, Neil's easiest day. He only had the one class, and he used the remainder of the day to run errands. So as soon as Barker let him out, his first stop was to the Store24 to pick up some groceries. Considering his food storage options in his dorm was a mini-fridge and the top shelf of his closet, he only wound up with two bags and a twelve-pack of the store-brand cola.

He dropped off the bare essentials of sustenance and took a brief moment to tidy his room. There wasn't much cause to impress anyone, but he felt compelled to use the time. It felt better to accomplish something – anything – rather than waiting around for the day to end.

The next two hours were spent overseeing a load of laundry in the dormitory laundromat. It was pretty depressing, featuring bare stone walls and illuminated by a single dirt-specked window. with a line of six washers and four driers on opposite sides of the room from each other. There was a table in the middle, slightly off-set from the window in a way that mildly infuriated Neil. There were technically chairs, but two metal folding chairs took a certain wear-and-tear over the decades and had never been replaced.

Neil found himself sitting on the edge of the table, staring out that window and reflecting on the bizarre dream that had woken him with such a start. The events of the day had driven out most of the fantastic experience from his mind, but bits and pieces still lingered. Those omnipresent voices, speaking in grand detail about him. An idyllic planet that was repeatedly destroyed. The beast from within the pit, as Neil was bound and helpless on a web of light.

He considered whether or not he wanted to try and duplicate the effects of his lucid dreaming again tonight. Was it a story worth picking up? Or did he want to find himself once again at the genuine mercy of some phantasm?

A low blare came from the drier, in what was more than once mistaken for a fire alarm.

Discarding the shards of his recollection, he set about folding his clothes for about five minutes, before hastily shoving the rest of his clothes into his basket and resolving to just “do it later”. This was perhaps his favorite lie.

So it was, at 3:00 PM, Neil found himself back in his room with nothing else on the docket. The young scholar now had to decide between drowning his mounting sorrows in video games, television, or – if he were feeling particularly adventurous – both at the same time.

Looking to a torn up photo of Erica on his desk, he considered what he would be doing if last night's conversation had not happened. The weekends were theirs and sometimes she would visit him Monday night as well, to hit up a movie when it wasn't crowded with people. She wasn't a terribly social girl, and Neil had always done his best to accommodate that.

They both used to joke about how she was a “cheap date”. She was the kind of person who genuinely enjoyed an experience-driven rendezvous. Erica would much rather walk through the Voxton arboretum or take in one of the free community light-shows at the planetarium rather than actually go out and spend money.

On their first date, Neil had nearly blown his chance with her by trying to flaunt his dad's wealth. He had been given $100 to “impress the girl” with. Erica, in that way she always did, knocked him flat on his ass.

“I'm not here to get to know your money, I'm here to get to know you,” she said, before insisting on having dinner at the cheapest restaurant in Voxton, where she paid for her own meal.

The wake-up call had worked, and he loosened up considerably; enough so that she was agreeable to a second date. In spite of the rough start, they had gotten along famously. But apparently not as well as he had thought.

A knock on his door disrupted Neil from his day-dreaming.

“Hey man, open up. You're decent, right?”

Neil chuckled as he opened up the door. His friend Damian could only be described as “dashing”. The heart-throb of choice for all the girls when they were in high school together, his looks had only improved with age.

“Did they finally let you in?” Neil teased.

“Dude, they let you in,” Damian retorted. “If I wanted in, I'd be in. But money is good in the sales game.”

“You work in retail.”

“Retail sales. If I sell ten computers, they give me $50 of store credit,” Damian replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Anyway, we doing dinner? My treat. Gotta cheer up my sad-sack friend, don't I?”

“Damian, you don't have to-”

“Nah, brother, I insist,” Damian smiled, patting Neil on the back. “Breakups hurt. I've been here, and you're gonna be fine. We will eat, drink, be merry and this weekend we will go out dancing and find a girl to make you forget all about her.”

It was this benevolent nature that led to the two becoming friends in the first place. In middle-school, they were both slightly awkward, but Damian had the further disadvantage of being an immigrant. His mother Tabitha had fled Egypt shortly after that assassination of Anwar Sadat, carrying along a four-year-old Damian with her.

The pubescent Damian was dealing with bullying and trying to adapt to both a new country and a stepfather who Neil had never met. The two had met while Damian was hiding out in the library during one fateful lunch and they managed to hit it off over Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles. Neil had just started reading The Black Cauldron, but Damian was already on Taran Wanderer. A young boy's excitement to talk about his favorite fantasy series led to the longest-lasting friendship either of them had enjoyed.

“Damian, I'm not sure if I really want to 'forget' about her, you know?” Neil sighed. “But I don't really need to get into that now.”

“Why not now?” Damian asked. “Take the time, friend. Dinner can wait.”

“It just seems kinda,” Neil struggled to find the words. “Pointless. I mean she's made her decision. I have no idea why, but she made it clear she was done with me.”

“Your feelings aren't pointless,” Damian replied, tapping his chest for emphasis. “It's all we really have in this world. Of course, if you don't want to talk, I won't make you. But, uh, make a decision quick. I skipped lunch.”

Neil laughed and opted to continue keeping his thoughts concealed. At least for now.

“Alright. Dealer's choice,” Neil said.

“What a dangerous power you've given me,” Damian chuckled. “Thai food it is.”

---

This one is hard to position. The thread is destabilizing.

Neil was not dreaming. The voice was not in his head. It was just on the opposite side of his dormitory door. The room around him was shrouded in darkness, and only the door was illuminated. If he could just reach out and grab the handle...

A terrible weight was dragging him down, and his limbs felt as though they were made of concrete. A biting cold was gnawing at him, and there was a presence just behind him. Somewhere in that darkness, a great unseen thing wanted to devour him. Panic seized him as he flailed his useless forelimbs at the impossible contraption. A doorknob; he had seen thousands of these. But his brain could not process how to manipulate one.

With looming annihilation mere inches from him, he resorted to throwing all of his weight at the wooden barrier, hoping it would yield under the force of what, to Neil, felt like two tons of his own mass.

If the thread is lost, we lose the Binder. This is unacceptable.

“Nox?” Neil called out, vaguely remembering the kindly voice from the other night.

We are here, Binder. Patience. We will pull you into our realm. You will not be sundered.

At this pronouncement, a hideous shriek invaded Neil's mind. The darkness wrapped around the young man and began to flay him, leaving crimson marks on his arm. By the time the third sinewy tendril had lashed him across the face, he felt an uncomfortably familiar tug around his midsection as he was dragged out of the darkness and through the door, beyond which lay the sea of stars from his prior visit.

As the distant sparks sailed past him, the memory of that Eden weight heavily upon his mind. He wanted to see it again, and yet he could not bear to watch it be destroyed once more. The thought of having to relive the same disaster over and over again throughout eternity was unbearable. How many times would he have to suffer the same loss? How many people would abandon him to the darkness of his own mind?

Hey Neil, it's Dad. Hope you've had a good Monday. You're probably out with Erica, but I just wanted to get in touch with you about... well, your mother's remembrance. It won't be a big social gathering like last year's. Basically just gonna be your siblings and me, but we wanted to coordinate with you. Just give me a call back when you can. I love you.

His father didn't know yet. Of course, why would he? That was only last night?

Focus on the moment, Binder!

Rem's voice was as stern and monotone as ever, but with a renewed sense of urgency. There was a planet on the horizon, but it was no paradise. The world was molten rock and scattered space-dust, perhaps one in the process of still being formed. Or was this was had remained of the other world after the disaster?

See past the reality of your eyes, Binder. They are not a reliable path to truth, Nox urged.

He is weighed down by his emotional attachment to his own thread. We are losing him, Rem added.

The planet was quite hot, and Neil felt his flesh beginning to sear as he drew ever closer to it. He closed his eyes as he fell through the atmosphere of a dying world, the weight of his grief dragging him into oblivion.

#thread matthewcaveatzealot commission #scifi #short story #90s

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keepitmovinshawty · 7 years ago

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Transformers: The Last Knight liveblog

This time we start back in King Arthur’s time.

Stanley Tucci is in this one too but this time he’s… Merlin.

Narrated by Hannibal Lecter.

Ok who’s the big red Transformer? And a Transformer dragon. Nice.

1600 years later… Optimus is floating through space frozen.

Cuba is a safe haven for Transformers. Lol

Simmons!

Awww they shot the cute robot.

The aspect ratio keeps changing and it’s distracting as fuck.

Cade and Bumblebee!

Is that Barricade? Haven’t seen him in 4 movies.

I’m here for magnetic!Bee!

Lennox is back too.

I aspire to be as extra as Barricade and have brass knuckles that say punish and enslave.

So this Megatron? Wasn’t he Galvatron? How did he get back to being Megatron? His whole design is different.

Quintessa, eh? The prime of life.

A cynical professor.

“No fear. No hate. No anger.” *baby dinobot distracts him* “I WILL KILL YOU, FLYING RAT!” I love Drift.

Grimlock is like a big puppy.

Wheelie is back.

“Words hurt, Cade.” Daytrader is definitely voiced by Steve Buscemi.

Okay the baby Dinobots are so cute.

Big horns.

Everyone’s lips are ashy.

Cue the sun.

95% certain Nitro Zeus is just Shockwave with green paint.

Poor Bee can’t catch a break with his voice.

The fucking aspect ratio tho…

Awww Megatron misses Starscream.

Is the dinobots’ true form their dinosaur form or their warrior form?

“Go to hell!” “This planet IS hell!” Megatron really just wants to go home bruh.

Well that fight was underwhelming.

Cade just got shot but that talisman thing protected him. Interesting.

I don’t like Cogman. He hurt Crosshairs.

Of course Bee gets to go for the ride.

Simmons always has something to offer.

Earth is Unicron and Unicron is Cybertron’s enemy.

NEMESIS PRIME

Kidnapped by your own car.

“I love zis cahr!”

I do not envy whoever has to cut that grass.

Je m’appelle Uht Ruhd.

Vivian is obnoxious.

Witwiccans… Random pic of Ladiesman217.

Bee fought the Nazis. Good. Because it would really suck if Bee had been a Nazi.

Cogman with the dramatic music.

“My weapon will stop deh time!”

Just break everything. That’s smart.

Simmons always has all the answers.

So Stonehenge is from aliens. Makes perfect sense.

Cogman listens to Ludacris.

Bee and his scary half-transformations.

Crazy old guy screaming always gets ppl to haul ass.

Bee hitching a ride on the sun is adorable.

I don’t understand why the army is shooting at them.

In a rare move, Michael Bay sexualizes the man. Nice chest, Marky Mark.

Someone left the lights on.

Why is Drift red?

The knights are still alive I see. I guess they were only in stasis.

Maybe that is the staff in disguise. “Robots in disguise” and alladat.

Cade woke up a Knight.

So of course when Vivian touched the wooden staff it activates. See? Called it.

More knights wake up and… A WILD OPTIMUS APPEARS.

Bumblebee is so tiny compared to Optimus.

“Who dares to challenge me?” *stalks off*

So this underwater fight Bee and Optimus are having is a little funny because it’s so sloppy between the two.

Transformers vs Waves. Waves win. Flawless victory.

That red mark on Optimus’ head… Megatron has one too. So did Quintessa get to him as well?

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say in the year Optimus was gone, Galvatron went to see Quintessa and got his old form back. That explains how he knew about the staff and stuff too.

I like Bee’s hammer.

Cade no-selling Optimus almost impaling him is hilarious.

Bee really won this fight with the Power of Friendship.

Optimus says he hasn’t heard Bee’s voice since Cybertron fell. But didn’t he speak at the end of the first movie? Damnit Michael Bay! What is continuity?

The guardian knights are pissed.

Aaaaand all of a sudden Cade can block a strike from a guardian knight. Movie physics.

This scientist dude is annoying.

“I’ve lived for this!” Megatron, you have died twice already.

Oh noes! Megatron killed Sir Anthony!

Crosshairs loves Optimus’ motivational speeches.

And the Great Pyramid is completely totaled now.

Cade really just asked for a date. That’s faith that everything is gonna be ok 😂😂

Where did Optimus go tho? He said he’d lead them then disappeared.

The knights combined into a dragon. Sweet.

Decepticons also have their own composite transformer.

This scientist dude is REALLY annoying.

“Good job, little friend!” Awww Hot Rod is cute.

Optimus finally arrived and rips the super Decepticon apart. I assume he went to get that sword.

“Did you forget who I am?” *wastes six Decepticons in one swing. “I am Optimus Prime.” Badass.

“Yes! My little lady!” Hot Rod is sooo adorable!

I kinda hate it when Megatron and Optimus fight. I just want them to be friends.

“Sting like a bee!”

“I stop deh time!”

So is Cybertron just stuck there?

Optimus ending monologue.

“There is more to this planet than meets the eye.”

So next movie we learn more about Unicron.

Quintessa survived and is roaming the earth masquerading as a human. Who didn’t see that coming?

#transformers #the last knight

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arrow-guy · 8 years ago

Text

Take it Slow

Original request from a darling anon: hey erin!!! if it's okay, do you think you could write me a christmas fic with Pietro? maybe the team is having a snowball fight and he's using his powers to win and he shows off so much he ends up accidentally hurting her and he's so horrified and angry at himself, and he basically refuses to leave her side from then on, taking care of her and carrying her everywhere and bringing her hot chocolate and going completely overboard with presents and ends up confessing he's in love with her?

A/N: First off, I want to apologize for how long it’s taken me to get this done. Second, I’m sorry about how much it changed from your request, the direction I went in just felt a little more natural. Regardless, I hope you like it!!

Pairing: PietroxReader

Word Count: 3027

Warnings: None

“What are the rules?”

“What do you mean? We’re super heroes about to duke it out in a snowball fight,” Tony scoffs. “There’s no such thing as rules in an Avengers snowball right.”

“Of course not.” I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my heavily layered chest.

“I don’t know why you bothered wearing such a huge jacket (Y/N), you’re just gonna get sweaty and end up taking it off.” Clint comments.

“I don’t care to freeze my ass off, Barton.” I shoot back.

Clint shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

“I will, thank you.” I turn back to Tony, eyebrows raised. “So, rules?”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Fine, rules are, there are no rules. Got it?” Clint lets out a snort and I punch him in the arm, admittedly harder than I should have. “Rogers and I will be team captains. If anyone has a problem with it, take out your anger during the snowball fight, I don’t know.”

“Get on with it, Stark!” Natasha calls, her tone impatient.

“Alright, alright.” Tony scowls at her. “Cap, you get first pick.”

The division of the teams didn’t take too long.

Wanda, Clint, Sam, Bucky and I are on Steve’s team while Rhodey, Pietro, Bruce, Scott and Nat are on Tony’s.

We stand in rows, each team standing opposite each other across the field, ready to pelt each other with snowballs.

I’m not entirely sure who started it but, in the blink of an eye, snowballs started hurtling through the air.

I stand frozen for a moment, watching the mayhem that sprang to life only moments before, only snapping out of the trans when a snowball is sent whizzing by my ear, missing my head by mere millimeters.

I whip my head up, eyes darting around in search of whoever threw the snowball, only to find a slightly guilty looking Scott. I lift my eyebrows at him and his eyes go wide. He turns to run as I stoop down to scoop up some snow, packing it into a hard ball.

Before he can take off running, I hurl the snowball at him and it hits him square in the back of his neck. A hefty shiver runs down his spine before he runs off to join the throng of his teammates, trying to hide behind Natasha.

Wanda has a massive pile of snowballs next to her which just keeps growing as she’s using her powers to pack the frozen water into spheres. Meanwhile, Clint is taking from Wanda’s snowball pyramid and chucking them at anyone he can see. When he takes a shot at Natasha, she grabs Scott and manages to use him as a human shield before pushing him aside and throwing several snowballs in quick succession at Clint who manages to dodge every single one.

I try my best to hit the opposing team, but I only manage to hit Scott three more times and Bruce twice. Tony and Rhodey are tag teaming Steve and Bucky, all four of them taking the game way too seriously.

“Lookin’ real serious there, (Y/N).” Sam comments, flinging a snowball at Pietro who simply sidesteps it.

“Well, that tends to happen when I’m trying not to get pegged by a snowball while a bead of sweat is just rolling down my back.” I hurl another snowball in Pietro’s direction and miss him completely. Pietro snickers and speeds off down the field. “I hate snowball fights.”

“Really?” Sam asks sarcastically. “I couldn’t tell.”

I throw another snowball at Pietro as he runs past again, only to miss. “Would you just sit still!” I screech.

He skids to a halt beside me. “Absolutely not, printsessa.” He whispers in my ear before chuckling and racing off again.

I let out a frustrated yell and shuck off my parka before shoving my sleeves up past my elbows.

As I bend over to scoop up more snow, someone pulls the collar of my shirt away from the back of my neck and drops a handful of snow down my shirt. I straighten immediately and let out a shriek of surprise, whipping my head around in search of the culprit.

About three feet away, Pietro stands doubled over in laughter, hands on his knees. His eyes are squeezed shut and it looks like he’s trying to catch his breath. Glaring at him, I pack the snow in my hands down into a solid sphere and hurl it at him. The ball hits him right in the face and he looks up at me, eyes wide with surprise. I smirk at him, already shaping another snowball.

When he braces to take off again, I throw the snowball and it him square in the nose. He coughs and splutters, brushing snow off his face and shaking his head to get the chunks of snow out of his hair.

“Did you just...” He stares at me, surprised.

“What’re you gonna do about it, Maximoff?” I taunt.

He smirks at me and starts scooping up a massive amount of snow and shaping it into a ball. He lifts the massive snowball above his head and my eyes go wide. I scramble to run away, my feet slipping on the packed snow beneath them. When I manage to find my footing, I take off, trying to get away from Pietro before he can throw the snowball. Sadly, I can’t escape my fate and the snowball hits me in the back of the head, neck and between my shoulderblades.

The force of the impact from the snowball throws me forward onto the ground. I can’t get my hands under myself before I fall and I hit my head on a rock that was hidden underneath the snow.

I try to push myself up and only succeed in rolling over onto my back. Pietro slides to a stop next to me on his knees, worry etched into his features. He scoops me up in his arms and holds me close to his chest.

“Told you we should've had rules.” I mutter, letting my head fall against his chest.

As he walks, my eyelids grow heavy and my vision grows dark before consciousness fades completely.

Pietro walks quickly toward the facility, hoping to get (Y/N) somewhere warm so he can better assess the situation. Before he can get very far, a strong hand is placed on his chest, stopping him.

“What happened?” Asks Steve.

“I was showing off and took it too far. I hit her with a massive snowball and she fell. I think she may have hit her head on something.” Pietro babbles out. “She might have a concussion, but I am not sure.”

“Alright, let’s get her inside. Wanda,” He calls, catching the young woman’s attention. “Stop all the snowballs, Barton and Lang seem to be having too much fun.”

She smirks at him and flicks her wrist, catching all the snowballs in midair in a field of shimmering red energy. Steve nods to her before taking (Y/N) from Pietro and carrying her into the facility. Pietro trails along behind the taller man, fighting the urge to take (Y/N) back from him and rush her to the infirmary, but he knows that jostling her could make the possible concussion worse.

He anxiously paces around the perimeter of the room as (Y/N) gets looked over. As soon as the tech leaves her side, he drags a chair over and plops down beside her, gently taking her hand in his and rubbing circles on the back of it in an attempt to soothe himself.

He sits there, watching over her, for three hours before his head falls to the mattress of her hospital bed and he falls asleep.

I wake with a headache pounding at the front of my skull and an ache running down my spine and spreading out from there. I squeeze my eyes shut and groan softly as I try to shift myself into a sitting position.

“(Y/N), stop, you have to rest.” Pietro says softly from somewhere beside me before gentle hands push me back down to the mattress.

“Okay, but I can’t lay down for the rest of my life.” I open my eyes, squinting against the bright lights of the med bay, before looking over at him and frowning deeply. “I just want to sit up.”

His brow furrows before he stands up and rushes around the room, grabbing pillows from other beds. He helps me sit up and quickly stuffs the pillows he stole from around the room behind my back to keep me upright. I glare at him non- threateningly wiggling around in an attempt to get comfortable.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asks, plopping back down in his chair, hands fidgeting in his lap.

“I’m a little sore but, altogether, not terrible. What happened?”

He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “You managed to hit me with a couple of snowballs and I took my retaliation a little too far and hit you with a massive snowball in the back. You fell and hit your head on something and passed out soon after.”

“Oh,”

“You have a minor concussion, thankfully, so you can’t do anything strenuous for a while, meaning you’re not going to be working for the rest of the week.”

“What?!” I hiss. “I’m too close to finishing with those files we were able to lift from the mission last week, I can’t be on bedrest for the rest of the week!”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “I don’t make the rules, (Y/N), I merely enforce them. That is why I will be helping you while you recover.”

I groan and roll my eyes. “Great, that’s exactly what I need. A nanny.” I shuffle around on the bed again, causing Pietro to look at me nervously. “Look, I’m fine. You can keep helping Steve with the training. You don’t have to hang around.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. The doctor made me promise to keep an eye on you while you healed. You are stuck with me I’m afraid.”

“Fantastic.”

“You do know I can walk on my own, right?” I fold my arms across my chest and hunch forward. “I'm not an invalid, it's just a concussion.”

“We cannot be too cautious.” He pushes the wheelchair I’m seated in a little faster down the hallway.

“Says you,” I grumble. “It’s not like I’m going to go off and immediately try to run a marathon. I just want to be able to do things for myself.”

“I know.” He murmurs. “I’ll try to give you as much space as I can, but I will not let you out of my sight.” I groan in frustration and scrub a hand down my face. “I know you’ll try to push yourself too hard if I leave you alone and I can’t trust you and your workaholic nature enough to leave you alone for too long.”

“Fine,” I huff. “But you’re sleeping on the couch, no acceptions.”

Pietro nods. “Alright,”

He stops in front of my door and I reach out and open it before pulling myself out of the wheelchair and slamming the door behind me and locking it.

“(Y/N)!” Pietro cries. “What do you think you are doing?!”

“Sorry, but I need some privacy. Come back when F.R.I.D.A.Y. says you can.”

“(Y/N), come on, I’m only trying to help.” He says, his voice muffled by the door.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., please silence the room.”

“Of course.” All noise from the outside disappears and I carefully lay down on my bed, propping myself up with several pillows. “When shall I let him in, ma’am?”

“After I’ve been asleep for an hour.”

“I’ll be sure to do so.”

“Before I doze off, how’s he doin out there?”

“He yelled until you got to your bed, but now he’s just sitting with his back against the door,”

“Okay,” I shuffle around under the covers before settling my head back against the headboard. “Remember, one hour.”

“I’d remind you that it is impossible for me to forget, but I figure that the point is moot. Have a good rest, ma’am.”

“You look like a kicked puppy there, Maximoff.” Sam observes, leaning on the wall beside Pietro.

He sighs and pulls his knees up to his chest. “I realize that, but (Y/N) refuses to let me keep an eye on her.”

“Did she lock you out?” Pietro nods, resting his chin on his knees. Sam throws his head back and laughs. “That is hilarious. What’d you do?”

“I may have taken my role as caretaker a little too far.” He says, pointing to the abandoned wheelchair a couple of feet away. “It pissed her off a little, I guess.”

“You guess?” Pietro shrugs. “Incredible.” Sam shakes his head. “She’ll come around man, you just gotta tell her why you’re acting so overprotective, y’now?”

“I… what?”

“Tell her how you feel dumbass.”

“I don’t know if that is the best course of action,” Pietro says. The door behind his back gives way and swings open. He flounders for a moment, arms flailing, before his back hits the floor.

“Doesn’t matter, looks like you’ve got the opening you need.” Sam smirks and pushes off the wall. “Good luck, kid.”

Pietro scowls at Sam’s back as he watches him walk away.

“Is this you telling me I can go in, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

“I was instructed to allow you in after she had been asleep for an hour.”

“A simple yes would have worked great in that situation.” He mutters, picking himself up from off the floor.

“I will be sure to remember that for next time.”

Pietro walks further into the room to find (Y/N) propped up against her headboard, sleeping peacefully. He almost hates to do it, but he gently shakes her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.

(Y/N)’s eyelids flutter as she’s roused from her nap. Squinting against the light from the hallway, she pushes her hair out of her face and looks around. When her eyes land on Pietro, she blinks a few times and yawns before combing a hand through her hair.

“Has it really been an hour already?” Her voice is gravelly from sleep and Pietro smiles at the sound of it.

“It has, though it feels as if it’s been longer than that.”

“Why?”

“You locked me outside, remember?” Pietro sits on the edge of her mattress. “I think time passes more slowly when you’re sitting on the floor outside of someone’s door.”

“Right… sorry about that. I just really needed some time to myself.”

“(Y/N)-”

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do, because I definitely appreciate it, but I can’t have you here, at my side, one hundred percent of the time. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m a really private person and having you constantly hovering and fussing over me is kind of annoying.”

“I’m sorry, I never wanted to make you uncomfortable.”

“I know that. Believe me, I do. I know you feel responsible for what happened, but all this mother hen nonsense is ridiculous.”

“It is my fault that you hit your head though. I do feel responsible and I want to take care of you, but it's not just because I caused your concussion!”

“Oh? Then why are you so overprotective of me?” She asks, folding her arms over my chest.

“Because I like you, (Y/N).” He pushes himself off of the bed and combs his hands through his hair. “It's as if the day you walked through the door the world got a little brighter for me and I wanted to protect that.”

“What?” I ask, completely dumbfounded.

“I have crush on you, alright?” He says, turning back to me with an almost desperate look in his eye. “I never planned on telling you like this, or at all if I'm trying to be honest, but then the snowball fight happened and I just-what are you doing?”

I halt my movements and scowl at him. I had gotten my legs swung over the side of the bed before he had even noticed.

“I'm getting out of bed so I can hug you, dumbass.” I push myself up from the bed, only to have Pietro scoop me up bridal style and lay me back down.

“You have to rest, doctors orders.”

I roll my eyes and push him away before getting out of bed a second time. He backs away from me, shoulders dropping.

“You're an idiot, you know that right?” It's more of a statement than a question.

“Well, seeing as I have been reminded of the fact multiple times today, I would say that I do.”

“Good.” I nod. “Here's the deal, Pietro. I'm tired, I have a killer headache and I like you too.”

“Well you've got a concussion so-wait, what?”

“You heard me.”

“I think I am going to have to ask you to repeat that, because I could have sworn I heard you say that you like me too.”

Shaking my head I pull him closer by the collar of his shirt. “You're lucky you're cute, Maximoff.”

He lifts his eyebrows at me almost in a silent dare to do something about it. I smirk at him and press a quick kiss to his lips and patting him on the cheek.

“I-I-”

“I'm going to go back to sleep, if you want to join me and make sure I don't do anything too stupid, you're welcome to. But if you try to baby me, you're back out in the hall, understand?”

He nods and picks me up again before settling on the bed with me. I lean back against the headboard and Pietro rests his head on my stomach, arms looped around my middle. He sighs contently and rubs small circles into my sides.

Sam watches silently from the hallway as Pietro and (Y/N) fall asleep together, a small smile on his face.

“Finally.”

Thank you guys so much for reading! If you liked the piece please reply to the post or shoot me an ask! Feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!

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