#technically they already have a third and fourth so i’d settle for fifth

[ineffablebrainrot]

hey does anybody know if they’re looking for a third ???

[msbarrows]

Quilla, My Bestest Town Ever!

So after saying in the tags on my Banished post that went up Wednesday morning that I didn’t think there were many more of the accomplishments I wanted to try for, I promptly went and had a super-playthrough that got me 27 of the 36 possible, leaving me at 34 of 36. Holy crap this was a good town.

Started playing Wednesday afternoon, played through until it was already Thursday, then Thursday afternoon resumed, and continued playing until late Thursday evening. I initially had fairly minor plans; I wanted to try for Isolationist (300 citizens without building a trading post) and decided to combine it with One With Nature (400 citizens without building fields, orchards, or pastures) so I wouldn’t be wanting seeds or livestock, and therefor wouldn’t be tempted to build a trading post to trade for same. In looking further down the list of accomplishments, I figured that since I wouldn’t have a ton of villagers tied up in farming and animal husbandry, I might as well also try for the Miner and Mason accomplishments (have two mines or two quarries respectively, with 30 employees at each for 3 years - which seemed weird since mines and quarries only need 15 employees each (more on this later)). And then since I’d be doing so much mining and quarrying without using the results as trade goods... well, I might as well try for a few accomplishments based on those resources, like Blacksmith (equip a population of 200 with steel tools for 4 years), Highwaymen (build a town with 2000 stone paved road tiles) and Built From Stone (build a town with 100 stone houses).

Since I was trying for One With Nature, I also decided to start in hard mode, which gives you just 4 families, nothing pre-built, and no seeds or livestock. But to make things a trifle easier on myself I also went for a large map and a mild climate. And thus started Quilla (first screenshot). Using the stuff I’d learned up in earlier playthroughs, I laid out major building sites ahead of time (second screenshot), and it wasn’t long before I was creating my first extension on the other side of the river that zig-zagged through my map (third screenshot). I achieved Isolationist within the first 50 years, and ditto One With Nature. Along the way I’d also picked up Educated (Fully educated population of at least 200 adults for 4 years).

Now that I could build a trading post, I decided to aim for Farmer as well (have access to all 3 livestocks, 8 fruit & nut trees, and 8 crop types), because even with all the building I was doing, I had tons of trade goods available (fourth screenshot). At this point I was checking for other accomplishments I might as well knock off if conditions were right, like Golden Gate Bridge (a bridge at least 50 tiles in length - fifth screenshot). I achieved Built From Stone, Highwaymen, and Blacksmith, in the course of which I also knocked off Stonework (produce 10,000 blocks of stone within a 100 year period) and Ready for Anything (Simultaneously stockpile 2000 logs, 2000 fuel - not sure if that was firewood or coal or both - 500 stone, 500 iron, 200 tools, 200 coats, and 30k food). And that was the end of the first very lengthy playsession.

Today (Thursday, when I’m tyoing this, though it won’t be posted until Friday morning) I settled in to see what else I could manage to accomplishment. I hit Lumberjack pretty soon after (produce 10k logs within a 100 year period), and all my trading also saw Farmer finished off:

With that is was super-easy to get Food Variety (plant all types of fields and crops and harvest same within a single year... which sounds tricky once you know orchards take several years of growth before they start producing fruit and nuts, but is actually ridiculously easy if you already have mature orchards of all of them). You can see the cluster of orchards and fields I planted specifically for the accomplishment in the lower right area of the eigth screenshot (seventh shows how many carefullly-spaced-out docks I was developing along the river... and this is just one small stretch of them).

Along in there I also got Village (population of 600 citizens), Stylish (population of over 200 with warm coats for 4 years), Smelter (produce 10k iron within a 100 year period).

Now I was very purposefully setting up conditions for specific accomplishments I hadn’t originally planned on, like Exports (stock a trading post with at least 500 ale, 300 steel tools, and 200 warm coats), Master Builder (build a town with 3 churches, 5 boarding homes, 4 markets, 5 hospitals, 2 trading posts, 6 taverns, and a town hall), Master Trader (trade 100k units of stuff in one town - basically I bought a lot of stuff whether or not I technically needed it atm). I rolled over the 100 year mark and got Established (town of at least 300 citizens after 100 years). In fact shortly after that I got Town (reach a population of 900 citizens) because I also decided to take advantage of a couple large nomadic groups to get Immigrants (allow 200 nomads into a single town).

Then I also got Jack of All Trades (town of over 200 people with someone working in every profession for at least 5 years) and Livestock (have a town with at least 60 cattle, 75 sheep, and 180 chickens).

By this point I’d given up on the Miner and Mason accomplishments; I just couldn’t get conditions right for them, no matter what I tried, even after consulting google to try and figure out what I was doing wrong. By this point my town was bustling enough (and trading enough) that I needed more than just two mines and two quarries. So I gave up, built a bunch more of both... and a few years later got the accomplishments!? I think what the wording on them should have said was something along the lines of “have at least two mines/quarries, and at least 60 employees total working for 3 years” to get it. Because it sure didn’t happen when I had just two of each with 30 extra employees.

The final two accomplishments I gathered in were Tombstone (fill graveyards with at least 400 graves) and Firefighter (build 20 wells in a single town).

There’s just two accomplishments left, and I really, really do not feel like trying for either of them right now; one of them is 300 citizens without ever building a school (which I may attempt at some future date), and the other is having a population of 500 after 200 years. I... very much don’t feel like ever playing for 200 years - this town or a new one - especially considering I have already reached > 900 citizens. So I’m probably finished with Banished for now, since I have so many other games I picked up in the Steam summer sale to try out.

Though this was an extremely enjoyable (if lengthy) town to play.

[birlcholtz]

Okay, I'll bite. How and why did you learn to code?

HI LIN thanks for biting this is a story that tells you quite a lot about me as a person

so some background: my parents are both in compsci. they're the late 80s, early 90s silicon valley crowd, they've both had their fair share of established companies and startup-hopping, and my brother and i grew up here

my brother is about 5 years older than me and took to coding like a fish to water (like a duck to water??) which is to say he started programming on scratch at the tender age of.... i don't even know, honestly, maybe 9? too young for me to really remember, and he's been a compsci prodigy ever since

but then. then there was me.

now i do love scratch. when i was little i always copied my brother (not in like a cute way, in a 'if he can do that i can do it too' mindset that meant my third grade teacher REALLY struggled to find book recommendations for me that i hadn't already read. since my brother was above his grade's reading level, and i would read whatever my brother read. yeah that's the kind of kid i was/am)

so naturally i did what he did. i programmed on scratch, i did advanced math courses, i was in CHESS CLUB (i am so bad at chess by the way. i am not good at it. let's establish that. i think i beat my dad once and i genuinely don't know if he let me win or not. i never beat my brother so in that respect i failed. but i'm better than my mom so there's that)

HOWEVER. around fourth or fifth grade i was like hey. maybe i want to like... forge my own identity. and not just turn my life into 'do whatever elder brother does BUT BETTER.'

and thus began my campaign to NEVER DO ANY CODING EVER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE AND WHILE I'M AT IT FUCK MATH

this gets long so there’s more under the cut sjflsghf

there are two problems with this. the first problem is my inherent pride and the fact that, despite my best efforts, i am actually decent at math and too proud to intentionally fuck it up. so i wound up in honors math. that made part 2 of my independence campaign a little difficult.

the second problem is that my parents were just as determined for me to learn to code as i was to avoid anything to do with coding for the rest of my life

(the third problem was actually a serious problem for this goal. and that was that in seventh grade, when i had a required compsci class where we learned basic, i found myself... enjoying it. HORROR OF HORRORS.)

so i was quite vocal about my anti-math stance and my determination to explore other avenues of life, to which my parents responded by listening with bat-ears whenever i talked about my compsci class and/or my love of spreadsheets so that they could jump on it and say 'YOU KNOW, COMPUTER PROGRAMMING IS JUST LIKE THAT, I THINK YOU WOULD REALLY ENJOY IT' whenever i said something remotely applicable

and to which i responded, of course, by plunging ever deeper into performing arts because fuck compsci, except when it's basic, because then i understand everything because of messing around w scratch when i was little and it's easy and i'm ahead of the rest of the class and can stare into space while the rest of them struggle with closing their parentheses (which is not to say i never messed up my parentheses. i totally did)

now, my brother, because he's a nerd, went to compsci summer camps where you'd spend a week or two learning some program or language. he did things like java and c++ and then would come home and use this knowledge for robotics club. like i said. nerd.

but my parents sensed a golden opportunity. namely, 'if we can get birl to go to these camps, she will actually learn programming things (not just being ahead of the class and spacing out in basic), and we'll probably get her to agree since it's only a week and she can do cost benefit analysis'

and, because i CAN do cost benefit analysis, i agreed to that deal. i'd go to a few of these camps, and then we'd agree that i was done with my parentally mandated computer science requirement. i learned some 3-d modeling, i learned to use unity (which involved some c+ as well), and i learned some java, and all was well. the camps were like 5 days long. we mostly worked on self-directed projects so i could do whatever the hell i wanted (and i made some pretty cool maze games if i do say so myself-- one of them in unity and one of them as a text-based game in java)

and.... horror of horrors....... i didn't hate it.

(of course i didn't want to go BACK any more than i had to but i also didn't hate every moment of those weeks)

so we were out of the woods right?

except no. we weren't.

because here's the thing. my high school ALSO had a computer science requirement. we had to take at least a semester. there were 3 levels offered: AP compsci, normal compsci, and then easy compsci (not its actual name) for the people who did not give a single shit

obviously i wanted to take the last one. my parents really wanted me to take AP but were willing to settle for normal. you will notice there was no overlap

i wrangled my way out of taking AP because that was a year-long course and i didn't have space in my schedule (my parents are wonderful in the sense that they didn't want to infringe on my actual interests to force me to do compsci which meant i had LEVERAGE)

but we literally wound up discussing it with the dean of students who was like 'well if you're capable of AP and just not taking it for schedule reasons then easy compsci would probably be boring for you!' which was an unhelpful take, thanks EVAN

but i did get my way by virtue of volunteering with a progressive tech organization in lieu of taking regular compsci, so i took easy compsci (in which i used scratch again, yay nostalgia, and also briefly flirted with html) and also wound up learning to use squarespace which is criminally easy but you can make it look like you're an expert

and all this while i was getting better and better with spreadsheets due to my own individual love for spreadsheets that near as i can tell, nobody in my family shares (my dad does have a lot of spreadsheets but his aren't as detailed as mine and he doesn't include data validation so HA)

all of which (plus my ap calc and stats classes) combines to mean that while i would not be able to just sit down and write you some code, if you give me access to stack overflow and tell me what language it's supposed to be in i can probably figure it out. especially now that i've become familiar with python by accident (well, more by my desire to write fic)

and because now i'm stuck in a rut, my current internship is with another civic tech company and that's probably what i'll wind up doing next summer as well. i don't actually work on software but i do comms which means i need to be able to have conversations with the engineers so i've been learning on the job. i know so much help

SO. with regards to my fic, my parents would both be thrilled because i taught myself some of a new programming language (python) and disappointed because i taught myself some of a new programming language with just stack overflow and some time and all i'm using it for is fic.

but near as i can tell we finished that battle long ago. it was a resounding victory for birl and i continue to expand my technical talents into areas like photo/video editing and CRM tools.

thank you very much *bows*

[tfwhynoy]

Finfolk au thing for myself. Finfolk is kinda like merformers but more so following Orkney folklore. I needed some comfort and thought “what if human went willingly”. Still kinda out there for the au but whatever. Cygate x reader but Cyclonus isn’t there it’s just Tailgate gushing about you and Cy.

You had never been close to your parents. Constant fights, them pushing their own trauma on you, and constantly trying to change who you were didn’t exactly encourage close bonding. Sure, a small part of you still loved them because they were your parents but it was easily drowned out whenever you spoke to them. The constant comments about how heavy you’ve grown and how if you’d didn’t find someone soon you’d die alone always cut deep. They were obviously just joking around but you still knew that they fully believe what they said despite the light-hearted tone.

One of your few reprieves as a kid had been the few close friends you held onto. They felt like you true family, always there to listen and support each other when adults had failed despite their best attempts at times.

As you grew though you all grew apart. You all stayed in contact the best you could but with one being busy with college, another with work, and another with taking care of their sick grandparents most of you were too busy to hang out like you used to.

The one friend you had been able to interact regularly you had found out died in a car crash two weeks ago. You hadn’t cried the first or second day of learning this, denial and shock prevented any tears from falling. The third, fourth, and fifth you had cried so hard you could produce more tears if you tried. No, your heart had a dull ache that settled at the bottom of everything you did.

Each time you came back to the same beach when you were hurting, even as a kid you came back. It was busy during summer but with the cold winter months set in almost no one could be seen most days. Technically you weren’t even supposed to come here alone, old tales of finfolk falling in love with humans from afar and unable to resist stealing them away saturated your town. Nearly everyone kept something silver with them that they could toss to distract them and escape.

“The one thing they love more than stealing people a way to be their brides is silver.” Your mother's words echoed through your head has you clutched at the silver chain you wear around your neck. Mom had given it to you when you started going through puberty, always teasing if you showed too much skin at the beach with friends some finfolk would kidnap you in the night. You had always held the necklace as a symbol of your mom loving and caring for you despite everything that happened but as you thought more about the memory again it turned rather sour like many memories before it. You didn’t want her gift around your neck. It didn’t belong anymore.

 You never believed these old stories anyway; often showing it by sitting on the old wooden docks and closest to the ocean tides as you could without getting wet. You may not have some magical draw to the ocean like some fairytale story but the inner rebellious teen in you kept you coming back here. It was silly but the worst you would get was accidentally stepping on a squishy jellyfish head when they began to wash ashore.

You took stood as you took it off your neck. It had no clasp and instead was just one long chain you slipped over your head. No need for something fancy when the intent was to just throw it away after all. You pulled back your arm as far as you could before tossing it as hard as possible. It didn’t travel too far but none the less sunk beneath the waves.

“If merpeople even exist they’re free to take the damn thing. I certainly don’t want it anymore.” You were merely thinking out loud as you sat down. You looked glumly at the grey sea and saw a small spot of white approach under the water.

Your furrowed your brow trying to think of any type of white fish around but came at a blank. Most fish came off more silvery but this distant blog of color glided through the water was bright white like a sheet of paper.

It dipped down quickly near where you had tossed your silver necklace, disappearing too deep to be seen for a moment before rising again. It breaches the surface of the water to reveal that this was, in fact, a mer. I glided through the water towards you making, what you assumed to be, happy chirping noise the whole way.

It stopped just before the dock for a moment and the two of you stared at each. Its torso was rather chubby with an oddly textured blue underbelly. Its face was rather childlike but you had the feeling this creature was much much older than it looked. You certainly noticed it fidgeting and messing with your silver necklace as a wide sharp-toothed grin spread across their chubby face.

“Hi! I’m Tailgate.” The chubby mer attempted to crawl up on the wooden dock but gripped too hard on the old rotting wood. It didn’t even creak as he accidentally crushed the wood as he attempted to pull himself up and only succeeded in ripping off a good chunk of the first plank. “Oops. I’m sorry I forget my own strength sometimes. And I’m just so excited to finally talk to you! We’ve seen you spend so much time hear but Cyclonus always said to leave you alone since you always seemed sad. I can’t wait till he hears you gave me this though! It’s so pretty.” He rubbed the chain against his cheek affectionately as he said the last bit. Tailgate was certainly adorable but your mom’s warning began to worry you. You had just “given” Tailgate the only piece of silver you had on you after all.

“You not going to drag me under are you?” You said it before you could stop yourself and Tailgate’s change in demeanor was immediate.

“No! Why would I do that? I don’t wanna risk drowning you sweetspark!” Something deep down told you Tailgate wasn’t dangerous, at least not on purpose. His pouting when you showed distrust certainly wasn’t helping you be skeptical of the adorable little creature.

“I… There are just so many stories of your kind kidnapping people and them never being able to see their families and friends no matter how hard they fight.” 

Tailgate let out a loud gasp before he spoke. “I wouldn’t do that! Neither would Cyclonus. We may be rather old fashioned to other finfolk but we actually court people we have an interest in. I guess it comes from living before humans were seen so often near the shore and having them as conjux became popular but I wouldn’t do that.” He rested his had on the dock and stared at round deep blue eyes.

“Wait, who is Cyclonus?” If this little mer already had a spouse why did he seem so interested in you?

“He’s my conjux! He’s intimidating when you first meet him but I promise you he’s really sweet when you get to know him. I’m sure you’d love him as much as we love you.” You felt something in the pit of your stomach. From what the stories told you finfolk on their own can be possessive and needy to their human partners. Having to deal with two would make this so much worse for you…

Or they may be spending some of their energy on each other rather than all of it on you.

“If I became Cyclonus and your...” you had to think of the word for a moment hoped you were using it properly, “conjux... what would that look like. Would I be able to go home? Would I have to live in the sea?”

He seemed to perk up a bit when you showed interest in joining his relationship. “Oh you’d likely live with us but you’d be able to go above when you wanted to. We wouldn’t want our sweet little human to feel trapped in their own home.” His tail began to swish back and forth as he rambled and daydreamed out loud. “We’d hunt and provide everything you need. Cyclonus would lavish you in gifts every day and sing you sweet songs every night. I’d always be cuddling by your side, running my hands through your hair while you petted my fins…” you could hear something akin to a purr as he continued rambling about how your life would be with them.

You couldn’t tell if it was just your still aching over losing your friend but it actually sounded really nice. No more needing to worry about paying rent. Just showing affection and getting affection in turn.

You still hadn’t met Cyclonus though.

That fact made you think for a moment. Sure Tailgate seemed sweet but what off Cyclonus? You’d never seen anything of him before.

“Tailgate?” He broke from his loving rambles to listen to what you had to say. “Could I meet Cyclonus before committing to such a life? He sounds lovely from how you’ve described him but I’d like to know him in person first.” Tailgate gasped excitedly and rapidly tapped at the wood of the dock.

“Of course! Of course! When would you like to meet him? I could probably even get him now if you’re patient enough.” 

“How about tomorrow at noon? I need time to prepare a gift for him as well.” You hadn’t thought much about the words before you spoke them.

“Oh, he’d love that! Oooh, we should go now so you have more time. A day isn’t that long after all.” Tailgate was positively beaming up at you.

“Agreed. I’ll see you and Cyclonus tomorrow. See you again soon Tailgate.” You gave him a small wave before you left the beach.

Your heart still ached at the thought of your lost friend but with the idea of having two finfolk there to constantly love and care for you, your heart fluttered slightly.

After so long of hurting you deserve something like that you reasoned. Now just to find something appropriate to give Cyclonus tomorrow.

[escapingreality1992]

The Movie Queen and Her Captain

Luna and Steve Rogers have a Harry Potter marathon and things get steamy.

"How is it possible for you to not even flinch during a horror movie? I mean, seriously? Not one jump scare got you," Natasha asked while we walked into the front entrance of our home; the compound. We had just finished watching A Nightmare on Elm Street at the theater; they had a Halloween special going on where they'd show older movies to get people in the mood for spooky season.

"Call me the queen of horror movies. Or movies in general. But technically I've already seen that one. At least I'm not the one who jumped when he had the longest arms on the planet," I replied.

"First of all, it weirded me out and second it was really disturbing. If I saw someone walking down the street with arms long enough to circle my entire body, I'd run too,"

"Except you wouldn't escape because it's a dream. It's the whole point of the story line. He kills you in your dreams. You wouldn't get very far either. That's his ultimate power, trapping you in dreams. Though I bet you could take him. You are the Black Widow after all," I argued.

"Still, it's going to give me nightmares and not the ones I normally get," She stated. As we neared the lounge, the smell of buttered popcorn hit my nose, both of us sneaking in the lounge to see what the boys were watching while wearing sweats. Peeking around the corner, I recognized the movie as The Exorcist, suppressing a giggle before catching Natasha's gaze. Her lips twisted in a wicked smile, the same idea coming to mind. Crouching low, we slunk to the couches, each picking a specific target; Nat's favorite person to scare was Tony, she always squealed in delight when he shrieked like a girl. I switched my targets each time, today's choice being Sam. I got Steve last week while he had been getting a glass of water in the middle of the night and I decided to go easy on him this week.

As the scene played on - the one in which the main character levitated - you could feel the tension in the air creating the perfect timing for us to launch out attack. Once the priests reached the third part of their chant, we sprung up and shouted 'BOO!', our hands landing on the intended targets. Popcorn and bowls flew into the air, shrieks - not screams - sounded around the room, making Natasha and I cackle with laughter.

"Oh my god! You should see your faces," I stated after Tony asked FRIDAY to turn on the lights.

"Why? Why do you two feel the need to scare people?" he complained, shooting us a glare. We laughed again and at his huff, we attempted to contain ourselves.

"Sorry, sorry. It's fun to do and the expressions on you guys right now are worth it. Don't forget it's spooky season, which is by far the best time to terrify anyone. If anything, it's your fault for putting on a scary movie creating the perfect opportunity to scare y'all anyway," Natasha said. She sat down on the couch beside Bucky, kissing him on the cheek. He blushed, draping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. I smiled, loving their relationship with each other. They had been dating for six months, their chemistry undeniable. I settled in between Steve and Thor, rubbing their arms to calm them down.

"I take it you had fun at the theater?" Steve asked me.

"Of course. Natasha got scared during some of the movie though," I responded.

"No, I didn't," I raised my eyebrows at Nat as if to say 'sure you didn't'. "Maybe a little. Anyways, are we going to finish this movie or not?" she commented.

"You two aren't going to scare us anymore right?" Sam asked.

"No more scaring. We promise," Nat and I said at the same time; it sounded a bit reminiscent of the twins from The Shining. The horrified looks on the guys' faces made us laugh before apologizing and saying we wouldn't do it again. Tony resumed the movie, most falling asleep before the credits rolled; the only ones still awake were Steve, Loki, Vision, and me. Lights flooded the room when the DVD menu popped up, causing the sleepers to squint their eyes tighter against the brightness.

"I guess it's a good time to call it a night. Let's head to bed. There's nothing much to do tomorrow anyway," Tony stated, yawning and stretching as he stood up. Each Avenger went separate ways to their rooms, some like Wanda and Vision and Bucky and Nat went to the same room together; others to their individual chambers. I had the good fortune to be escorted by Steve to mine as we were adjacent to each other on the same hallway.

"Thank you for walking me to my room," I told him, opening my door and switching on the light.

"No problem. Good night Luna," he told me.

"Night, Steve," I said, turning to go inside and change into my pajamas.

"Hey, uh, Movie Queen?" I heard Steve ask. My lips quirked into a small smile at the nickname.

"Yes? What can I do for you Spangly Man?" Steve chuckled, leaning against the door frame.

"You have all of the Harry Potter films right?"

"All on blu ray too. Why?"

"Would you want to do a marathon with me?"

"Tonight? It's a little late don't you think?" His smile faded at that and he turned to return to his room.

"How about tomorrow? We can start at 7 a.m. All the movies back to back equate to 18 hours and 20 minutes without the credits. It'll be around 1 a.m. when we finish but we still have to account for bathroom breaks and food," I offered, my words freezing him mid-step. He spun around to face me.

"Tomorrow. I'll meet you in the lounge at 7," he agreed, walking backwards to his room, hands in the pockets of his gray sweatpants. I smiled, closing my door to turn in for the night.

My alarm woke me at 6:30, giving me plenty of time to freshen up and change into a tank top and sweatpants before meeting Steve in the lounge with the 8 Harry Potter movie in tow. I found him with a bunch of pillows and blanket in his arms and arched an eyebrow.

"What do you have there?" I asked, curious to know what he was planning.

"Supplies for our marathon. I thought we should be ultra comfortable if we're watching all of these movies. Question. Would it be too bold of me to ask if we could move downstairs to the theater room? I don't want to be interrupted if the others walk through the lounge," he answered me.

"No, not at all. It'll be fun when it's only the two of us and I want you to have the full experience. Head on down. I'll grab a few drinks and snacks," I told him. Steve nodded and walked down the steps while I went into the kitchen. I got a bag of popcorn going while I pulled out water and a few cans of soda, placing them in a separate bowl. Emptying the popcorn into the second bowl I set out and tucking the movies under my arm, I grabbed both bowls and joined Steve in the giant theater room; blankets and pillows gathered on the massive couch. I handed Steve the popcorn bowl, pulling out a water for him and one soda for me; I stored the other drinks in the mini fridge for later. I set up the screen and DVD player, hitting play when the menu came up. Joining Steve on the couch, I shifted under one of the blankets.

"Are you excited?" I whispered, grabbing some popcorn.

"Definitely. It's going to be a fantastic date," His response stunned me and before I could say something, the first scene started up, silencing me.

Date? I didn't think he liked me in that way, I thought. Some part of me always hoped he might; I had developed a huge crush on him over the years but never made a move to ask him out. Believe me, I wanted to but every time I tried, I backed away from the subject too afraid of rejection and then have our friendship ruined. I remained silent through the first two movies and we took our first bathroom break before starting the third. I hesitated in pressing play, wanting to talk about what he said before the first movie.

"Steve?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Nevermind. Let's get this next one going," I stated, once again chickening out and pressed play. More silence ensued, the occasional glance from me over at him to see if he was enjoying the movies; he definitely was, no surprise there. Our hands accidentally touched during the scene with the dementors before they went back in time to save lives. Halfway through the fourth movie, we decided to order in some Italian food for dinner, resuming the movie after it arrived. Tears were shed from me at Cedric's death, Steve moving closer to console me by rubbing my shoulders. During the fifth, the air conditioning came on and I tried to refrain from shivering despite the blanket draped over my body.

"Are you cold?" he whispered. I shook my head and continued to silently suffer. My body betrayed me half an hour later, shivering more when it became unbearable.

"You're cold. Come here and snuggle with me," Steve whispered, moving the bowl of popcorn he made before starting the Order of the Phoenix. I slid into his side, letting him drape an arm over me. I melted into the warmth, burying myself closer to him.

"You're an icicle. Why didn't you say something earlier?" he asked, keeping his voice low so he didn't miss any important dialogue.

"I didn't want to bother you," I whispered. He hugged me tighter and released me when it was time to switch out the DVDs. We took another bathroom break before getting Half-Blood Prince started, this one wasn't a favorite of mine and I considered it slower paced than the others.

Coming back from the bathroom, I took up my original spot much to Steve's disappointment.

"I'd like to keep cuddling with you please," he told me. I had to admit I liked his arms around me and slid back into him; our bodies meshed together like two puzzle pieces. As the movie progressed, I noticed we were both a little restless, occasionally tracing small patterns on each other's legs.

"Luna?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I...Would it be alright if I kissed you?" Steve asked. I swiveled my head to look up at him, shocked at the question. Say yes. Tell him you want him to kiss you, I thought.

"Yes. You can kiss me. Please, kiss me," I answered. Steve leaned in, his lips brushing lightly over mine. They were soft, a bit salty from the popcorn but also warm like the rest of him. The movie seemed muted while we held the kiss for a few minutes, breaking away. He didn't waste any time after the first kiss to press his mouth back to mine, devouring me, his hands tangling in my hair, pulling me closer. My hands gripped his shirt tightly, the same urgency for him to do anything he pleased to me. Taking my movements as an invitation, he removed his hand from my hair and gripped my hips; he lifted me onto his lap, those callused hands moving to hold me buy shoulders. We kissed more fervently, our tongues tangling with each other. Soon he moved his heated lips to my neck, finding a spot to suck on, a soft moan escaping my lips. He brushed them over my collarbone, his fingers snaking down and under the hem of my tank top. Steve lifted it off my head, tossing it to the floor. He unclasped my bra next, exposing my breasts to the cold air. My nipples perked up, capturing his attention, the pads of his thumbs brushing lightly over them before he lowered his mouth to latch onto one.

I arched into him, the sensation of his tongue swirling around it, arousing me, wetness pooled at my center, my hips moving against him. The friction I caused as I did this made his length harden only making me want more of him. I slipped my hands under his shirt and lifted it up, pausing his actions to get the fabric off his body. Next, I got off him to  pull down his sweatpants and also removing mine. I straddled him again, dry humping him, my lips attaching to his neck, my hands in his soft hair.

Steve flipped me so I laid flat against the couch, his lips finding mine, his fingers sliding under the flimsy material of my underwear. He stroked my folds, my hips moving to ride his fingers; a low moan erupted when he inserted two of them inside me.

"Oh, god. Steve..." I whimpered, my hands gripping his back, nails digging in his skin. He grunted against the sharp pain, removing his fingers to rip off my underwear, deciding to the material was in the way. I moved my hands down to push down his boxers, freeing him completely. Taking him in my hands, I stroked his cock, groans of pleasure coming from his lips. He got up to remove them completely and used his knee to spread my legs wider, lining up at my entrance.

"I'm going to ask you this once. Are you positive you want to do this?" he asked, the bright blue of his irises darkening with lust.

"Yes. I want to. I'm sure," I replied, pulling his face down to kiss him. He sheathed himself deep inside me and I moaned into his mouth at the sensation. He pumped in and out slowly, our breath quickening, moans and groans echoing around the room. Something must've caught his attention because he paused, a confused look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why is everyone crying and lighting the sky with their wands?" he answered. I turned my head to the movie screen and saw we had missed an important death.

"Oh, Dumbledore died. Snape killed him," I replied.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, it's really sad," I told him, pulling his face back to kiss him.

"Right. Sorry. I'll continue," he said, his thrust hard and rough, something I had hoped I'd experience one day with him. I climaxed first, reaching another one when he climaxed. He pulled out, allowing me to switch to the next movie. I came back to him, his muscular arms pulling me into his lap. Steve secured me with one arm tight around my waist, the other spreading my legs to work me with his fingers until I reached a third orgasm.

"Steve..."

"Sh. You've seen these before. Let me play a little longer. You screaming my name is the sweetest thing I've heard all day," he told me, teasing my swollen clit with his thumb. My legs quaked each time he pushed me over the edge, throughout the first part of the Deathly Hallows. During the last movie, I had my turn playing with him, teasing him through important parts so he could pay attention. I paused the movie before the big battle and got on my knees in front of him, taking his cock in my mouth. He gasped, head thrown back as my tongue explored every inch, bringing him over the edge and swallowing when he exploded into my mouth. I sat beside him, his arms pulling me close to him.

"This has been a wonderful date, don't you agree?" he whispered, my lips curling into a smile.

"I agree. We should do this more often," I told him.

"Next week sound good?"

"That will be perfect," Once the final movie ended, we got dressed and returned to our rooms.

"Spend the night?" he asked. I nodded, entering his room. We climbed in, snuggled close and fell asleep, drifting off to a beautiful dream world.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Eternity

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Fluff, angst, lost and lost of baby Barnes

Word Count: 7,839

Box filled: A/B/O

A/N: Final part of Fate series. This was also prompted by the @marvelfluffbingo so I wrote it so it could be a stand alone as well!

Catch up on Fate & Destiny here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three years. It took nearly three years after having eight pups for your heat to come back. It was smack dab in between Emma and David’s fourth birthday and Mason, Ryan, and Allie’s fifth. There was a nine day spread between those two and eleven days after that was Caleb, Grace, and Tessa’s third. June third, June twelfth, and June twenty-third- it was a busy month for the Barnes family. And it was absolutely the last month you would want to go into heat during.

You could hear your husband’s wheels turning beside you as the pair of you silently ran through what this meant for you. Because you both knew your sudden heat was triggering his long lost ruts as well.

“Do we even want more kids?” You asked as after an hour of the two of you laying in dead silence pretending to be asleep even though you knew the other wasn’t. Bucky sighed loudly and scrubbed his hand down his face.

“Financially? No. We’re struggling to keep our heads above water as is and we both work for Tony Stark.” He rolled his head to look at you before reaching out to you so he could pull you across the bed. “But more pups? Doll, I’d love nothing more. See you pregnant again, get to experience all the adorable firsts all over again. Get to hold a physical representation of our love.” He smiled as he wrapped his arms and legs around you. “I’d love another pup, ‘mega.” You smiled back as you reached up to brush his hair out of his face.

“You know we’re gunna end up with triplets again, right? That’ll be our luck.” He shrugged as he brushed your hair back behind your ear.

“Is that gunna make us love them any less?” You smiled and shook your head as he rolled you onto your back and settled his hips between your thighs. “Well then let’s make some pups, Omega.”

——

“Could you be any more fertile?” Your best friend, Aaron asked as he, you, and Wanda stood in the kitchen of the home Charles Xavier had basically given to you two years prior when you were running from the US government and their mutant registration act.

“Seriously.” Wanda agreed as she packed the snacks in the twelve lunch boxes on the counter for your eight, Aaron’s four year olds, Hope & Faith, and her two, Pietro who was also four and two year old, Alexei. “Ye were in heat for all of one day.”

“What can I say?” You laughed as you put a ham and cheese roll up or two in each lunch box depending on the age of the child. “We know how to do parenting by now.”

“So should we start placing bets on how many you’re gunna have?” Aaron asked as he made breakfast muffins for the kids.

“God, please don’t.” You laughed as you and Wanda switched places so she could do drinks as you finished with the roll ups. “I’m saying there is just two and they’ll be the last.” You glanced over your shoulder with a smirk as you turned to get juice started for breakfast. “But that’s just wishful thinking on my part.” Your best friend nodded as he headed out of the kitchen toward hall and called for all the kids. The house filled with screams and stomping feet as twelve pups came running from various parts of the mansion for breakfast.

“Welcome to the zoo.” Wanda said as she zipped the last lunch box and stood it up in line with the rest so she could get started on the three of your lunches while you and Aaron handled breakfast. 

“And you’re adding more to this.” Aaron said as he watched the pups all scramble around to their chairs. You pursed your lips and nodded as you started grabbing juice cups to pass out.

“Well, we’ve done so well with this group. What’s two or three more?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“One.” You clarified as you looked at your OBGYN Cara Smith, who had flown to Essex just to be your OB for the next three months (and for the international vacation.)

“Just one.” She responded as she quickly measured your only child. “And… believe it or not… it’s not super growing like the other ones. He or she is right at seven weeks where it’s supposed to be.”

“Shut up.” Bucky said as you bolted off the table into a sitting position.

“Wait, I have to go through nine whole months of pregnancy?” You asked incredulously.

“Technically it’s ten.” Cara said as she pulled out the wand and wiped it off.

“You’re not helping.” You said as you looked over at your friend.

“Well this is absolutely not what I expected.” Bucky said as he took the ultrasounds Cara was holding out to him. You nodded in agreement as you leaned toward him to look at your ninth child.

“Well I’m grateful for it to say the least.” Cara teased as she took off her gloves and tossed them in the trash. “I get to travel Europe for nearly a year. I call that a win.”

“Yea… that’s so great for you.” You joked as you got off the table and adjusted your panties and your dress. “I went through three pregnancies at light speed and now I have to go through a fourth at a snails pace. I’m used to fast when it comes to my pups, not slow.”

“Well look at it this way, ‘mega. We’re only adding one pup to our pack.”

“Shut up, Alpha.” You said with a laugh. “You’re not helping either.”

——

“So how’d it go?” Aaron asked as you walked into the daycare in the international branch of Stark Industries to collect your children for the afternoon.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” You growled as you started collecting lunch boxes that belonged to your pups from the plastic bucket in the front room. You started stringing the straps up your arm as you shook your head. “One pup. Just one, normal growing pup. I have to go through a full pregnancy.” You complained as you dug through the bin looking for Pietro and Alexei’s lunch boxes, too.

“Oh, no! Who would have though?” Aaron asked, causing you to scowl up at him. “Oh, get over it. You’re not special anymore.” You heard Ryan call out ‘mommy’ through the window and you looked up at him with a smile as it caused a chair reaction with all your pups. Within seconds, all eight of them were in a small bunch, pressed up against the glass as if they hadn’t seen you in years and not hours. You huffed a laugh and shook your head as you walked over and pulled open the door. You were greeted with chorus of ‘mommy’s’ before they all launched into telling you about their morning at pre-school.

“OK, OK. Hang on, kiddos.” You laughed as the woman who worked at the check in at the daycare handed you a clip board to sign them all out. You initialed next to each of your pups name and Wanda’s as well, and passed the clipboard off to Aaron so you could count your, his, and Wanda’s kids to take them home. “Alright, find your buddies and get in line.” You said as you moved to the front of the line. With practiced precision, the twelve kids lined up two by two and held hands with their buddy of choice. Once the six sets of two were all matched up, you pushed open the door and let the lines out.

“Follow the leader, babies.” Aaron said as he gently pushed Hope’s shoulder, who was distracted by something in the classroom. She giggled and chased after Emma as you picked up Alexei and held Pietro’s hand so he would have a partner. You continually glanced over your shoulder to make sure no one was getting left behind as you made your way across the parking lot to the pair of Honda Pilot SUV’s. The twelve pups split up to the two separate cars, most of yours staying with you except Mason and Caleb who went with Aaron.

“Aw, shhheeeet.” You said as you passed off Alexei and glanced over at Aaron. “We’re gunna need a bigger car.” He chuckled as he moved the middle seat back so Mason, Caleb and Pietro could sit in the third row of his car. Once you had everyone loaded up and buckled in, you got in the car to head home. It apparently didn’t take long for Bucky to open his big mouth either because your phone started ringing about a mile away from Stark Inc.

“So, what’s this I hear about another little…”

“You’re on speaker and I’m driving the kids home from day care.” You said loudly over Pepper with a laugh. “Who told you, Tony?”

“Yep.” She laughed and you could picture her nodding her head as she leaned back in her office chair. “Bucky told Steve who told Tony.”

“In a matter of a single hour. When they say word travels fast.” Your kids, who were waiting for a break in the conversation all yelled out ‘hi’ to Aunt Pepper.

“Hi babies. So does that mean the October p-a-r-t-y is off?”

“Oh no.” You said as you stopped in a line of traffic at a light. “This one’s normal as can be. I’m in store for 40 weeks of fun but it’s just one. Not a multiple.”

“Wow! That’s crazy! I bet you’re happy about that. I mean the single part not the other.”

“Sure, we’ll call it happy.” You giggled as you scooted up with traffic. “But no, I already have plans for your parties and the parties here.” You groaned as Allie screamed ‘party’ from the back seat, which caused all your pups to cheer loudly. You swore under your breath and shook your head. “Pep, I’ll call you back, OK?”

“You got it. Love you.” She said with a laugh. You responded to her sentiment and hit the end button as you turned down the main street that lead fifteen minutes out of town to your house.

“Alright, alright. Inside voices in the car.” You called out as you got in the left most lane and set your cruise control.

“Mommy we party, too?” Tessa asked from directly behind you. You glanced up at her in the mirror that hung from your rear view mirror with a smile as you shook your head.

“Not today, baby. Soon though, OK?” She pouted out her bottom lip and you glanced up at her once more. “Oh, no. You put that lip away, little miss. You know that only flies with daddy not mommy.”

“You’re no fun.” She said as she turned her attention to the scenery flying by out the window.

“Yea, I know.” You grumbled as you leaned your arm on the car door with a sigh. “I’m just the worst.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I need you to get away from me with that.” You growled at Aaron as you glanced from your laptop to your notebook while working on finalizing decorations for the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas parties for Stark Industries. He chuckled and moved away from you, finding humor in you finally getting the joy of experiencing morning sickness.

“Poor baby.” He teased as he made a show of drinking his coffee that was making you want to vomit.

“I will fire you.” You said as you looked up the prices of rental tables a new company you were working with in London for charged.

“Man, you are such a grump this pregnancy.” He said as he pulled out his beeping phone.

“You just need to shut up right now.” You snapped as you wrote down a phone number to call about the chairs. You only looked up when Aaron gasped and slammed his coffee mug down on the counter. “What?”

“They… they…” He tried as he stumbled over to you. He turned his phone toward you and you looked at the news article head line.

“Oh, shit.” You whispered as you looked at the photo of Tony being detained by two government officials. You grabbed the phone and scrolled down so you could read the tag line under the photo.

‘Hundreds including Tony Stark were detained Tuesday under the suspicion of harboring unregistered mutants…’

“I gotta call Pepper.” You said as you grabbed your phone from the other side of the counter. You pulled up her number in your contacts and hit send as you Googled the article on your laptop.

“Yea?” Pepper said shortly.

“Just me.” You responded as you skimmed through the short article. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She sighed heavily on the other end of the line.

“Because it’s something that we are handling, sweetheart.” She responded. “They aren’t looking for you, they are looking for our mutual friend.”

“Pep…”

“No, it’s OK. Tony’s home. I had our lawyer on the phone almost instantly. Don’t worry, you’re OK. It’s all OK.” You sighed and ran your hand through your hair. You sat back in your chair and looked over at Aaron with a small shake of your head.

“Is this going to be my life until my babies are 18?” You asked as tears welled in your eyes. “Am I going to always have to live in fear of even putting them in school? I know they’re safe in Stark pre-K but what about public or even private school?” Neither Aaron nor Pepper said anything as you ran your hand down your face. With a shake of your head, you took a deep breath and sighed.

“We can home school them.” Aaron suggested after a moment.

“We can’t afford it.” You responded. “We have eight pups and one on the way. Our expenses for just the pups we have is almost eight grand a month with our part of the bills and that’s living on a budget without including Bucky and I’s expenses. He has to work nearly eighty hours a week just to be able to…”

“(Y/N), why didn’t you tell us you were struggling like that?” Pepper asked.

“Because they aren’t your children, Pep.” You said as you leaned forward and rested your elbows on the counter. “They aren’t your and Tony’s responsibility…”

“Oh, bullshit!” She shouted so loud that Aaron actually took a half step back. “They are our family, too! (Y/N), Stark Industries is a multi-billion dollar company. Tony and I have more money than we know what to do with and we only have Morgan to spend it on. So, as of right now, you’re fired with a 1.5 billion dollar retirement fund. Bucky is fired with a billion dollar retirement fund except for missions. Shit, even Aaron, and Wanda are fired with a billion a piece retirement fund, too. Congratulations, you just pissed me off enough to fire my favorite party planners.”

“Pepper, I can’t…”

“I don’t care.” She snapped back. “Hire sitters, hire teachers. Stop living on a damn budget and enjoy your kids for God’s sake. Why do you think I’m only in my office three days a week anymore? Because my son is more important than anything in the world. Now, send me what notes you have for the parties and go get your pups from day care. I know they miss their mommy…”

“Pep…”

“Nope. I gotta go. I have to go pick up my own pup. I love you, sweetheart. But you’re annoying my right now.” She didn’t give you a chance to respond and you slowly pulled your phone away from your ear.

“What did she say?” Aaron asked as you set your phone down on the counter.

“She fired us. All of us.” You nearly whispered as you looked up at him. “And gave us a one billion dollar retirement fund each.” Aaron’s coffee mug slipped from his fingers and shattered on the kitchen floor as the two of you stared at each other. You couldn’t move other than to shake your head as the Omega that was basically your brother floundered for something to say.

“She… I… but… we… fired… what?” You looked over as your laptop dinged loudly and the screen showed the Stark Industries company logo signaling you had been signed out remotely. You sighed and let your head fall to the counter for a moment before looking up at Aaron and turning your laptop toward him.

“We’re locked out of Stark servers. This is really happening.”

“Damn.” Aaron breathed as he looked around the kitchen. “So that means this is the last time we’re gunna have a quiet house hold?”

“Damn it.” You whined as you sat back in your chair. “I like my peace and quiet.” With a groan, you forced yourself to your feet and grabbed your purse. “Alright, let’s go get the monsters before Pepper kicks them out of day care, too.”

——

“You got me fired?” Bucky asked as he paced your bedroom that night before bed.

“I didn’t mean to!” You said as you watched him pace. “It was an accident!” He glanced over at you as he walked past and shook his head.

“I can’t even be mad at you, ‘mega mine.” He said on his way past again. “How the hell…”

“It was an accident!” You repeated as he turned and headed the other way.

“Yea doll, you’ve said that.” He said as he ran his fingers through his hair. You bit your bottom lip to hide your smile, knowing that he wasn’t mad at all that he got fired; he hated working his construction job for Stark Tech. He hated being away from his pups as much as he was forced to be as well. He finally came to a stop at the foot of the bed and looked over at you. “What the hell am I going to do with you, Omega?” You shrugged and a smile stretched across your cheeks as he crawled up the bed toward you.

“Help me find a couple teachers? I don’t know my ass from my elbow when it comes to teaching and after what they did to Tony in New York, I don’t wanna put them in public school if I can avoid it.” You husband nodded as he laid down on the pillows beside you and put his right hand on your barely there bump.

“Sounds like a plan, doll. Now, I don’t know about you but I am ready for the longest nap in the history of sleeping to make up for the last two years. You gunna join me?” You smiled as you pulled the blanket out from under you and scooted down under the blanket.

“Let’s do a barbecue out back tomorrow. Set up the slip and slide and the kiddie pool. Have a little party?”

“Sounds like a plan, ‘mega.” He yawned as he curled up beside you and pulled you into his chest. With a sigh, he grabbed one of the decorative pillows and threw it at the light switch, hitting it the first time and plunging the room into darkness. “Night, my love.”

“Night Alpha.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mommy?” You glanced up from the dinner you were making as Ryan came over and sat down at the breakfast bar on the opposite side of the kitchen island you were working on. You loved when he came in to sit with you or helped out; he and Tessa were usually the only ones.

“What baby?” You asked as you chopped tomatoes for taco night.

“Can the baby in your belly talk?” He asked as he rested his arms on the bar. You glanced up at him through your lashes as he stared at your six month along baby bump.

“Not yet, sweetheart.” You said as you scooped the tomatoes into a bowl and pushed it off to the side. “Babies don’t usually talk until they are about 10 or 11 months old so baby Ethan is way to little to talk.” You glanced up at him again as you grabbed the head of lettuce and put it on the cutting board in front of you. “Why?” He looked up at you and shook his head before looking back at your bump.

“Well… sometimes… if it’s really, really quiet… I think I can hear him.” Your head whipped up at your five year old and your brow furrowed.

“What?” He shook his head as he crossed his arms and leaned on the counter toward you a bit more.

“It’s only sometimes.” He said as he tilted his head to the side. “Like right now. He’s saying something… but it’s hard to hear it….” You blinked a couple times as you tried to process what your son said.

“Alpha…” You called out hesitantly as you set your knife down on the counter. “Can you come here, please?” You barely heard Bucky tell the rest of the pups he’d be back as he got up to join you in the kitchen. You glanced up at him and looked back at Ryan with a small smile. “Ry, tell daddy what you just told me.” Your second oldest glanced over at Bucky with a shrug as the latter came into the kitchen.

“I can hear baby Jake talk sometimes.” He said nonchalantly, not realizing the news bomb he just dropped was kind of a big deal. “Like right now.”

“Ryan, come here and put your ear on mommy’s belly. See if you can hear better.” You said as you glanced up at Bucky. Your pup jumped down off the chair as Bucky walked over slowly toward the counter. You pulled up the hem of your shirt and Ryan put the side of his face on your bump. A smile pulled at the corner of his lips as he put his hands on your bump on either side of his head.

“He’s talking.” Ryan said as he brushed his hand across your stomach. “He says he’s happy.” You shared a look with your Alpha as you brushed your hand over the back of Ryan’s hand.

“Does he tell you how he feels all the time?” Bucky asked as he looked at his pup. Ryan shook his head as he went over to the fridge to get a drink.

“Only when it’s quiet. I’m gunna go watch the movie now.” You stared at his back in disbelief as he headed toward the living room where your kids were watching ‘Mickey’s Christmas Carol’ before dinner. When he disappeared from sight, you looked over at Bucky.

“Could he just be reading Jake’s emotions?” You asked as you put your hands on your bump.

“What did he say before I came in here?” You shook your head as you pulled your shirt back down.

“Just that when it’s quiet, he can hear him talking. He asked how old babies were when they started talking…”

“He’s probably just reading Jake’s emotions then, Omega. Don’t stress about it.” You nodded slowly as he got up from the chair and came around to your side of the counter. “Trade off. Go get off your feet for a while. I got the rest of dinner.”

“Yea, now that it’s almost done.” You huffed as you grabbed a piece of tomato and popped it in your mouth on your way out to the living room.

——

“Mommy?” You heard softly, pulling you instantly from your sleep to figure out which child was upset and why.

“What baby?” You asked softly so you wouldn’t wake up Bucky as you forced your eyes open in your dark bedroom. You blinked a few times and looked around the room on your side of the bed before rolling onto your back to see if your pup called your name again. When you didn’t hear anything, you sat up in bed and looked around your massive bedroom.

“Mommy?” The name resounded in your head and actually made you jump. Without thinking, your hand flew out and whacked your husband hard in the face.

“Fuck!” He shouted as he sat up to figure out what the hell was going on.

“I hear him!” You said as you reached blindly for Bucky. “Alpha, I hear him.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” He asked as he turned on his bedside light and rubbed his cheek where you hit him.

“Daddy?” Your head whipped to the side as Bucky sat up quickly in bed, wide awake and no longer caring about his face.

“Is that?”

“He’s talking.” You said as you pulled up your shirt and leaned back against the headboard. Bucky slid across the cotton sheets and put his right hand on your bump.

“Hi Jake.” He said softly as he brushed his thumb across your skin. “It’s daddy.”

“Daddy.” Jake said as he turned in your womb toward Bucky’s hand. “Mommy?”

“Mommy’s here.” You said as you put your hand right next to your Alpha’s. “I’m right here, baby boy.” He turned the slightest bit so that he was directly under both your hands and stayed there.

“Happy.” He said as he pressed his head against the sides of your palms for a moment. “Happy.” Tears welled in your eyes as you reached out for Bucky’s other hand.

“We’re happy, too, Jake.” Bucky said as he laced his metal fingers with yours and leaned on the bed with his elbow between your thighs. “Mommy and I are so happy and we can’t wait to meet you.”

“We love you, Jake.” You nearly whispered as you brushed your thumb across your bump.

“Love.” Jake responded sleepily as the pressure he was putting on your hands lessened the slightest bit as if he was falling back asleep. You looked up and met Bucky’s tear filled eyes with a smile. 

“He talks.” Your Alpha said with a laugh. You giggled and nodded as you rubbed your hand in a small circle over where Jake was.

“He talks.” Neither of you moved for at least twenty minutes before you let out a small sigh.

“We’ll call Tony in the morning. Charles too. See what they think…” You looked up from your bump at your husband with a small, slightly worried smile. “I think Jake’s telepathic.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You didn’t know how it happened. One minute you were planning on a simple visit for Charles, his assistant Hank, and Tony, Pepper and their son, Morgan but before you knew it, you were hosting Tony’s Annual family Christmas party for the Avengers at your house and you only had a week to pull it off. You were at least grateful your family had already picked out a tree and so had Vis and Wanda and Max and Aaron and you had the decorations you had brought from your old New York walk up and bought when you moved into the house already up for your own family. Your house looked like a beautiful Christmas wonderland… All you had to do was figure out where you were going to put everyone.

“Hey Pep.” You said softly as you gave your old friend a hug in the entry way of the mansion. “You and Tony are down here in the room on the right that way by the kitchen. Morgan is going in up stairs with Mason, Caleb, and Pietro. Last door on the left, left hallway.”

“I have to hand it to you.” She said as she laced her arm with yours and followed you toward the stairs as Morgan raced past you to join the rest of the kids in the living room who were playing with Max, Aaron, and the two teachers slash nannies you had hired, Sarah and Ian. “You managed to pull this off in no time.”

“That’s what I do, Pep.” You laughed as you passed her bags off to Bucky to take down the hall. “I plan, I conquer, and I take prisoners if I have to.” She laughed as she stepped around you so you could welcome Steve and Natasha. “You two are in the future nursery. Upstairs right next to the elevator right hallway. Figured we’d put the muscle up stairs with all the kids…”

“Told you.” Steve laughed as he grabbed his Alpha’s bags and headed toward the stairs. “I knew we’d be personal muscle.”

“There’s sixteen pups in four bedrooms.” Bucky laughed as he grabbed Morgan’s bag and Clint’s two son’s and his daughter’s bags from Laura to bring them up stairs as Cooper, Lila, and Nate ran toward the living room, too. “We only have four adults up stairs. Might as well put the strongest ones up there, too.”

“This house is amazing.” Laura said as she came up and gave you a hug.

“I can’t take the credit for it. It’s a friends…”

“Please. This house is as good as yours.” Charles laughed as he rolled up the ramp to your porch. He paused in front of you and his eyes darted down to your bump for a second before he found your eyes again. “Well, well. He is an interesting one.” You nodded as you rubbed your hand across your bump. “We’ll talk later.” You nodded and glanced down at your list to see where you what room you had him in.

“We had to put you and Hank in the twins room down here. I hope that’s alright…”

“That’s perfect.” Charles said as he reached out and squeezed your hand. “I’m just a visitor here, darling.” You smiled at him and nodded again as Bucky came back down stairs to grab more suitcases.

“Alright, where do you have me?” Sam asked as he stepped up to where Charles was in front of you.

“The swimming pool.” You and Bucky said at the same time.

“You’re by us, Sam.” Wanda said as she walked down her hall with Alexei, fresh from a nap, on her hip. “Come, I’ll show you.” You gave Sam a tight lipped smile, still a little salty with him for making fun of your ‘mutant spawn’ even five years after the fact as he headed down the hall after Wanda.

“Leave it, ‘mega.” Bucky growled under his breath as you watched Sam walk away. You took a deep breath and turned away to greet Hank and give Clint and Laura proper hugs.

——

“He’s most definitely telepathic.” Charles said as he and you sat with the rest of the adults in your bedroom wrapping gifts from ‘Santa’ that Tony had managed to sneak over on a second Quinjet for all the kids. “Powerful to be able to communicate this young…”

“Dangerous?” Tony asked as he looked over at you where you sat on your bed with your hands on your bump, completely ignoring the presents you were supposed to be wrapping.

“No.” Charles said as he tilted his head, studying your bump as if Jake was in your arms. “He understands that your voice, (Y/N), means ‘Mommy’ and Bucky’s means ‘Daddy’. He can recognize his siblings and he understands basic human emotions through you… but that’s relatively all for now.” You nodded as Bucky pushed the present he had taken nearly twenty minutes to wrap away from him about as slowly as he had been wrapping it.

“How can we hear him?” He asked.

“My assumption? Because you’re his parents. No one else has heard him, correct?”

“Just Ryan.” Bucky said with a nod.

“He’s our empath.” You informed Charles.

“And a strong one at that.” Steve chimed in as he added a label to the present Bucky had wrapped and put both that one and his in the pile for the Barnes kids.

“But that’s the general consensus with all their kids.” Tony said as he added a present to his son’s pile. “All their gifts seem to be enhanced.”

“And there is nothing wrong with that.” You said as you looked up at Sam pointedly.

“No. Nothing at all.” Tony agreed as Bucky reached out for your hand. 

“And from what we understand, Ryan can only hear his emotions. We didn’t really press him on it…” You said as Charles nodded his head.

“Can I be honest with you?” He asked as he sat up a little straighter in his chair. Your stomach flipped slightly and your husband sat up a little straighter on the bed beside you while every adult in the room gave the professor their undivided attention. He smiled as he took his eyes off your bump to look at you and leaned forward in his chair. “Jake is powerful, more so than all of your pups combined. I’ve not seen a telepath this powerful in all my life. The pair of you need to be prepared that it will not come easy to raise him with his powers unless you begin immediately. Because I believe that he may not be just telepathic. I believe, if I’m reading it correctly, he’s also telekinetic and just hasn’t figured it out yet. That being said when he does, a wet diaper could destroy houses. Laughing could cause him to levitate right out of his crib…”

“Jesus Christ.” Bucky said as he put his metal hand over yours on your stomach as his eyes instantly darted over to Tony.

“H-how… how do we teach him?” You asked as you put your hand on Bucky’s shoulder and gently pulled him back toward you.

“I can teach you.” Charles said with a nod. “It will take time and patience, but we can teach him.” You nodded and ran your hand through your hair as you exchanged a look with Bucky. He looked over at you at the same time and huffed a humorless laugh.

“And we thought having only one more would be a piece of cake.” He joked as he brushed his hand across your bump.

“This time, we really are done, Alpha.” Your massive family chuckled and went back to wrapping the hundreds of presents Santa was going to be delivering the next night as Bucky kissed your cheek.

“No more, ‘mega mine. Promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brightly colored wrapping paper that had been torn to shreds littered every available inch of your living room that the piles and piles of gifts didn’t cover. Kids giddy laughter warmed your hearts as they played with their new presents. You watched happily as Bucky, with a giant bow on his forehead, put together a plastic kitchen for Emma while she sat on his lap and Steve helped David put together his train table. You smiled and kissed the side of Allie’s head as she sat on your lap, reading her new Madeline books to you and Jake. 

Pietro and Mason were going back and forth with each other, building a castle of some sort out of Lego’s while Vision kept a watchful eye on Alexei, who was trying to feed the little blocks to her new baby doll. Natasha was spread across the middle of the floor, fighting as hard as she could to control her laughter as Grace listened to her elbow for a heart beat while Tessa listened to her forehead with their new doctor kits. Every one else was distracted by one child or another, falling in love with the next generation of Avengers.

Out of no where, Jake rolled a complete one hundred and eighty degrees in your stomach causing you to sit up slightly to give him as much room as possible. You heard him say ‘mommy’ seconds before Charles’ head whipped toward the door followed almost instantly by Bucky and Steves.

“Get the pups out of here.” Bucky said as he moved Emma off his lap.

“Tony, suit up.” Steve said as Natasha sat up and turned around.

“Alright, babies. Let’s go down stairs for a little bit.” You said as you set Allie down on the ground a second before she disappeared in fear. 

“No time.” Charles said as the front door flung open. The pups screamed as the Avengers leapt to their feet in front of the kids.

“Tony Stark.” General Ross said as he strolled into your foyer. “Thank you for bringing us straight to the mother load of undocumented mutants…” The words barely left his mouth before his feet flew out from under him. The room dropped at least fifteen degrees and David blew a deep breath toward him, encasing him in ice in a second. Your living room burst into chaos as your pups, who had heard the ‘only use your powers in an emergency’ speech a hundred times went to town on the military men that walked through the door. 

You watched in awe for a moment as Caleb ran as fast as he could, knocking out knee caps and sending men flying to the ground as Mason and Tessa both threw the ice block that was General Ross back through the front door. Allie must have jumped off the stair case banister in an invisible state because one of the men’s guns clattered to the ground before Emma punched him in the thigh with her diamond fist. The Avengers stood a little shell shocked for a moment, watching everything go down until one of the men grabbed innocent Grace who was just trying to run and hide since she was only able to talk to animals.

Every thing stopped moving in your mind as your baby girl let out an ear piercing scream. Bucky lurched forward with a fire you had never seen in your Alpha that only fueled your own. Your eyes locked on your daughters as she was carted toward the door and you literally saw red.

“Put my daughter down!” You roared as you channeled the hate building in your stomach.

“Everyone down!” Charles screamed seconds before you threw four chairs across the room and hit the officer that had your daughter square in the back and three others as Bucky slammed his metal fist into another’s face. You literally ran on air and grabbed Grace before she hit the ground. 

It became an absolute free for all with your pups and the other pups in your house as the men that upset your Christmas morning tried to grab them to remove them from their families. With powers you must have channeled from your unborn son, you created a blockade with toys and Christmas decorations across the stair case and you and Wanda both stood guard at the bottom of the stairs with Max, Aaron, Pepper, and Laura behind you. You began handing pups to them one by one to protect them as Wanda threw a man out your front door away from her son.

“Count them out!” Wanda called as she threw another energy field between a man and Ryan a second before you lifted him up from ten feet away and brought him over to you. 

“Fifteen!” Aaron said as he grabbed Ryan out of the air. “We’re missing… we’re missing Allie!” Your blood ran cold as you realized that if she didn’t wanna be found, she wouldn’t be with her ability. You would have no idea if they had taken her or not until you found her. 

“Get them in my room.” You said as you looked around for Charles. You startled a little as a blue, furry Hank ran across the front yard and tackled a military man while Tony flew the opposite direction with another one he was holding by the ankle. “Allie? Baby, come to mommy.” You called out as you walked toward the front door to where the majority of the fight for your children had been moved. You could feel Jake moving around in your womb, moving this way and that way as if he knew what you were looking for. As you stepped out onto the patio, you and Jake both focused on Bucky, who was holding a man in a pristine suit away from him as another he didn’t see stormed toward him with a gun in his hand.

“Alpha!” You screamed over the crack of a gun shot. You had no idea how it happened, whether Jake made you move across the yard in the blink of an eye or what but the next thing you knew, you felt a pain in your shoulder unlike anything you had ever felt and you landed hard on the cold ground. The whole world stopped; everything around you just stopped as you laid in the wet grass in your front yard, staring up at the grey cloudy sky.

“‘mega! No, no, no!” Bucky gasped as he slid in the grass to get to your side. He quickly ripped off his shirt and balled it up over your left shoulder where you took the bullet. “Hey, you’re OK, (Y/N). It’s OK.”

“Allie?” You said softly as Steve came running to your side while Tony and Charles verbally duked it out with General Ross on your pups being exempt from the registration act because they obviously only use their powers when they need to protect themselves and they would continue to do so if they were taken from their parents.

“Let me see.” Hank said as he came over and pushed Bucky’s hands out of the way as the blue faded from his face. Bucky barely glanced at him as he moved so your head was in his lap as Allie finally appeared right by your head.

“Mommy?” She said as tears welled in her beautiful blue eyes.

“There’s my girl.” You said softly as you reached up toward her. “You were hidin’.” She nodded as Ross sent some of his men over to take care of you as he made the rest fall out as his way of apologizing for getting a pregnant mother shot in front of her pups on Christmas morning.

“Mommy, you hurt?” She asked as she started to cry. You smiled at her and shook your head as Bucky shook with anger and fear.

“Mommy’s fine baby girl. I’m gunna be just fine.”

“Whoa, whoa!” Hank said as he pulled his hands back before Ross’ men could even get over to you.

“He’s healing her.” Charles said as he turned away from Ross and Tony and wheeled over to your side. You tried to look over at your shoulder as Jake stretched in your stomach as far as the space would allow. Your family all crowded around and watched the bullet made it’s way out of your shoulder and the wound healed itself from the inside out. You felt Jake go slack in your stomach and curl into himself as the bullet rolled off your shoulder into the grass.

“Jake?” You said softly as you rubbed your bump.

“He’s alright.” Charles said as Bucky helped you sit up and pulled you in to his chest. “He’s fine, just tired.”

“Don’t you ever fucking do that again, do you hear me?” Bucky growled as he spun you in the grass and shook you harshly. “Don’t you ever…” His wide, scared eyes searched your for a moment before he pulled you into his arms. “Don’t you dare leave me.”

“You either, Alpha.” You said as you pulled back just far enough to pull your oldest daughter in to the hug as well. “You either.” He nodded against your shoulder as he held his oldest daughter and the love of his life to his chest.

“Guess Jake just realized he’s telekinetic.” Charles said to Tony as Steve and Hank helped you to your feet to head back inside. 

“And just in time for them to stop hiding from the law.” Tony said as he made sure every last Government official was off your lawn. “but… if you don’t mind Charles, I’m gunna buy this house from you for them. I don’t want all those pups running around my compound learning how to use their powers at once.” Charles and Tony exchanged knowing looks as Vision took a step over and cleared his throat.

“If it wouldn’t be to much to ask… would Wanda and I and our pups be able to come back to New York. I’m there more than I am here and it’s just…”

“Yea, of course.” Tony said as he clapped the man on the back. “But, for now, let’s finish our Christmas celebration, we have a bunch of stuff to clean up. We’ll work out the details after that.” Vision nodded and turned back toward the door to see you standing on the porch watching him with Allie on your hip. He hesitated a moment until you nodded your head.

“It’s what’s best for you.” You said with a tight lipped smile. “I get it. Don’t like it… but I get it.” He bowed his head slightly and headed up the steps toward you.

“I hadn’t meant you to overhear that. We were going to sit…” You paused just inside your door and reached out for his arm with a small smile.

“Vis, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I love you both but I know Wanda’s heart isn’t here when you’re gone. She’s just here to protect her babies. I don’t hold a grudge at all. It’s OK.” He nodded as Steve, Bucky, and Tony started clearing off the stairs. “Now, I have a bunch of pups to calm down who would probably like some cookies and eggnog for breakfast as a bribe. Wanna help?” He smiled at you and nodded as Allie picked her head up off your shoulder.

“Can I help?” You smiled at her and nodded as Jake shifted a couple times to find his favorite spot and you could almost feel his soul relax.

“Yea, baby. You can help. Wanna go find Aunt Wanda and Uncle Max and tell them the bad guys are all gone?” She nodded as you set her down on the stairs and she went running up them as you bent over to grab some of the couch pillows off the floor. “Oh, what a Christmas.” You sighed as you glanced at your Alpha and put the pillows on the handful of toys he was carrying back into the living room.

“One we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.” You huffed a laugh and nodded your head as you brushed your hand across your bump. You glanced down at it with a smile and nodded your head. 

“You did very good, baby boy. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you. We love you and we will never let anything happen to you.” You barely felt what you were going to say as a nod as Jake pushed back against your palm for a moment before letting himself go to sleep for a while. With a content smile, you went over to start making any sort of breakfast the kids could all eat with the cookies you were going to bribe them with so they would forget about the trauma they experienced that morning.

[suredahlia-arc]

hello hello ! i’m daisy ( 19 // est // she/her ) and my mind has been tricked by florence into thinking it’s 7am when it’s actually,, 4:30pm. i’m in the mountains so we shouldn’t be having it as hard as other places, but everyone is still worried abt falling trees and such ! all my suitemates decided to go be storm-chasers ( every single one of them ? ), so i could be living my best life rn, but i’d rather be writing up an intro for a character i have tried to play over four times then the rp died after,, like,, a day. bless. more below !!

♪ { MARINA DIAMANDIS. FEMALE. MARINA (AND THE DIAMONDS). }Oh shit. Is that BUY THE STARS by DAHLIA ANGELIS on the radio right now?! I stan, omg. SHE’S that INDIE-POP solo artist who’s TWENTY-SEVEN years old. They’ve been in the game for EIGHT YEARS and have THREE ALBUMS out right now. I think they’re very VERSATILE and INTUITIVE, but for some reason they come off as OBSESSIVE and CYNICAL in the tabloids. You mind if I turn this up? daisy. 19. est. she/her.

first, i feel inclined to say why i put “and the diamonds” in parentheses bc without context i either look super uninformed or like a total douchebag?? basically she’s going by just “marina” now but i didn’t know how wide-spread that knowledge was yet and technically all of her work still has “and the diamonds” so i was like “hm. parentheses.” and there’s ur explanation ! onto the intro:

BACKSTORY

TRIGGERS: extreme misogyny, brief mention of gaslighting/emotional abuse, briefly implied physical abuse

so i have been waiting to play a bitch inspired by the stepford wives for forever. if i ever actually finished books that weren’t assigned, wbk i’d read that bitch. but we settle for the 1975 movie. there’s ur preface.

i often get way too caught up in the story of the parents and wind up making just intros like,,, a novella, so i’m gonna do my best to skim over them and go more in-depth when i write the bio later on!!

so dahlia’s mom is inspired by neely “i’m a BIG STAR!” o’hara from ‘the valley of the dolls’ and her dad is, ofc, inspired by walter “no fun quotes or super extra™ monologues” everhart from, you guessed it, ‘the stepford wives (1975)’

just as a very brief explanation as to why “i’m a BIG STAR” wound up in the neighborhood she would, typical fall from glory, first manager whisked her away, “fell in love”, moved to a neighborhood where 95% of the women only found joy in cooking and cleaning

maybe if you HAD a fucking business...

i’ve made this joke so many times i’ve memorized this entire scene.

only one person irl has ever genuinely laughed.

it was my mom.

through a series of gaslighting, emotional manipulation, and groupthink, dahlia’s father gradually got her mother to buy into all of it and have strong opinions on the best laundry detergent.

so this was a strange place to raise a child, amirite ? i mean, you got women discussing tide vs. bounty while baking cake, you got men being treated like kings – we over here in the stereotypical 1950s. 

they stanned super small neighborhoods in wales, but should they have ?

so she had a very skewed idea of what was acceptable and what wasn’t. the boys were treated extremely “boys will be boys!” like – like... more than they are when we talk abt the problem with that sentence – and the girls were all wives in training.

it was acceptable for boys and men alike to do whatever they wanted without asking the other. it was acceptable for boys and men alike to complain over anything they wanted. it was acceptable for boys and men to do all of these things that, if we heard about them today, we’d be like “jail??” or, at the very least “leave.”

it was all good and well though!! but one of the four (4) duties dahlia’s mother had was taking care of the child (the other three were cooking, cleaning, and pleasing)

you see, she was used to dahlia’s father blowing things out of proportion when it came to herself – it was normal and healthy!! but she was not used to him blowing things out of proportion on their child, aka dahlia (you see, this is what happens when i start talking about the parents too much)

the first time just warranted a brief “hey, maybe don’t.” the second time warranted a conversation that ended poorly. third warranted an empty threat of leaving that ended poorly. fourth warranted an actual threat that ended poorly. fifth and a bitch was like “ok where r we and how do we get out!!”

after finding her way out, she settled with dahlia in a rly crummy motel, but what else are u gonna do when u only have the few dollars u managed to steal from ur guy??

y’all see i’m already talking in perspective of the parents i hate myself

so dahlia’s mom phoned so many old friends and relatives. unfortunately, as a previous neely “the whole WORLD loves me!!” o’hara who just seemed to drop off the face of the earth, almost everyone was like “bitch tf no you ain’t stayin here”

the last person she phoned was her mom, aka dahlia’s grandmother, down in athens. reluctantly, a bitch was like “fine.”

so dahlia was ~13 by now. her mom found work as a maid bc she was rly good at cleaning and also had no clue how she would ever get a good acting career back (although, mind you, you know a bitch went out for some community theater plays). her grandmother was able to live off the inheritance her late husband, dahlia’s grandfather, left behind – however, she also had a work ethic that drove her to just... do whatever she deemed the right thing to do at the time. 

an old woman doing some odd jobs?? you know it!!

dahlia learned how to speak greek which is great bc you know what?? i duolingo’d that bitch and that owl is a jerk who wouldn’t let me get past “ο άντρας” even tho i spelled it!! right!! i had so many ppl compare what i spelled and what the answer was and i’m still bitter!! 

anyway.

so like,, wbk a bitch has some unresolved problems. when you grow up in the equivalent of stepford (copyright 1972, ira levin), you gonna have some things to work thru!!

but she was also basically trained by that community to keep everything inward??

this is a musician rp so you know what she did??

SHE TAUGHT HERSELF TO PLAY PIANO AND WROTE SONGS!!

was a myspace queen tbh. technically speaking, she has more work out there than the three listed albums (i mean, we got mermaid v. sailor, the crown jewels, etc., etc., bUT)

decided “bitch i’m gonna make smth of this” and,,, did. so when she was 19 ‘the family jewels’ was released and,, like,, she decided “wow time to go be an american!!! i love bald eagles!!!”

so i figure the rest is kind of history?? i think i’ll be going in chronological order with the albums (in that a few years after that ‘electra heart’ was released, then ‘froot’, then a hiatus which we do NOT stan, then coming back with a leak ksksksks. BUT i may switch up electra and froot i’m not quite sure yet??)

ya! 

PERSONALITY

VERSATILE: ok so she never really does things quite the same ? alexa, play ‘can’t pin me down’ by marina (and the diamonds) dahlia angelis. musically speaking, she really loves experimenting with different sounds. overall, she is still considered indie-pop, but we had some good new-wave pop in ‘the family jewels’, we had some good electropop in ‘electra heart’, we had some good general versatility in ‘froot’ (compare the song ‘froot’ to ‘immortal’ like we were boppin then we were havin an existential crisis). does not like keeping things the same in her music. does not like being compared to other artists bc?? everyone!! is different!! generally speaking, she’s just a very?? open person?? not as in emotionally open, open book – all that, as in willing to try pretty much anything?? as long as it’s not her actual routine, if a wrench is thrown in her plans, a bitch don’t care as long as the wrench ain’t smth dumb. here for a good time, not a long time.

INTUITIVE: ok so she got really into trying to read people and tbh psychoanalyze them ( alexa, play ‘savages’ by marina (and the diamonds) dahlia angelis ) after leaving that. town. with a name she doesn’t even recall?? wbk a bitch would speak up abt it if she could so that all of the women could be fckin saved but she j doesn’t remember anything abt it!! other than the environment in general!! what’s the name?? besides somewhere in wales, what’s the location?? she doesn’t know!! mainly bc i don’t!! and also for the sake of her not actually saying anything abt it willingly!! anyway!! she really does her best to read people and situations in order to analyze like?? the safety aspect, the other person’s stance, etc. doesn’t always work, but she tries. is pretty good at it, but no pro.

OBSESSIVE: ok so y’all see up there me talking abt routines?? there are two (2) ways in which girly is obsessive. first, a literal manner. routines that need to be done so the world doesn’t fall apart. i mean, we stan obscured brain chemistry, but we also stan horrible environments that just exacerbate it, even into adulthood, in the end ( alexa, play ‘obsessions’ by marina (and the diamonds) dahlia angelis. ) (also, i feel i should clear the possible iffy-ness this would have by saying that i’ve got ocd and will, therefore, be portraying it in a manner similar to mine so that it doesn’t come across as offensive to anyone else who may have a different form?? but most of the ‘routines’ won’t be very prominent in interactions). second, music!! when she gets started on a new project, -the mask vc- try ta’ stop [her]! -end vc- . will live in the studio until everything is complete and perfect. will spend her free time writing lyrics she knows she’ll never use bc?? why not?? gotta get that practice in!! can also apply to any other project types, but ofc the main ones would be music related so??

CYNICAL: ok. who’s gonna have a positive worldview after growing up where she did?? ( alexa, play ‘hermit the frog’ by marina (and the diamonds) dahlia angelis ) who’s gonna stan that?? that said, there is not a single genuinely good person in this world ( alexa, play ‘savages’ by marina (and the diamonds) dahlia angelis again ) if u ask her like?? not only did she already have that view after coming to her senses but?? now she knows about terrorists, about people from the usa who are SUPPOSED to be the good guys killing innocent ppl from ‘enemy territories’ for fun, ppl assaulting and killing minorities just bc they’re not like them, etc., etc., etc. convinced no one is inherently good. rly has a love/hate relationship with life ksksksks

HEADCANONS

a lot of these kind of tie into personality tbh?? 

literally knows everything about every cleaning product ever. ask her about the pros and cons of any and she will tell you. she’ll also tell you when it was manufactured, the ceo of the company that created it at the time, what went in it to make it, etc., etc., etc. knows so much.

kind of going off of that, actually really good at cooking and baking?? she rarely does it willingly, but will make a hell of a chocolate soufflé.

TRIGGER: IMPLIED SEXUAL ASSAULT -  i don’t want to go too far into this bc it’s very triggering content to many ppl (and even to ppl who it isn’t, it’s j?? not good.), but.... i mean.... the boys in her formative environment were literally encouraged to do whatever they wanted and they didn’t need permission?? END TRIGGER.

i have a whole-ass routine already figured out. there are a lot of facets obviously, so i’ll just mention a few?? but count them all as one headcanon to be fair. 

sets an alarm to get into bed at 1:11am bc it’s a good number but 11:11 is usually too early. sets an alarm for 11:11am to wake her up. will chill in bed if she’s awake before then but it has yet to go off. only exceptions are when she’s working on something she deems urgent.

that said, good numbers are 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, etc. no rhythm to it, but i wasn’t gonna go?? up until?? infinity??

if there are two doors that are both available to be opened and closed (aka not one of those “enter through this one, exit through this one”), will always enter through the right and exit through the left. 

we don’t stan sidewalk cracks!!

a lot of superstition plays into these. but?? loves black cats. they’re chill.

i have a stats page coming that has more so!!

during the eh era, be it the last one or the one before that, decided to method act while she was still writing the songs ksksksks. that’s going to go into some of her more specific connections.

a bitch will both fight and not fight. got ‘the family jewels’ attitude back and we stan!!

was obviously able to write the ‘housewife’ archetype songs from her own personal experience ksksksks. didn’t rly have to dive into the stereotype. j knew it already.

more?? later??

CONNECTION IDEAS

so i have a few specific ones that are attached to a different blog (u kno one of the ones that died) that i’ll be moving over here, but here are some of the ones that stuck out more than others – also, all are open to any gender!:

UPDATE: wc page is here!

during the eh era while she was ‘method acting’ (we hate.), she knew this muse was in a relationship but was still like?? “hey let’s go have a meaningless ons” bc we stan "homewrecker”! (can have a number of muses!!)

a relationship that really didn’t work out in the end. the other kept trying to make things better so they would stay together. inspired by “buy the stars” (one muse)

the first celebrity whose discography or filmography she got really into before moving to america. would’ve had to have been around for longer than eight years. slightly inspired by “hollywood” (one muse)

ok this one. makes me laugh. literally just someone who always gets her mistaken for someone else – it doesn’t even have to look like her. 100% inspired by “hollywood” ( oh my god! you look just like shakira! no, no – you’re catherine zeta! ) (open to two muses)

she’s not known for a good reputation, but she’s also not known for a bad one. this muse wants to turn her to the dark side and make her become everything she never wanted to be?? so very similar to ‘the bad influence’ connection, j w/ a slightly different connotation on dahlia’s end. inspired by “oh no!” (open to two muses)

these bitches were either friends or love interests once, but things fell apart (either mutually or on the other’s side like?? i don’t want to godmod but for the song’s sake). dahlia is,, bad abt forgiveness,, but there have been enough apologies. inspired by “forget” (open to one muse)

dahlia has a very keen interest in this person. whether it’s infatuation or literally just interest, god only knows! obviously goes deeper than that but i’m horrible at explanations. suffice it to say, inspired by “immortal”

ok!! so now j some general ones!!

best friend

ride or die

drinking buddy

fwb

ons

exes

enemies for whatever reason

frenemies

collab partner

muse for any of her songs?

etc., etc., etc. !

LIKE THIS OR HMU IF U WOULD LIKE TO PLOT !

u can also find me on discord @ john donne’s whore #5590

[klbwriting]

Say You Won’t Let Go

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer x Reader

Warnings: None, just fluff

Summary: (Slight AU, instead of just going to JJ’s Spencer hides away, not really talking to the BAU team for awhile after Emily dies) Spencer needed a break after Emily died, he just needed something that wasn’t in the BAU, and he found it completely by accident.

Note: No one requested this, I just like the song and think of Spencer when I hear it, so this is just something little for him, hope you like it, this is my first time really writing him, based on ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ by James Arthur

Spencer needed a break.  He couldn’t see them, talk to them, be reminded of what had happened to one of his best friends anymore.  He had tried, going to JJ’s once to see what comfort she could provide but he found that it wasn’t enough.  That was when he considered going back to dilaudid , letting that take away his pain and heartbreak.  He even had gone to find some, dropping by a bank to pick up cash along the way.  As he was leaving he bumped into you, causing you to drop a pile of books.  He initially jumped back, nervous at the closeness and then he became concerned.

“Are you alright?” he questions, quickly remembering that he should be decent and help you pick up your books.  He glanced at your face and finally recognized you.  You were a technical writer for the bureau, you wrote training manuals and guides and he had come to you once with a clarifying question.  What was your name?  His brain quickly scanned the meeting and he remembered seeing your nameplate, Y/N, that was it.  He looked at your face again, handing you the three books he had picked up.  You smiled at him and he noted that your smile was pretty and honestly he would like to see more of it.

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you.  Dr. Reid right?” you asked, still smiling as you put the books into your bag.  Spencer nodded.  “Nice to see you again, um, actually, remember how you had asked me about the correct method of handling an unsub with a blowtorch?” He nodded, of course he remembered.  “I found out that the bureau was wrong, and I had been meaning to come by and tell you the correction, but after what happened with your teammate I thought you might be taking time off.”  His mind had wandered a little during your speech, something it didn’t do often, your eyes were just so gorgeous, but he was brought back when you mentioned Emily. 

“Ya, I am, I just uh, was looking for something to do today,” he said, trying to get going on his way.  You cocked your head to side and looked him over.  “What?” he asked, feeling like you could read his mind even though he knew that was pretty much impossible.

“You like Doctor Who don’t you? They’re showing Genesis of the Daleks at the bookstore near my house, want to go with me? There’s a party after in the owner’s apartment above it,” you explained.  He stared for a moment, his mind processing everything you said.  He could blow you off, but he really wanted to see you smile again, and the fourth Doctor was his favorite.  It took him only seconds to cave and he nodded.  He would get the dilaudid another day.  You smiled and nodded, turning to lead him down the street. 

It was only a few blocks away and at a bookstore he had been to himself before.  You led him to the lounge area in back where a tv was set up and maybe a dozen people were already seated in various couches and chairs.  The only free couch was in the back and it looked like a snug fit for the two of you.  You let him sit down first and then sat, making sure to leave some space between the two of you, which he appreciated.

“So everyone talks during these, making jokes and discussing the show, if you hate it I won’t be offended if you leave ok?  Just have fun, you look like you need some,” you said and he smiled at you.  This made you smile and for a second he thought you blushed. 

“Ok, thank you,” he said softly.  The show started and surprisingly Spencer enjoyed himself.  You were funny and smart and almost as big a fan as him.  He even let his guard down enough for you that when you brushed a hand against his arm or your bodies touched on the couch he didn’t move away or flinch.  He felt safe with you even though you had spent only two hours together.  It was nice, feeling safe again, his mind for once calm after the ordeal with Emily.  However, that didn’t take away his nerves of the after-party. 

“Do you want to stay?” you asked and Spencer looked at the strangers around the room, some eyeing him.  He shook his head.

“But I’d still like to stay with you,” he blurted out, a red tinge coming to his cheeks.  He normally wouldn’t have been so bold but he really liked the feeling you gave him.  He couldn’t place it but he liked it.  You smiled and blushed also, leaving for a second to talk to the owner.  He nodded, handing you a bottle of wine before waving you off. 

“Come on,” you said, taking his hand gently in yours.  “Let’s hang out at my place, I have quite a few more adventures with the Doctor there.”  Spencer found himself nodding, not pulling his hand away from yours as you pulled him out of the shop and down the street.

Your house was small but cozy, not overly decorated, unless you counted books, CD’s, and DVD’s as decoration.  Spencer almost felt at home hear, it reminded him of his apartment.  You went to kitchen, filling up a couple glasses with wine before returning to the living room and sitting on the couch.  He discarded his things and joined you, taking the glass you offered.  You were about the put on a movie but he stopped you.

“Can we just talk?” he asked.  You smiled and nodded, putting on some soft music instead.  It was light and easy and relaxed him some as he sipped his wine.  You turned to face him, listening to everything he had to say.  He told you more than he thought he would about Emily’s death, seemingly needing to get this out, to tell someone everything he felt, even about the desire to use a drug to take away the pain.  You didn’t say much, just listening, knowing he needed to vent and be heard and he loved that you listened.  Was that the feeling he had for you?  No, that was irrational, there was no love at first sight, just pheromones and endorphins released at the first sign of attraction.  After he stopped, already on his third glass of wine, you finally spoke.

“You know that your feelings are valid? And that even though you couldn’t save her, you are still a good agent, a good doctor, a good man, you are still enough,” you said softly, a hand settling on his.  Spencer looked at you, alcohol slightly clouding his judgement.  He once again believed maybe he was in love with you.

“Thank you,” he said.  He laughed a little, feeling lighter due to the talk and the wine.  “Anything you would like to spill?”  You smiled.

“Sure, you told me something personal, I’ll tell you something,” you said, taking a second glass of wine for yourself.  You noticed the bottle getting low and went grabbing another one before sitting down and telling him your issues.  Your ex-boyfriend cheating and making you wonder if anyone would ever actually care about you.  He couldn’t relate exactly to that but he wanted you to feel better so he looked at your directly, filling up a fifth glass for both of you.

“Well like you said to me, your feelings are valid, and even though he cheated doesn’t mean you’re not smart, or good, or beautiful,” he said, staring intently at you.  You smiled and nodded.  “You are enough.”  He could see almost a tear in your eye and then you made a face.

“I’m going to throw up,” you said, standing quickly.  Spencer hadn’t realized really until he tried to stand up and follow but both of you were really drunk.  He managed to get to your bathroom, kneeling next to you and holding your hair as you emptied your stomach.  He was surprised he could do this, he hated germs, but the alcohol had him thinking slower and he was just going with his gut on what to do at the moment, not worrying about anything but you.  You swallowed, took a couple deep breaths and looked back at him, head cocking to the side, and smiled.  For a moment Spencer felt completely sober, staring at you and hugging you against him, your arms wrapping around his back.  He was in love, no matter what his head tried to say his heart wasn’t having it, he was in love with you.  You looked up at him and smiled again.

“You want to stay over?” you asked.  He nodded slowly.

“But only so I know you get some sleep and are ok,” he said, standing and helping you to your room.  He laid you down on your side, laying next to you, hand still in yours.  You watched him for a moment before your eyes fell shut and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He tightened his grip on your hand. 

He didn’t need anything else if he didn’t let go of your hand.