#this means adam could have chosen STEVE too

[bethetiesthatbind]

God offered Adam possible partners in caring for all creation, and Adam chose Eve. We are allowed and encouraged to choose our relationships with others and creation and the world-- and each time God holds love for us that we might choose God back too, but it's not a true choice if we are ruled by a predetermined fate over God's unconditional love that provides room for creation to grow and to surprise.

I love soulmates but also this-

[what-a-flammable-heart]

MASTER LIST

My fics are strictly 18+ reading, and are all housed on AO3. Not all fics contain smut, but for the safety of everyone, please be aware.

Fics with smut in 1 or more chapters will be marked with a (*).

If you’re interested in being tagged on any/all fics, please send me a message and let me know!

I typically write for Tom Hiddleston and characters he’s played, as well as Chris Evan, Seb Stan and associated characters. I dabble in Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington things as well. 

If you send in requests I might just write them, but please give me time to do them justice.

💜

TOM HIDDLESTON

The Only Heaven I’ll Be Sent To Is When I’m Alone With You*—Updates Sundays

(TOM HIDDLESTON X READER) Father Thomas Hiddleston is a good priest, satisfied with the life he'd chosen more than ten years ago. His faith wavers but there's little else in his life to keep him from God's work. Until his childhood sweetheart walks back into his church after more than ten years of staying away. You're engaged to be married, unaware that Tom is now a priest at the church you intend to be married in. When you realize, it's a struggle to keep all of your long held feelings for him at bay. Will you go through with your plans to marry your fiancé, or will you give in to the longing you've felt for Tom all these years? And in doing so, will you pull Tom down into sin with you? Chapters: (Ch. 1) (Ch. 2) ) (Ch. 3) (Ch. 4) Playlist & Moodboard

Drunk & In Love*—One Shot

(TOM HIDDLESTON X READER) Your friends convince you to stay for one drink after work, and when you see actor Tom Hiddleston looking uncomfortable with another woman, you think saving him will be the perfect exit strategy. Instead, you end up helping him escape a blind date.

B R E A T H E—One Shot

(TOM HIDDLESTON X READER)

Tom hates the dentist, so when he breaks a tooth and needs to visit the oral surgeon, it's terrifying. But as his nurse, you attend to him surprisingly gently.

LOKI

Careful Creatures

(LOKI X MATT MURDOCK) A confused Loki seeks out his friend Matt for some comfortable silence. He gets slightly more than he bargained for.

Technicolor Dreams

(LOKI X READER) The reader invades Loki's dreams literally and figuratively.

Cities to Ash*—One Shot

(LOKI X PREGNANT READER)

You’re in the last few months of your pregnancy, and doubt fills your mind—how could Loki want someone so big, who’s constantly worn out just from living? Canceled dinner plans spur a conversation about these feelings, where Loki makes it clear that nothing could ever make him stop wanting you.

Your Heart Is Like Glass*—Coming Soon

(LOKI X READER) You are a whore, bound to the Shining Pearl since the time of your birth. But a year ago a strangely handsome man with money to spare started seeking your attentions. You cannot seem to shake your affections for him, though you know his presence is always temporary.  It's temporary because he’s a prince, and when he marries he’ll no longer be able to dabble with his favorite whore. But his favorite whore has become more than that to him, and Loki desperately seeks a solution to both of your supposed prisons. Chapters: Playlist & Moodboard

ADAM (OLLA)

What You Could Have Meant To Me*—Coming Soon

(ADAM X READER) 500 years and life has not lost its light, though it dims from time to time. Vampires as a touchy breed and you avoid them for the most part, save for your old friend Adam. You meet from time to time in foreign cities, but when an exhibit at the Met reveals old letters written but never sent, you’re both drawn together again. You’ve kept your feelings for him secret for a long time. Will he be able to draw them out, or will you spend the rest of your lives never knowing the truth? Chapters: Playlist & Moodboard

Your House, My House*—In Progress Series

(ADAM X READER) It’s been six months since you and your boyfriend Adam broke up, but you’ve moved into his house after your roommates decided to move home. It’s an awkward situation, at least that's what everyone on the outside sees. But despite being broken up, Adam is still your best friend and the one person who knows you well enough to push you when you need it most. Can you two cohabitate as friends, or will the pressure of being so close change things forever?

Parts: (1)

Playlist & Moodboard

TOM HIDDLESTON CROSSOVERS

I’ll Love You In Every Life We Live*—In Progress

(CAIUS MARTIUS CORIOLANUS, ADAM, PRINCE HAL/KING HENRY V, WILLIAM BUXTON, JAMES NICHOLLS, JAMES CONRAD, JONATHAN PINE & LOKI X READER) Soulmates who meet in every life they live, they know without really knowing, that they belong together. Whether in the heat of battle or kneeling before the king; separated by time and death and other people, they always find one another. Love is the one thing they know for certain, even if they cannot be together, even if they are only together for the briefest moment. There will always be another life in which they will meet. Chapters: (Ch. 1) Playlist & Moodboard

BILLY HARGROVE

‘Cause In The Dark There Are No Strangers*—In Progress

(BILLY HARGROVE X STEVE HARRINGTON) Steve and Billy like to fight—they hate each other, except they don't, not really. A chance encounter one rainy night could change everything, but that doesn't mean they're not still the same people. Love can lift you up, but it can also tear you apart. Chapters: (Ch. 1) (Ch. 2) (Ch. 3) (Ch. 4) (Ch. 5) (Ch. 6) Playlist & Moodboard

There’s Something Inside You; It’s Hard To Explain*—In Progress

(BILLY HARGROVE X READER) Billy is a broken boy, all sharp edges and bloody knuckles. You are a quiet girl, too soft for your own good. You hate each other. (They don't hate each other.) He's so soft for her, has been since high school and after a slightly drunken night reveals some secrets neither one of them ever thought would see the light of day, they have to deal with what comes next. Chapters: (Ch. 1) (Ch. 2) Playlist & Moodboard

STEVE ROGERS

& At Once I Knew, I Was Not Magnificent*—Coming Soon

(STEVE ROGERS X JAMES BUCHANAN (BUCKY) BARNES) Gurnsey is a German occupied British isle, one that hides a dark secret. After crashing his plane and losing his copilot, James Barnes is captured and forced into labor; the same can be said for Steve Rogers, a lost British naval lieutenant. They find themselves in dire straights, the only thing holding them together—each other. Can they survive, escape even? Or will they die at the hands of their enemies? Chapters: Playlist & Moodboard

[walkingdaryls]

the chosen one

pairing: loki x reader

request: hi i was wondering if you could write a fluffy loki imagine where maybe he’s like an ass to everyone but just kinda claims the reader as like his favorite person or something and honestly you don’t even have to stick to that i’d just love a fluffy loki if you could thank you!

warnings: some swearing, very fluffy

(gotta love fluffy loki. the best loki. also, this is a bit long so i’m sorry about that hehe)

The main thing you loved about the Avengers, your lovely teammates, was the fact that each one had something that set them a part from the rest. Bruce’s buzzing brain, Tony’s ego, Nat’s confidence, and so on. You adored every single one of them.

And what they adored about you was that you were always the “empathetic” Avenger. The one who believed in second changes. In never judging a book by its cover. And the one who believed people could genuinely change for the better. Now, everyone else was also fully aware of the fact that you could easily kick anyone’s ass with your powers or wit. Or both at the same time. But your welcoming, trusting personality definitely shined. Most of your teammates loved you for it, even if they teased you endlessly for being the nice one.

But what really threw your team off was the way you allowed Loki onto the team so easily with no doubts. Years after the incident in New York with the God of Mischief, Thor began asking for Loki’s acceptance into the Avengers. He claimed that even under his sarcasm and rolling eyes, he had changed for the better. The whole team was very hesitant, but after tons of psychological evaluations and close screenings, Loki was slowly turned into an Avenger. He’d aided on plenty of missions, proving himself to be good a bit more every time. But the team still wanted to suffocate him to death every once in a while.

Loki didn’t exactly like any of the Avengers, and he felt like none of them liked him either. But a job was a job.

The only exception was you. You’d been the only one throughout his time as an Avenger that never provoked him, or looked at him in a dirty way. Well, it wasn’t like you two even had conversations. You two simply minded your own business around each other. You never trashed him, so he left you alone. Simple as that. You were never one for hating on someone who was trying to change.

It wasn’t until one night after dinner, when Tony provoked an argument with Loki, that you finally had had enough.

“Someone tell me why we let him be an Avenger again. Please?” Tony said after Loki had dramatically left the room.

Clint sighed, “I’ve been saying, he’s too risky after what he did in New York.”

The others chimed in, and even Thor expressed reluctance about his brother. You couldn’t believe your ears. So you suddenly slammed your hands on the table, causing your friends’ head to snap towards you.

“Are you guys fucking kidding me? I wasn’t aware that we were gonna start contemplating kicking people off the team every time we talk back or start a stupid argument.”

Tony crossed his arms, “That’s not what we’re doing. And it is so much more than just the arguments. Loki-“

“No!” You exclaimed, “It isn’t fair to him! It’s not fair at all. How many of us have shitty pasts we’ve moved on from? How many of us have made stupid mistakes that we will probably regret for the rest of our lives? Most likely all of us. But do we give each other horrible looks every time we see each other? No! We forgive each other and ourselves. That’s the thing about us, Tony: we stick together no matter what.”

No one said anything, so you continued, “And I’m fully aware that Loki’s mistakes are probably far worse than anything we’ve ever done, but the message still stands. I mean, how many missions has he helped us on? The amount of close security and psych evaluations he’s been through just to be part of the team? It’s been years, for fucks sake. Yes, he can be a dick to some of you sometimes, but that’s just him. It’s no reason to continue to hate his guts. Do you guys remember the mission France like 5 months ago that almost went wrong? Loki saved my life. I was this close to being killed. If he hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here today with you guys. So I think we owe him some thanks. Especially me.”

You were heated by that point. Everyone continued to stay completely silent, so you stood up.

“I-I’m gonna head to bed now. Just wanted to let y’all know you’re being a bit hypocritical,” And you walked away, catching just a ghost of a smile on Nat’s face.

“Jesus, I think she’s heard one too many of Steve’s speeches,” Rhodey muttered, earning a shove from Steve himself.

But what you didn’t know while you walked away, was that Loki had been standing in the other room, hearing every word you’d just said.

—

Over a week passed since your monologue at the dinner table. No one really mentioned anything about it afterwards, which you were really grateful. All you got was a random pat on the back from Steve and him saying, “We’re all proud of you, kiddo.”

You made your way into the kitchen, which was currently being used by most of your team. 9am in the tower’s kitchen on days off were always pretty hectic. Wearing your usual workout outfit, you made your way towards the mug cabinet.

You were the only one on the team that avoided coffee at all costs. Tea was your go-to. The only other person like you in that aspect was Loki. He was the kind of person you’d caught making tea at 2 in the morning when he couldn’t sleep.

As you reached for the mugs, you realized your favorite one - a minnie mouse one you’d bought at Disney World years ago - was nowhere to be seen. You were pretty sure you’d just put it away last night after helping Tony with the dishes.

“Here.”

You turned around to see Loki, still in his forest green silk robe, holding out your well-loved mug in his hand. You could smell your usual green tea steaming out of the mug.

You stood in shock more a moment before snapping out of your thoughts and taking the mug from him carefully.

“Oh, thank you,” You smiled genuinely. You could feel Nat’s gaze on you a few feet away at the waffle-maker. In fact, a few of the team members’ eyes flickered towards your interaction. Loki’s face remained neutral as he went back to making his own cup of tea.

Thor, noticing this, yawned, “Brother, could you please pour me a cup of-“

“No,” Loki walked out of the room with his tea in one hand, and book in the other. Thor’s mouth slightly fell, glancing back from the cup of tea in your hands to Loki. Steve snorted from the stool next to Thor.

What the fuck just happened? You made your way towards the gym a few floors down with confusion on your face. But mostly warmth in your heart.

The next day, Loki had your green tea waiting for you in your favorite mug once again. And you didn’t hesitate to give him your signature smile and a sweet “thank you”, even if you were a bit taken aback.

And he continued to do this for the next few days. Every morning, without fail. Green tea. Minnie Mouse mug.

At this point, Nat definitely became more aware. She pulled you aside after a while with slightly mischief in her eyes.

“Are you two friends?” She asked genuinely.

“Nat, it’s just tea.”

“Yeah, except Loki’s never even bothered to do something like that with the rest of us. Never.”

You shrugged, “He isn’t Satan. He’s capable of nice things.”

Nat chucked, “Not like this. And it’s just with you. He practically begged you have you as a partner during our last mission.”

It was true, although you wouldn’t exactly say ‘beg’. But he had been pretty adamant on having you as his partner for the mission. He’d asked you kindly first before letting Tony know. In the moment, you hadn’t thought much of it. But looking back at it, you now realized how genuine his actions had been. And you two made a hell of a team that day.

“Maybe he heard your speech that other night,” She smirked, walking away before winking at you. You stood there dumbfounded with a slight redness growing in your cheeks.

That afternoon, with your work done for the day, you made your way towards the main living room with your current book in your hands.

Upon entering the room, you should see Loki’s figure on the couch. He was slightly bent over which only meant he was probably reading as well. You hesitated, but made your way over anyways.

“Is it okay if I read here, too?” You asked quietly. Loki glanced up at you, nodding softly.

“Of course.” Was all he said. You gave him a ghost of a smile before plopping down the the other couch a few feet away. His eyes promptly followed you as you turned to the page marked by your bookmark. You began reading calming, posing no threat to him, so he continued his reading too. Loki felt quite at peace with the sun setting, your soft breathing, and his favorite book in his lap. And the best part: the rest of the Avengers were nowhere to be seen.

“What are you reading?” Your voice sounded softly. Loki placed a finger to mark where he last read before glancing up at you. You feared he’d be pissed off for the interruption, so you continued.

“I mean, I’ve seen you carry that book around for a while now. And it’s all worn out...which usually means it’s a good book,” You chuckled.

Loki watched you carefully before smirking, “Indeed. It’s called Pride and Prejudice. I’ve been told it’s a classic amongst mortals. Have you read it?”

Your face suddenly lit up. Your book was suddenly set aside as you leaned forward excitedly. Loki, although he would never admit it out loud, loved the sparkle forming in your glorious eyes.

“Yes!” You said, “Oh, it’s one of my all time favorites. The movie, too.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow, “There’s a movie? Well, I’ll have to watch that once I’m done with reading it.”

“So you like the book?”

“...Yes. I’m about three-quarters done with it. I have to say, it is rather enjoyable.”

You leaned back against the couch, gazing dreamily at the ceiling, “I’m a sucker for those kinds of romance stories. And I like to think I’m quite like Elizabeth Bennet.”

Loki squinted, “I think so, too.” You lifted your head slightly, making eye contact with the raven-haired God. The soft gaze on his face seemed to mean well, so you allowed for your cheeks to grow a light shade of red.

“Well,” You smiled, looking down at your book, “Let’s get back to reading, yeah?”

Loki nodded, but made sure to keep his eyes on your for a few seconds longer before opening to his page once more.

—

Another couple week passed, and Tony decided to call a ‘very urgent team meeting that has nothing to do with actual team stuff’.

You entered the kitchen where the rest of your teammates were sitting or standing around, chattering amongst themselves. Tony was waiting until everyone arrived before sharing what he needed to say. You slid on a stool next to Nat.

Bucky and Bruce showed up a minute or so later, which meant practically everyone was there. You looked around for the only missing person: Loki. But before you could say anything, the familiar God walked in with Tony followed a few feet behind.

“Alright,” Tony clapper his hands, “Glad we’re all here.” He walked into the kitchen where he served himself some liquor before turning to the rest of you. You felt Loki come up behind you, before situating himself right next to you.

You looked up at him, smiling softly, “Hi.”

“Hello,” He spoke extremely lowly, yet his eyes brightened just a bit more. You felt even more tiny compared to him now that you were sitting and him standing.

“So...what’s this meeting for?” Bruce asked.

“Great question,” Tony said, “I have decided that after tireless back-to-back missions these past few days...we all deserve a treat. That’s why I booked a reservation to the fanciest restaurant within a twenty minute drive. It’s at 8, so I want all of us ready to leave by 7:40.”

“God, Tony you know I hate when you plan stuff like this last minute,” Bruce stressed.

Tony shrugged, “It’s not like any of you losers had plans. Now, go get ready. You’ve all got less than two hours.”

You sighed, “The fanciest place in the city? I hope you’re paying.” A few chuckles sounded from your teammates.

“I wasn’t joking,” You looked at Tony.

The genius rolled his eyes, “Obviously I’m paying. Now, go! All of you. Shoo. Jesus, you try to do a nice thing and people still ask questions-“

Everyone groaned, getting up from their spots and leaving to their rooms to get prepared for the big night. You sent Loki a sympathic glance before going to your floor. You knew he hated going out.

So that’s how you ended up wearing your nicest white, tight-fitting dress that ended a few inches above your knee. It had a long, thick golden embellishment traveling from the bottom to your top left shoulder. It was very classy. And paired with golden heels, you truly felt otherworldly.

You, Nat, and Wanda were all up in each other’s bedrooms, trying to decide each other’s hair and makeup. Wanda was especially skilled with eyeshadow looks for some reason. And Nat more with hair. Your two blessings, you called them.

You three joined the rest of the guys in front of tower, all piling in the long, iconic Stark limo. You definitely hadn’t missed the look Loki gave you as you walked past him to get into the vehicle. He didn’t say anything, so neither did you. You just sent him your signature smile.

Champagne was passed around once in the limo with flashing lights. You were squished between Thor and Loki, which wasn’t exactly a complaint. Thor was cracking jokes to you and calling you “my lady” the entire ride. It was a blast, and you hadn’t even arrived yet. Loki on the other hand, stayed quiet as a mouse. He only said “thank you” when you passed him a glass, and that was it.

Upon arriving, your breath was almost taken away at how fancy the restaurant truly was. Tony never disappointed. Your team’s reserved table had each seat labeled with each of your names on paper.

Nobody noticed, but Loki created an illusion to switch you and Bucky’s seats so you’d be sitting next to him.

Loki allowed you to slide into your chair first before sitting down next to you. He immediately reached for the menu. Seeing that there weren’t enough left for you, you silently read over his shoulder. Without saying anything, he slightly lowered the menu to give you a better look.

Hours passed, and the entire table had fallen a bit tipsy. You were stuffed with more than enough raviolis and champagne. You even accidentally hiccuped while trying to tell a story to the rest, but everyone teased you so much for it, you couldn’t even finish what you were going to say. But how could you be mad? You were having the funniest, and most lovely night of your life with your second family. The rest of the restaurant probably hated all of your guts for your loudness and endless laughter, but none of you cared.

“I’ll be back,” Loki had whispered from beside you. You turned your head, watching him walk away towards the restaurant’s balcony doors. You looked back at your team, seeing they were all occupied with themselves, and followed Loki.

Feeling the fresh breeze outside somehow made you and your bloating feel a bit better. You spotted the familiar dark-haired man gazing out at the buzzing city at the edge of the balcony.

You sucked in a breath before speaking, “May I join you?”

He looked back, “Of course.”

It was always of course, you thought.

Your heels clattered lightly on the tile floor as you made your way next to him. You didn’t know if it was the champagne in your system, but you found yourself standing extremely close, touching shoulders with Loki. But he didn’t make any efforts to move away.

“You seemed awfully quiet during dinner. Is everything okay?” You asked.

Loki looked at his hands, “Just not the ‘going out’ type, remember?” You nodded, looking back at the skyline.

“You know, Loki,” you said, “I never properly thanked you for saving my life back in France months ago.”

You’d had a couple slip ups in missions before, but the entire team remembered that traumatic mission in France extremely well. You truly had been on the verge of dying. So close. But Loki had gotten in there and saved your ass. And Loki remembered, too. But it hurt him too much to think back on it. He’d been so close to never seeing your bright smile, or your infectious giggles again.

“Y/N, I-“

The alcohol in your system didn’t stop you from rambling, “I know I’m late, like, months late, but I just wanted you to know. I am so thankful. I literally owe you my life-“

“You don’t owe me anything, Y/N, heavens,” Loki watched you with a concerned gaze.

You blushed, “Well, I needed to get it off my chest. So, thank you Loki.”

“Well, I couldn’t afford losing the only person on this team I can somewhat stand.”

Your eyes flickered to his, seeing him wear an amused smirk on his face.

“I’m-I’m your favorite Avenger?” You teased. The God rolled his eyes.

Your smile was making your cheeks burn, “FYI...you’re my favorite, too. Well, maybe next to Nat.”

Loki let out a small, breathy laugh. You joined in, making him stare at you once more. His stare was so intense, you didn’t know what to do except awkwardly stare back.

Loki wanted more. He yearned to hear your voice again. So that’s why he said the next thing without thinking.

“You look beautiful tonight. Well, every day, of course. I forgot to tell you when you walked of your room a couple of hours ago, so I’m letting you know now.”

You were so thankful it was dark out, for you just knew that the look on your face was embarassing. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing.

“I think you’re beautiful, too,” You blurted. Loki gave you the softest gaze you’ve ever seen, so you couldn’t help but carefully place your hand on of top his.

Loki tenderly lifted your hand before pressing his lips to the tip of your fingers. All you could do was watch, breathless. He set your hand down before grabbing both sides of your face, and pressing another soft kiss, but to your forehead this time.

“That’s why we’re each other’s favorites,” He smiles cheekily at you.

You giggled, resting your head on his shoulder.

“Indeed.”

—

[hipsofsteel]

16 with Lupe and Marco!

#16 on my Spotify Wrapped: Stay by Steve Grand Spotify / Youtube / Genius Lyrics

(The ask being referred to)

Hello, I see this request is for Lupe and Marco, I added some FloNY on the side, hope you don't mind!

It was a get-together for the originally Spanish states. Which really just meant the Southwest, Florida, and all their plus ones.

Still, Marco appreciated in his own way being included as a part of the group. Arizona was bickering with Nevada over something. New Mexico was over visiting with Colorado and California. Roberto looked tipsy already, and Marco managed a lopsided grin, wondering how much prodding it would take to push him over the edge into being their drunk entertainment. Carson probably wouldn't mind. And it wasn't like Alejandra was paying attention to her brother, she and his sister Marisol had already snuck off somewhere quiet.

But before he could put his plans in motion, Lupe dropped down next to him under the shade tree he'd chosen, a bottle of beer in each hand.

"Thirsty?"

"Maybe." Marco popped open the bottle and took a sniff. "Where'd you get this?"

"It reads Deschutes on the label. Where do ya think I got it?"

Ah. Marco looked towards the grill, where Lupe had stationed her boyfriend. Chris was flipping burgers and humming to himself.

"I still don't get you and him." Marco said. "You could do better."

"I can. And I've decided that I don't want too." Lupe popped open her own beer and tilted half of it back in one go. Marco rolled his eyes, and then turned back to look towards Roberto, waiting for his opportunity to cause chaos.

"I noticed you didn't bring a plus one." Lupe says as she lowers the bottle down. "Trouble in paradise?"

Marco frowns, and Lupe pauses, and then her tone changes.

"God, Marco, what did you and him fight about now?"

Marco took a swig from the bottle before answering. "He wants me to go to Europe. To meet Lars."

"And?"

"And why the fuck should I need approval from any European prat?! It's not like I need Antonio's approval to fuck him!" Lupe stares at Marco, and he turns away as she takes a deep breath. "And don't preach at me. I get it enough."

"Marco." Lupe says, tired. "He isn't getting Lars' damn approval. Lars is important to him, for some damn inexplicable reason. He wants Lars to see you're important to him."

"Funny way of showing it." Marco takes another swig, and Lupe sighs.

"You know how Chris showed me that I was one of the most important people in his life?"

"I assume it involves a bedroom and a lot of straight people nonsense."

"Rude, and incorrect." Lupe looks over towards Chris. "He showed me the places and the people most important to him. And I don't mean Beverly and Adam, I already knew them plenty. I mean the graves of the people who raised him. I mean the reservations. He wanted me to see what had made him who he was."

"And what, you think Jan's trying to do something like that?"

"Lars shaped him more than you think. There's a reason he looks like a slightly wonky photocopy of the bastard." Lupe sighed, looking out over the gathering. "New York cares about you. Both of you get real cagey about it, but the rest of us aren't idiots. He wants to take you to Europe to show you that you ain't a fling to him."

Marco's quiet.

"You have to give him a little trust, Marco. Yeah, he's slept around in the past and played the part of the player. But he hasn't done that shit since you and him went steady. He's trying to show you whatcha mean to him. Let him, even if it's weird to you. It'll make him happy."

And with that, she tilts back the rest of her beer, and then, using the bottle, gestures to Roberto.

"Now... how many beers do we think we need to sneak past Carson to embarrass Berto?"

Marco paused, and then let a conspiratorial grin come over his face. "How much whiskey you got in your hipflask?"

"Enough." She says, grinning.

"Good. We're gonna need it."

[coffecatsandbooks]

Pick It Up

I put a fishing rod by your bed, right next to a Bible I leaned a guitar in the corner of your room with some Milsap on vinyl I figured the best thing I could do was put a thing or two that it wouldn't hurt to have In your way, on your path Hoping you might pick it up a one day and  you might learn a couple pretty cool things That I love to do, then you can take it and spin it, and fit it to you I don't know what you're gonna be, but I hope you smile when you think of me 'Cause I help make ya, but I didn't never try to make you pick it up. You just pick it up, pick it up.

There was no doubt about it that Peter and Tony were inseparable. When Steve first met the pair, he knew that they were going to make his life this best kind of chaos. He was right, as always, but when Steve and Tony talked about marriage, that's when it really hit Steve. He was going to be Peter's father too. Steve wasn't just signing his heart up to marry Tony, but Peter as well. When they'd originally started dating, Peter was shy around Steve and was always tip-toeing around and it had made Steve's heart ache that the little boy was so timid around him as if Steve was something to be scared of. On the contrary, Steve was big teddy bear when it came around the people he loved. And he loved Peter, even if the boy was scared of him.

After a while of dating though, Peter loosened himself up around Steve and eventually, when Peter thought it was okay too, he called him "Papa" and when Steve had asked, "why papa?" Peter had replied with, "Because Daddy is already daddy" and then had rolled his eyes as if Steve were an idiot. Tony had gotten a kick out of that and FRIDAY told them that she saved the video to Tony's Family Feed.

"Traitors," Steve had whispered.

After they got married, Steve noticed that Peter had picked up little things that Steve did. Like when Steve rolled his eyes at a terrible joke Tony had made or when Steve is cleaning or when Steve's reading the newspaper. He found that Peter copied him. Peter now rolled his eyes at Tony's jokes when he used to give him a frown instead and every time Steve went to clean, here came the little boy, gripping a wash towel in his hands, ready to clean up the counters and dishes and table with the man. He even would get up while Steve was reading the news papers in the morning and crawl up on his lap and read with him.

Steve adored every minute of it and when he brought it up to Tony, the man had given him a goofy grin. "What?" Steve asked.

"Steve that's what kids do. They look up to their parents and Peter is six. He wants to be just like his daddy and papa and while that may not last long, he wants to be you and to do that, he picks up on things he likes about you." Tony explained, lovingly.

Steve looked at Tony a moment, processing what the man had just told him. Then he smiled. He had an idea. "Would it be okay Tony, if I put things that I like in his way?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "You lost me Capsicle."

Steve rolled his eyes. "I mean- well my mother used to put a bible in my room, hoping I'd read it and she'd put vinyl records that she had liked beside my record player, you know hoping I'd pick something up that she loved and could teach me about. She told me when I went off to go fight that she knew she'd done everything right and anyway I just thought," he felt his face go hot, but babbled on. "Well maybe I can put the things I like and my mom liked and hopes he asks about them like that. My mother never pushed anything on me and I want to be the same. With Peter."

Tony looked at Steve as if he was figuring out a puzzle and just about the time Steve was opening his mouth to ask him what he was thinking, Tony kissed him. It was a kiss that was full of nothing but adoration and love. Steve kissed back, pulling Tony closer to his chest. After a minute or so, Tony pulled back, breathless.

"I love you Steve and I think that's a wonderful idea. That will help him get to know you more as well," Tony approved and Steve kissed him again. How did he get so lucky?

The next morning, while Tony was giving Peter a bath, Steve slipped in and put a fishing rod by his bed. Steve's father wasn't in the picture, but his grandfather helped him be a man just fine and when Steve turned six, he took him out fishing. Steve had always loved those moments where it was just him and his grandfather sitting peacefully by a lake with the fishing lines strewn out so far, Steve could only faintly see the orange bobber floating above calm waters. His grandfather would tell him stories and teach him new techniques of fishing. He figured he could do the same thing his grandfather did with him, with Peter, though Steve had to look up if people had even fished anymore, being as Steve's grandfather was born in the late 1800's. Turns out they did, it was just even more, fancier fishing rods.

The rod was a kids rod. It was bright green with sky blue features and had pictures of scooby-doo on the handle and spinning reel. Steve had also gotten him and Tony one, though Tony was adamant about never going. Steve's was tall and shiny blue with red features and Tony's was a bit shorter than Steve's with gold features and a red pole. They were quite nice too and came at a discounted price. Tony always scolded Steve for being "safe" with the fuck ton of money Tony had, but it was engraved in him to save. Growing up poor had burned that into him.

Steve then laid out a pair of clothes for Peter so once he got out of the bath, he could be in a hulk shirt and blue jeans. They planned to go out later and Steve was hoping Peter would ask about the rod so maybe they could go later this evening or sometime tomorrow, but Steve let his outer exterior hide his excitement. He didn't want Peter to feel like he had to do something and Steve showing his excitement might have that effect. Peter had always been a people pleaser. Even at the ripe age of six, he braved through anything was thrown his way. Steve admired that he had gotten that from Tony, who puts on a smile and goes through it anyway. Steve knows because of the countless fundraisers and rich people parties that SI or the Avengers had to attend. It was hard to keep a straight face with people whose companies are helping in the destruction of the planet. Some of them hadn’t adapted to Tony’s environmentally safe ways. 

Once he had laid out a pair of boxers and socks, Peter was padding into the room with a plush white towel wrapped around his small body. Wet, brown hair stuck to his forehead and water dripped down his face some. When his eyes met Steve's, he smiled. "I'm all clean Papa!"

Steve chuckled. "Yes bear, you are. Time to put on some clothes, do you need any help?" He asked, holding up his underwear and pants.

"Papa I'm a big boy now. I can do it myself." He stated matter-of-factly and Steve's heart gave a squeeze. Peter was already growing up before his eyes and it was a bitter-sweet feeling.

"Of course you can, I just wanted to ask." He said lovingly. Peter grabbed his clothes out of Steve's hand and Steve looked up to See Tony standing there in a black long sleeved shirt, but the shirt sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows and the bottom of his shirt was soaked. Steve let out a laugh.

"Oh go on! The boy got soap in his eyes a few times and freaked out, you'd of done the same thing," Tony bit back, jokingly.

Steve was calming down from his laugh, when Peter goes, "What's that?"

Steve glances to where Peter is standing, he has on everything but his shirt and he's pointing. Steve follows his gaze to the fishing pole leaning on the corner of the bed and he can't stop the smile that lights up his face. "That's a fishing rod Peter."

Peter doesn't take his eyes off of it. "Is it... mine?" He asks.

Steve hoped that question was a good sign. "If you want it, yes."

Peter's lips twitched up, mouth curling into a smile. "What does it do?"

"You take it out to a lake and catch fish with it. Papa has one, would you like me to teach you?" Steve asked, a bit sheepishly. He was nervous after-all. This felt like a very big step and one he knew he was willing to take, even if Peter decided to hate him. He would always remain good and loyal to the boy, no matter what the cost, that he'd sworn to himself the day he met Peter.

At the thought of learning something new, Peter's eyes glimmered with excitement. "Oh yes papa! Please papa! Can we go today?" He turned on his heels and now gave Steve a look of wonder. "Please papa, I promise I'll be good at the store!"

Steve looked down at Peter and then glanced at Tony who just nodded. His face was also adorned with a smile. Steve returned his gaze to Peter who stood, waiting patiently for an answer. He was such a good kid, Steve gushed inwardly.

"Okay, but you have to be good and you have to put your shirt on bud," Steve chuckled and jokingly glared down at the boy who still had yet to put on his bright green HULK shirt.

Peter whooped with excitement and grabbed his shirt that rested on the edge of his bed. Tugging it over his head, he put it on. It was still a bit big for him, but with how fast Peter is growing, he was going to fit the shirt in no time. He was all of Steve's heart and then some.

And Steve was enthralled. He was going to teach Peter how to fish.

Early to rise, headin' to work, open a door for a stranger Yes sir, yes ma'am, red dirt on my hands, showin' you the best way I can So you might pick it up one day, hoping you might learn a couple pretty cool things That I love to do, then you can take it and spin it and fit it to you, I don't know what you're gonna be, but I hope you smile when you think of me 'Cause I help make ya, but I didn't never try to make you pick it up Yeah you just pick it up

A few years down the line, Peter is thirteen and has a project due at school about his parents and their jobs and they must go into detail in an essay on why their chosen parent's job is important to them and what it has done to impact their life. When he brought it up to Steve and Tony, they were thrilled. They both explained to him that no matter which parent's job he picked, they'd be happy, which seemed to ease the boys nerves. He had come in stuttering and sweaty which was always a sign that his anxiety was high.

When they both assure the boy that neither would be offended, they'd expected Peter to think about a while and come back to them, but they were surprised when a smile spread across the boys face that was now older. He was growing into himself and now was slowly starting to distance himself from his fathers. They still had a great relationship, but Tony and Steve both knew that it was just Peter growing up which broke their hearts, but always gave him distance. Peter never gave them a reason to not.

As the years went on, Steve still left little things in his room like old Ella Fitzgerald records and some others that he has accumulated before and after the 1940's. He left a guitar in the corner of his room that his grandfather had taught him to play and left a few books along the way too. In getting older, he learned and grew from not only Tony now, but Steve too.

When Peter's face lit up, Steve and Tony looked a bit confused, but pleased that they had made their son so happy. "I've decided already," Peter said slowly, voice tinged with excitement.

"Oh?" Tony raised an eyebrow and glanced at Steve, but then back to Peter.

Peter nodded, brown curls bouncing. Steve noted to himself that the boy may need a haircut soon. "I'd like to interview and go to work with Papa, if that's okay Dad," He blushed as if he was still a bit worried on what Tony would think.

Tony rolled his eyes, but his smile gave away any ill feelings the boy may have thought he had. "I see," Tony's voice faked hurt. "I've been replaced. Et tu Brute?" Then he went limp on the couch and though Peter glared at him, he let out a little giggle.

"Is that okay Papa?" Peter looked towards Steve now, a look of interest on his face.

Steve's heart swelled. "Of course bear. Whatever you need me to do, I'm there."

"Well I was thinking that I could start off the essay with you going to war and what that was like and then in the middle I'll touch on you after the ice and pairing with the Avengers and then end it off with what you do now, like train new avengers!" Peter explained excitedly. "Maybe you can even take me on a mission!"

Tony and Steve gave each other a look. "I doubt Director Fury would let a child go on one of our missions, but," Steve said, stopping the whine that Peter had started to release. "I bet he could get you some really cool footage of me and your Aunt Nat taking down some bad guys."

Peter went into a wide grin. "Yes! I can start tomorrow on the project?"

Steve smiled. It was times like these that he kept near and dear to his heart. "I can take you to work with me tomorrow, yes."

Peter hooted in joy and Tony chuckled, moving over to kiss Steve and Steve kissed him back.

"Ugh! Guys gross!" Peter moaned, covering his eyes.

-

The next day, Steve pulled into a parking garage. Peter was practically bouncing in the seat next to him, he was so excited.

"Pops can you train me today with the new avengers?" Peter asked, all doe-eyed and voice filled with hope. "I couldn't ask you in front of Dad, you know he'd say no. Please Pops! It can be our secret!"

Steve put the car in park and turned to look at Peter seriously. Peter was biting his bottom lip, bouncing with nervousness. Steve sighed and gave him a leveling look. "Fine, but you're only going to learn the basics! No flips or anything, nothing dangerous, okay? And please don’t tell your father."

Peter looked a bit disappointed about the fact that he couldn’t do everything, but nodded, nonetheless. "Okay Pops, but I can one day can't I? I mean, I know you and Dad-"

Steve put up a hand, smiling. "Peter I know you wanna be a hero and-" he took a deep breath, placing his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Maybe one day you can," Peter gave him a bright smile. "But as of right now, can we put that talk on the back burner? I would love it and your Dad would revel in it, if you just stayed a kid a little while longer okay? The world is a nasty place and I know you wanna grow up, but can you please wait? If only a couple years?"

Peter looked at his Pops for a second and then gave him a small smile. "You guys can't keep me a kid forever Pops."

"I know, but do you blame us for trying?" He chuckled lightly and Peter shook his head playfully.

"No Pops. Thank you." Peter said, beaming at the fact that he was even here and his Pops was going to teach him some fighting moves, even if it was just the basics.

Once out of the car, they were walking into the building when a group of people came up behind, talking to one another and Steve stopped Peter, holding the door open for them. An older woman stopped to thank him.

"Oh my! Not many left like you, are they dear?" The woman smiled.

Steve chuckled. "My mother taught me it was the right thing to do and if I wanted someone, I best learn to be a gentleman."

The woman nodded. "Your mother was a smart woman," she glanced behind Steve. "Is this your son?"

Peter smiled shyly and Steve nodded. "Yes ma'am. Gotta show him the ropes to being that gentleman."

The small, plump woman was all smiles and a light pink covered her cheeks. Steve had her swooning. "Well hello," she said to Peter. "Your father is a very smart man, you could learn a thing or two from him." She then looked back to Steve. "Thank you so much, I must head inside now. Have a blessed day to both of you." And she went inside.

Steve then went in and Peter right after. "That was really nice Pop," Peter said, stopping at the elevator where his Pops pushed LVL 8.

Steve looked at Peter while waiting on the elevator to open. "You should always try and do that, especially if you want a lady."

Peter giggled. "Well what if I like men?"

Steve looked at Peter. "You know if you like boys or girls or trans or whatever, I'm going to accept you no matter what Peter."

Peter hugged his father as the elevator doors opened. "Thanks Papa," he whispered and Steve hugged him back.

Peter was always going to be his boy.

Dancing and kissing your mama in the kitchen Treatin' her like a princess Hoping you might pick it up one day Hoping you might learn a couple pretty cool things that I love to do Then you can take it and spin it and fit it to you I don't know what you're gonna be, but I hope you smile when you think of me 'Cause I help make ya, but I didn't never try to make ya pick it up Yeah you just pick it up, pick it up You just pick it up, pick it up yeah I hope you pick it up You just pick it up

Tony was in the kitchen, cooking an Italian dish that Steve couldn't pronounce when Peter came in and placed his book bag on the chair near the counter. Tony and Steve both gave him a look to which Peter, now 16, rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag going to put it in his room. Steve walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his husband who was boiling what looked to be pasta.

"Mmm smells good baby," Steve smiled into Tony's shoulder, kissing up his neck. Tony was smiling and laughing lowly.

"Stop, Peter's in there," Tony laughed.

"Well maybe I want to show him how much I love his Dad. Maybe I want to show him how to treat and be treated in a relationship," Steve said, lifting his head up and tightening his arms around Tony who just leaned into his husbands touch.

"I love you and I want you to know that there's not a day that goes by where I am not grateful that me and Peter have you, ya know." Tony said, stirring the pasta.

Before Steve could respond, he heard music coming from Peter's room and realized that he was listening to the Frank Sinatra record that he'd bought him last Christmas for his record player. Steve smiled knowingly. Sinatra's smooth voice was coming in through the record speakers and Steve stepped away from Tony, bending down and holding out his hand.

"Can I ask you for a dance sir?" Steve bowed and Tony chuckled, letting Steve take his hand and press his lips to it. Then he came up and pulled Tony close to him. Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's shoulders and Steve placed his around Tony's waist. Pulling him in, Tony rested his head on Steve's shoulder as they swayed back and forth to the soft music in the background unaware of Peter who was watching them from across the room, smiling.

Steve wouldn't of cared if he knew Peter was watching or not. Steve wanted Peter to know that this is what love is. That all his father wanted from him was to be the best version of him he could be and leave this place a little better than he found it. It was really important to Steve that Peter learned these things, because he didn't want Peter to accept anything less than the best and he didn't want Peter to bend to a world and succumb to the cruelty that can lie in it. He wanted Peter to fight for things and believe in things and be his own person. A leader, a lover, a fighter. He's sixteen now and soon he won't be in the house, he'll be off living his own life and being his own person and while a part of Steve's heart ached, he knew that when he did send him off, he sends him off prepared and ready to face whatever life throws his way. And if that didn't work, then he could always use the Iron Man and Captain America bit.

When the song finished, Tony lifted up onto his tip toes and kissed Steve once more and Steve kissed back. The kiss was filled with warmth and love and before Steve could deepen it into something more, Tony pulled back to go over to the stove and finish cooking. Steve whined.

Tony chuckled, "later babe, Peter needs to eat and so do you."

Steve glared playfully, “but what if I wanted you for dinner?”

Tony’s face turned a scarlet color and he went to open his mouth, but just then, Peter plopped down on the seat where his bag just was beside the counter. He placed his head in his hands and his elbows on the counter. He was upset.

"What's wrong bear?" Steve asked, leaning against the other side of the counter and looking at Peter, ignoring the way Tony was spluttering, but eventually he just grumbled under his breath and turned away to cut some herbs.

Peter blushed. "There's just- there's this guy-"

"Guy!?" Tony whirled around, completely forgetting about Steve’s comment, and narrowing his eyes playfully at his son. "You like a boy?"

Peter groaned and put his head on the cool, granite counter top. "Forget I said anything."

"No, now wait, your Dad is just excited, that's all. You've never come to us about a boy before." Steve explained, shooting Tony a look that said quit you're going to scare him off. Tony huffed and turned back to the stove, placing the herbs in the boiling water the pasta was in.

"Your pops is right Peter. I just- what happened between you and MJ? Didn't you like her?" Tony asked, clearly confused.

Peter lifted his head again and looked at his Dad's back since he was turned away to focus on the food. "Well yeah, but we decided we were better off friends. She's really great, but there's this boy and his name is Wade and he's really nice! He holds the doors for me and he says nice things. We're friends, but I don't know how he feels and..." Peter trailed off, looking down at the counter, and gnawing on his bottom lip.

Tony turned the oven off that held the garlic bread and turned to look at Peter again. Steve was waiting for him to respond, but when he didn't, he decided to speak up. Silence was never good when it came to Peter. "But what?"

Another blush, this time a more scarlet color than pink, coated the boys cheeks once more. "Well... he's kind of... the teachers don't like him." His face was so red, his ears started to tinge with the color. "I mean he's-"

"A bad boy." Tony finished. "He's a bad boy."

Peter cringed and looked up at his father's who were giving him looks that were a mix between shocked and scared. "Well I mean that depends on your definition, but yeah I guess, but you guys don't understand. He's- he'd never- he's just a stickler for rules-"

"Rules are in place for a reason," Steve said, being the first parent to speak up.

"I know Pop, but it's more complicated than that. He's had a pretty rocky life, but he's a great guy." Peter defended and Steve sighed.

"You guys are dating, aren't you?" Steve asked and Tony gawked.

"Steve don't be ridiculous, Peter wouldn't date and not tell me-" Tony started, but Peter interrupted.

"Well, I wouldn't say we're dating-"

"Oh my God," Tony groaned. "My past is coming back to bite me in the ass, I knew this day would come."

Steve rolled his eyes at his over-dramatic partner. "Finish what you were saying Pete."

"I just mean that he asked me out and I said yes and we've been on one date."

"When was this?" Tony asked, arms crossed.

Peter frowned at his Dad, but Steve turned to look at Tony. "Tony. Peter is sixteen and when have you ever known him to do anything that we truly didn't approve of?"

Tony glared at Steve for making such a good point. "But I- he- Steve. He's our boy."

Steve nodded. "That's right, but he's also growing. We can't punish him for liking someone. Besides, I remember everyone telling me not to go after you."

Peter perked up at this. "Dad you were a bad boy?"

Tony grumbled under his breath and took a hand, dragging it down his face. "My past really is coming back isn't it?"

Steve turned back around to look at his son who had a hint of a smile on his face. Steve smirked and bent down to rest his elbow on the table and slack against the counter more. He leaned in. "Your Dad, Peter, was known back in the day as a billionaire, philanthropist, playboy. He slept with anything and everything that came in his wake and he didn't care who it hurt. He used to be a self-centered ass."

Tony scoffed, turning pink. "I cared! Just... not at the time. And I didn’t sleep with everyone."

Steve smirked, "And your father told me that when we first met. He was infuriating you know, but he-" Steve stopped, his smirk being replaced with a look of nostalgia and love. "He went and proved us all wrong. That's the thing about your Dad, Peter. Don't ever tell him he can't do something or to feel a certain way. He doesn't like it. He went and saved all of New York and blew our minds. Then I decided, hey maybe he's not so bad, and then we started hanging out more and one day, after a really long battle, we came home and everyone was so worn out, so they went to bed, but your Dad and I? He poured some drinks and we sat that night and we talked for hours and in our tired state, we kissed. We ended up in my bedroom where we kissed until we literally passed out and everything's been different since. Everyone went wild when they found out though," he chuckled lowly to himself. "Aunt Nat told Tony she'd hogtie him and leave him for dead in the desert if he hurt me. The media kept saying stuff in the tabloids about how he might be cheating on me with your Aunt Pepper and all this crazy stuff."

"Did you ever believe it?" Peter asked, looking up at Steve. His eyes were misted over in curiosity.

Steve shook his head. "No. Tony was a lot of things and he was a cheater, but he was different around me. Never could figure out why."

"Why?" Tony asked, flabbergasted. "Excuse me, I literally had the epitome of American Patriotism worshiping my ass and you want to know why I didn't cheat? That and-" Tony looked towards Peter. "Your father here," he gestured towards Steve. "Well he knew exactly how to put up with me. If I got hot-headed he never yelled. Well, he did when we were on missions, but never in our relationship. He was patient with me and he stayed when I would have breakdowns and push people out, he'd just come and sit and draw until I calmed down or he'd just take me in and kiss me until I didn't know what I was even stressing or mad about anymore. I don't know when I started to care about him as more than just a friend and teammate, but when I kissed him, I just remember thinking that I didn't want to kiss anyone else ever again."

Steve smiled and kissed Tony and Tony kissed back, smiling as well. They were both disgustingly in love and Peter couldn't help but want that kind of love. "You guys, I'm still here." Peter said and they broke away, still looking at each other, but then turned to look at Peter again.

"So when was your date Peter?" Steve asked.

Peter went pink again. "The other night. You know how I told you guys I was going out with friends? And that's not a lie! Technically we are still friends! But that night I went out with him. We went to dinner and then he-" Peter went red and this time both fathers were leaning in, eyebrows raised. "He took me to the library."

Steve and Tony were taken aback. "What?" They both asked, in unison.

Peter rolled his eyes. "It was closed guys. Wade has a key because he's a library assistant and he closes a lot. He had set it all up, so when we went in, the bookshelves were lit up with Christmas lights and he had candles set up and he picked out my favorite books. He says he likes it when I read to him, so we just sat and um- yeah."

"You guys made out," Tony deadpanned and Peter went beat red. "Please tell me you used a condom."

"Dad!" Peter squeaked out. "We didn't sleep together! Wade knows that- he knows I'm not-"

"It's okay Peter, you don't have to tell us," Steve said and Tony slapped a hand on his face.

"Just please use a condom when you're ready okay?" Tony mumbled.

Peter groaned. "Yes Dad okay! I know all about sex please!"

Steve waved Tony off and looked Peter in the eyes. "So his name is Wade?"

Peter nodded shyly. "I was wondering if maybe he could come over tomorrow night and have dinner with us?"

Steve looked at Tony. When Tony didn't do or say anything, Steve narrowed his eyes. It looked like it hurt, but Tony finally nodded. "Yes Peter, that's fine."

Peter smiled wide. "Really dad?"

"I want to meet the young man who has decided to steal my sons heart," Steve said. "So yes."

Peter jumped up. "Thank you thank you thank you! I have to go tell Wade." He turned to run towards his room when Steve stopped him.

"If he hurts you, I won't hesitate to call The Cap and Peter? I want you to know that you deserve the best and only the best. You won't settle for anything less okay?"

Peter looked up at his Pops, again with those wide doe-eyes he used to do when he was little. "I know Pop. You've taught me that really well, among other things."

"I have?"

"Of course you have! You're the reason I like vinyl and why all the teachers love me. You're the reason I like to go fishing and camping. You're one of the main reasons I want to grow up and help people. I won't settle for anyone who doesn't treat me the way you treat Dad and I won't ever treat anyone bad, because you taught me that even if they're bad people, that doesn't make them any less of people." Peter said. "Don't worry Pops. I got this," he gave him a crooked grin and Steve kissed his forehead, messing up his hair a bit to which Peter laughed.

"Of course you do bud."

Steve watched Peter walk into his room and his heart swelled. Peter would be okay and some of that was thanks to Steve, who couldn't of been more proud.

Thanks for reading! The song this fic is based off of is ‘Pick It Up’ by Luke Bryan

[missslothy]

Writer’s Month 2020

H50 Fic:  Captain America and the Angel of Death

Rating: M

Relationship:  Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams

I’ve chosen 7 prompts from the Writer’s Month 2020 prompt list, to make up a story.  Chapter 1 is ‘magic’

“Let us come in with you.”

Steve ignores Lou plea. Instead, he hands over his automatic weapon and gun.  They won’t be any use in the warehouse: he needs his hands free.  “Ho Lua has at least thirty men in there with him,” he reminds Lou, and Tani, Junior and Adam who are loitering nervously too. “They’ll kill Danny before we can get in there.”  ,

“We can get up high, give you cover—”

Shaking his head at Junior, Steve pulls off his tactical gloves and digs in the pockets of his cargo pants.  Pulling out another pair of gloves, he pulls them on.  These ones are lighter, silky to the touch and cover his hands completely. Looks are deceptive though: the outer layer of fabric is woven with microbeads of Kevlar, to protect anyone who touches them.

Lou still looks doubtful. “You know I’d do anything to get our boy back but you’ve got a concussion, Steve.  A bad one.”  He taps the side of his head.  “Are you sure you can still do it?  You know…the magic.”

“I’ve got this.”

Lou shakes his head, doubtfully.  “You want me to call the Guild?  You know the rules, you need to call it in before you engage…” Sighing, he tails off.

Steve tugs the gloves one last time, checking they’re tight around his wrists.  Lou’s right: he has got a concussion and a motherfucker of a headache.  And he should call it in with the Guild.  But the bastards who gave him that headache – who kidnapped Danny from their house, from their bed, in the middle of the night – are very likely in that warehouse. And he wants those bastards. Badly.

A quick scan of the faces of the rest of his team confirms they are not happy either.  This isn’t their first rodeo though and he knows they’ll do what’s needed.  With one last nod, he turns and jogs toward the warehouse.

They are down by the docks. All the earth – the ‘āina – is covered with concrete.  He can still feel her power leaking out, making the hairs on his body stand on end. She’s been muffled though by the greed and stupidity of men.  He hadn’t lied to Lou about still being able to do his magic but the combination of the concrete and the concussion isn’t ideal.

Finding cover, he closes his eyes and reaches out with his mind.  Under his feet he can feel the threads of magic running, like streams of water.  Kneeling down, he places his palm on the concrete.  Taking a deep breath, he calls her power to him.  

Warmth flows up through his hand.

The first hit is always a surprise, no matter how many times he does it.  It’s like a shot of drugs to his bloodstream.  He bites back a groan as his headache flares in reaction. Placing his other palm on the ground, he braces himself.  Now the effect – and the headache – has doubled.

All his life people have asked him to explain what he’s doing.  The best way he can describe it, is it’s like recharging a battery: his body’s carrying energy gifted to him by the ‘āina.  It doesn’t last long but while it does it gives him ‘magical’ abilities.  In his case, that means he’s able to shield himself from attack.

He’d been at military school when his magical talent had first shown itself.  Bullies had been making his life hell.  One day he’d been cornered by a group of boys, found himself shoved to the ground.  Seeing red, he’d put his hands out to save himself and that’s when it had happened: the next boy who’d tried to hit him had come up against an invisible brick wall.

That first shield had lasted less than a minute, too ragged to sustain.  It had been enough to get him noticed.  The of Magical Practitioners had been called in to assess him immediately.  A place at Annapolis and a top-level military career was suddenly his.  

His skill had saved his life more times he could remember.  It hadn’t saved Freddie’s or his Dad’s.  

He’s determined it’s going to save Danny’s.  Standing up slowly, he pulls the energy towards him, mentally smoothing it into a bubble around his body.  Straightening up, he heads inside.

Ho Lua’s men are waiting for him.  Automatic gun fire rings out in the warehouse.  In his ear, he can Lou yelling his name.  Blocking out Lou, he focuses on maintaining the bubble of power as it warps under the onslaught.  

Engaging in hand-to-hand combat and maintaining the energy is something he’s been trained in ruthlessly. Doing it with a blinding headache, that’s more of a challenge.  The burning sensation in his hands grows, a sign that the power is leaking out, seeking its home; the ‘āina.

Fucking move, a voice in his head yells and he listens to it.  Giving up any pretence of taking any of these bastards down, he starts running.  Arms pumping, breath catching in his chest, he crosses the warehouse in seconds. Sparks fly off the concrete as bullets hit it: one of them bounces, pierces a weak spot in the bubble, strikes him on the ankle.  

Stumbling, cursing, he half falls through the door to the offices where they’re sure Danny is being held. Lou’s yelling louder now but he hasn’t got time to listen or reply.

More men swarm out of the offices, like angry bees defending their hive.  In close quarters he’s got no choice but to engage.  Fighting dirty is something he’s good at.  Bodies start to fall.  

It’s taking too long though. The heat in his hands has turned to red hot pain.  The headache is making it difficult to see.  By the time he makes it to the last office, he’s almost on his knees.  When he sees Danny in there – battered, bound, half-naked in his sleep shorts but alive, fuck he’s alive – it takes everything he has left not to collapse with relief.

They’re not out of the woods yet though: more of Ho Lua’s men are piling into the corridor.  In his ear he can hear Lou giving the order to breach but they won’t be in time to help him or Danny.

Crawling over to Danny, he notices with relief that Danny’s eyes are open and he’s tracking.  The bottom half of Danny’s face has been taped over, layers of it.  Ho Lua knew what he was doing: Danny’s mouth is his secret weapon.

Apparently it’s not a secret any more.  Which can mean only one thing: someone in the Guild’s been talking – to the wrong people.

Steve dismisses the thought as he peels the tape off Danny’s face.  He curses under his breath as Danny’s eyes widen with pain.  Even with the gloves on, the heat and power is seeping through, leaking onto Danny’s skin.  

The voices in the corridor are growing louder as the last piece of tape comes away.  Danny sucks in air gratefully but there isn’t even time for that.  Tearing off the tape that’s securing Danny’s wrists he leans in and kisses Danny. Hard.  Fast. Gratefully.

Danny gasps  – it feels like a bolt of electricity has shot through both of them – as Steve rips off his gloves and offers his hands.  “Do it.”

Danny looks confused for a moment, then understanding dawns.  Ankles still tied with rope, he tries to shuffle away.  “You’ll be hit too.”

Steve glances over his shoulder: they’re not the only people in the room now and he’s nearly running on empty.  Grabbing Danny’s hands, he takes the decision out of Danny’s hands – literally.

Instantly the power senses a kindred spirit.  Danny’s lips part, his pupils dilate, as the power transfers over to him.  Steve lets it go, his body slumping as it empties itself. Unable to hold himself up, he slides to the floor.

“Babe…”

“Do it.”

For a moment he doesn’t think Danny’s heard him.  Ho Lua’s men are nearly on them.  Then Danny inhales, loudly.  And it feels like all the air is being sucked out of the room.

Steve’s not the only one who can feel it.  Ho Lua’s men have faltered too.  Sharing confused looks, they look around them.  Then, one by one, their eyes settle on Danny.

Too late,  you bastards, Steve grins, as Danny’s eyes flutter closed and he opens his mouth…to sing.

Danny hates it to be described as singing.  Steve agrees. It’s more about how Danny harmonises his voice to every situation.  Arguing. Laughing.  Loving.  

Or in this case: sending people to sleep.

The first notes are warm and soothing.  Quickly though they disappear off the scale.  Steve’s vaguely aware of a high pitched whistle nudging at his already blinding headache.  It vibrates in his skull, like a tuning fork, making his teeth ache.  From his vantage point on the floor, he watches Ho Lua’s men start to fall.  Then everything blanks out.

H50H50H50

“Careful, careful. Mind his head.”

It’s Lou’s worried voice that wakes him.  That and being slung over Junior’s shoulder, in a fireman’s lift.  The world passes in a blur.  Concrete.  Bodies. Dark.  Light.  And suddenly his headache is back with a vengeance.  

It’s impossible to contain a groan.

“We’re nearly there,” Junior murmurs.

Their pace speeds up to an almost dizzying rate.  More concrete.  Sunlight. Voices.  Sirens.  He can’t help himself, he groans again.  Then the air cools and the concrete is replaced with grass and something deep inside him unfurls, reaching out for relief.

The world spins as he’s lowered to the ground.  For a second he thinks he’s going to throw up.  Before the nausea gets the better of him, his hands are placed palm down on the earth.

Energy flows into his body. Soft and sweet.  Soothing.  The pain in his hands lessens.  The headache from the concussion is still there but that’s to be expected: the ‘āina gives only what is needed, she doesn’t perform miracles.

Opening his eyes, he sees blue sky.  Pure blue. Not a single cloud in the sky. Birds are chirping in the trees.  The sun and wind is kissing his skin.  Gradually he feels less like he’s been hit by a train and more like he hasn’t slept for a week.  

As his mind comes back on line he realises he’s forgotten something.  “Danny—”

Lou looms into his view, blocking out the blue sky.  “Hey, hey, it’s okay.  He’s right here.”

Following Lou’s eyes, he rolls his head to the right.  Danny’s on the grass beside him.  Wrapped up in blankets, his blonde hair peeking out just over the top, he’s fast asleep.

An overwhelming urge to have Danny in bed beside him – to have Danny in his arms – assails him. Rolling his head back the other way, he meets his friend’s gaze.  “Take us home, Lou.”

TBC

[hawkbucks]

SteveTony Harry Potter AU for anon! :D Whose ask I have lost once again since it was on my old blog. 

Original prompt: hogwarts!au where tony & steve's class started lessons abt Amortentia, but Tony is unaware of w/c potion they are brewing; he's too out of the loop bc of another allnighter maybe? So Tony's confused as to why the room smells so much like Steve & thinks that he’s pranking him bc of a prank he did on him earlier? Or thinks Steve somehow found out he likes him and it's his way of teasing/making fun of him so he snaps loudly at Steve to Cut It Out

Tony wrinkles his nose as he measures out exactly 20 grams of powdered moonstone and adds it into his cauldron. They’re supposed to be making a potion that does… things? To be quite honest, he isn’t sure what it is they’re supposed to be making. Every word that his professor uttered went in one ear and out the other, the nook and crannies of his mind busy being taken over by dreamy thoughts of cuddling up in his warm bed with a belly full of food. Damn his N.E.W.T.-levels and the near obsessive way they have to study for them.

He stirs his potion clockwise once, then counterclockwise thrice, idly following the instructions written out on the textbook he has sitting next to his cauldron. He reduces the flame underneath his cauldron and leaves the potion to simmer, waiting for it to turn a sky blue.

He starts to crush 5 dried rose petals in his mortar and pestle, eyes wandering around the room. One student, Peter Quill if his memory serves him right, seems to having trouble with the way that he’s still trying to stir some peppermint into his cauldron. Another student, Kamala Khan, seems to have already finished, the professor standing over rnext to her and complimenting the fantastic sheen of her potion.

Then there’s Steve Rogers, who Tony’s eyes always seem to land on no matter where they are or what they’re doing. He seems to be on the same stage as Tony, the tip of his pink tongue poking out between his teeth as he works on crushing the petals. Tony briefly wonders if Steve’s hands are as large as they appear to be.

That’s inappropriate, his mind chides, but can anyone blame him? Steve Rogers is the epitome of perfect Hogwarts student. He’s a prefect (that Tony strongly suspects will be made Head Boy) as shown by the badge pinned to his chest, the Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team along with being the team captain, an excellent dueler, and he’s earned an Outstanding on all of his O.W.L’s bar 2 subjects.

In short, he’s way out of Tony’s league, which is exactly why Tony’s chosen to have a crush on him.

It’s not helped by the fact that Steve seems to go out of his way to talk to Tony whenever he can, whether that means complimenting him on his wandstance or offering to buy him a Pumpkin Pasty or a Cauldron Cake whenever their shockingly interwoven group of friends ventures to Hogsmeade for the weekend. Plus, Steve, it turns out, is a bit of a nerd when it comes to collecting Chocolate Frog cards. It’s frustratingly endearing, especially when he offered to give Tony his card of Derwent Shimpling simply because he knew that Tony was intrigued by Shimpling’s story.

Speak of the devil, Steve catches his eye and smiles sweetly, eyes closing into crescents as he tilts his head to the side.

Tony huffs, embarrassed at being caught staring, and turns his eyes back to his cauldron.

The potion’s color is satisfactory, and he assumes the petals are crushed enough. He places the pestle off to the side. Using one hand, he stirs the potion clockwise and pours in the petals with the other.

It takes effect almost immediately; the surface of the potion forms this beautiful mother-of-pearl sheen, starting from where the petals were dropped in and expanding the more and more Tony stirs it. Steam spirals up into the air. He takes a deep breath, relieved that his potion turned out better than he expected.

And, wow, that potion smells fantastic. Freshly brewed coffee, petrichor, and… Steve, all sandalwood and vanilla. He takes another sniff, chest clenching when he realizes that Steve’s scent isn’t going away. He fists his hands, shoving them into the pockets of his robes.

The first thing his mind jumps to is that Steve knows. He knows all about Tony’s pathetic little crush on him and decided to tease him by spraying that stupid cologne or whatever he uses all over the room to see that lovesick look in Tony’s eyes whenever he catches a whiff of that scent that he associates so strongly with desire. It has him thinking whether Steve ever thought of him as a person or if he thought of him as a heart that he could string along and play with until he got bored.

God, and all of his other friends probably knew about this, too. Lose one, lose ‘em all, he supposes.

“Can you cut that out, Rogers?” he calls out, an agitated set to his jaw. He ignores the curious looks that a few other students throw his way.

Steve looks up from where he’s putting the petals into his own mixture, confused and looking as innocent as the day he was born. “What? I’m—am I doing something wrong?”

He’s a good actor, Tony’ll give him that. How else would he have been able to put him under the false pretense that Steve might actually want to be friends? “Stop spraying your perfume all over the room. It’s suffocating.”

Steve’s eyes go wide. Ha. Caught. “I’m—I’m not spraying anything.”

Tony snorts. “Sure.”

“No, I—Tony, you know what we’re making, right?” A few students snicker in the background, and Steve throws a hard glare their way. “We’re making Amortentia.”

Amortentia. Oh. Oh, no. He looks down at the textbook and, sure enough, Amortentia is written in bold words right at the top of the page. Heat engulfs his entire face and his knees start quaking. The most potent love potion in existence, he reads, finding this all very familiar from the precursory study he had to do a week before, distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen, spiraling steam, and an odor unique in the fact that it adapts itself to smell pleasant to anyone within sniffing range, with each person having their own combination. He should’ve known the second the petals hit the liquid.

Instead, he ends up outing his crush in front of all his classmates. Gossip spreads like wildfire around the school, so he has no doubt that everyone from the Headmaster to the squid in the damn lake would know about his crush by the end of the week, if not the end of the day.

“Professor,” Tony manages to get out, voice miraculously not wavering, “I need to use the restroom.”

He doesn’t wait for his professor to reply before he’s sweeping out of the room, tears threatening to fall.

Stupid. How could he be so stupid. He couldn’t just keep his mouth shut and confront Steve about it after class. No, he had to put on a show and now everyone knows. Everyone knows. They’re probably making fun of him. Steve’s probably laughing. Fine. It’s fine.

“Tony, wait!” Steve calls out from behind him, having followed him out into the hall.

He continues to walk, upping his speed. If Steve wants to mock him, then he can damn well do it later.

Steve’s footsteps get faster, louder, and then Tony’s wrist is held in a firm yet gentle grip, keeping him from moving any further forward. “Wait, Tony, please,” Steve says, out of breath.

Tony turns around, eyebrows furrowed together as he desperately tries to blink away the tears. “It’s not like you’re giving me much of a choice,” he grouses. He gives one experimental tug of his wrist, unsurprised that Steve’s grip doesn’t falter even a bit.

Steve pulls him closer until they’re standing almost chest-to-chest. Tony has to tilt his head up to even look at Steve in the eye. “The Amortentia… did you really not know?”

A peal of laughter tears itself from Tony’s throat. “No. I didn’t know. Why? You here to make fun of me all because it had your scent? Because I admitted to having a crush on you without me even knowing?” He tries one more time to get his wrist out of Steve’s hand. “That’s a pretty low blow, Rogers.”

Steve shakes his head. “The Amortentia scented like you for me.”

He sounds so genuine, so honest, that Tony hopes. Oh, he hopes. “You’re joking,” comes out of his mouth instead. “You’re lying.”

“Out of everything you think I’d lie about, do you really think I’d lie about this?” Steve says. “Honey and lavender. That’s what I smell, and it comes from you. You and hot chocolate and paint. That’s what it smells like for me. I like you, Tony. I’ve always liked you.”

Tony frowns. “Yet you’ve never told me.” 

“I didn’t think you’d like me back,” Steve admits, expression turning sheepish. “I mean, you could have anyone, really, so I… I don’t know. I didn’t think that I’d have a chance.”

“You,” Tony says in disbelief, “didn’t think you’d have a chance with me?”

Steve shrugs, smiling nervously. “You’re real kind, Tony. I’ve seen how you are with that Peter Parker kid; you’re basically his older brother. You’re not afraid to speak up, and I admire that. You’re smart and talented and…—” a red flush appears on Steve’s cheeks— “you’re cute. You could have anyone, and I didn’t think that you’d want that anyone to be me.”

Tony searches Steve’s face, stares him in the eye, looks for anything that could tell him that Steve is lying. He wants to believe that Steve is truthful, but he doesn’t want to but his heart at risk by blindly accepting his words at face value.

Thankfully, he finds nothing but earnesty.  

“You’re really not lying, are you?” he says, voice no louder than a whisper.

Steve swallows, his adam’s apple bobbing. “I’m really not.” He loosens his grip on Tony’s wrist. “Sorry for just grabbing you like that. I do, uh… I do like you very much.” He fully lets go of Tony, chewing on his lower lip.

Tony nods. “It’s alright.” He hesitates for a second before slowly reaching out with one hand and intertwining his fingers with Steve’s, restoring that connection. “We should probably get back to class.”

Steve laughs and squeezes Tony’s hand. “We probably should.”

[theycallmebecca]

Hey! Can I have 32. "What if I love you?"

You know what happens when your mind is free to think about stories while you spend close to five hours of a work day (including commuting to and from work) in a car? You get an idea that starts out small and becomes MASSIVE. So this drabble is the longest one I’ve written for this whole collection. Thanks to @nomadicpixel for her help with this one.

And since this behemoth took me like three hours to write, I haven’t had a chance to work on any of the three remaining prompts. Which means that I will be taking this weekend off from posting again with the goal of writing the said three remaining prompts to share with you all next week. Since Tumblr can sometimes be a brat about links, I will reblog this post with a link to the masterlist, prompt list and tags.

Title: Band of Misfits

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: a little bit of angst

Prompt #: 32 - “What if I love you?”

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Coming out of the bathroom, you glanced back at the door to the bedroom where you’d left Steve sleeping and silently wished him a good night. A small part of you wondered what it would be like staying all night with him, but that would break rule number one, always sleep at home.

Quietly, you made your way across his Brooklyn apartment and had almost reached his front door when you heard his voice, not from his bedroom but from the dark living room.

“What if I love you?”

His question hung in the air and you froze.

“What if I love you?” He said, again, his tone clear and to the point, letting you know that he wasn’t asking you a question, but stating a fact.

Turning around, you saw him step out of the shadows, revealing his naked body to you. The very same body that had just pleasured your own for the last couple hours.

“Is this really a conversation you want to have naked?” you asked him.

“We both know the second I turn my back, you’ll leave,” he stated.

He was right. Damnit.

He was also waiting for you to give him an answer, but you didn’t have an answer for him.

You didn’t do the love thing. Hell, you weren’t even sure what love actually was. You’d been abandoned as a sick infant and had grown up in the foster care system because you hadn’t been the perfect child every set of perspective parents had been looking for. No one had wanted you and you’d left the system at age eighteen with the desire to see the world.

The next ten years had seen you moving from city to city, state to state and, eventually, country to country. You’d only stayed in a place long enough to plan your next move and make the money, usually by waiting tables or bartending, to go. You’d met people and had hooked up, but nothing had ever lasted.

Then you’d come to New York City and gotten a job at a bar in Brooklyn. That’s where you’d met Steve and, eventually, his band of misfits (or so you called his group of friends). That had been two years ago.

You’d felt a kinship to Steve and his friends almost instantly; a feeling that had been strange and somewhat unnerving to you, but you hadn’t run away from it. Instead, you had embraced it, to a certain extent, and, for the first time in your life, had been part of a group.

And, for the last eighteen months, you and Steve had been hooking up on a regular basis. Always at his apartment so you could go home and sleep in your own bed afterwards. It had been perfect.

After taking a deep breath, you spoke as calmly as you could manage. “Steve, you know I don’t deal with that stuff,” you told him, unable to even speak the word ‘love’. “Why do you have to complicate this? Everything is perfect.”

“Everything is not perfect when you break my heart a little bit each time you leave,” Steve replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “I love you and I want to have a relationship with you. The real kind where our friend’s don’t pretend they don’t know that we’re having sex three nights a week before you go run home because of a stupid rule you made up when you were -”

The pressure built inside of you had he spoke and finally you couldn’t take it anymore. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” you exclaimed.

Steve shut up instantly and watched you.

“You know what I went through as a kid,” you reminded him. “You know why I am the way I am. Why I have to protect myself from the world. No one cares -”

“I care,” Steve interrupted you. “I love you and so do our friends. We’ve all experienced the world telling us we’re not worth it and had those times when we had no one else to turn to. But look at us now. We’re our own, chosen family.

"You’ve been a part of our family for two years and I want you and I to make our own branch of this new, amazing family tree,” he continued, his voice thick with emotion. “My heart is yours.”

You shook your head as a sense of numbness surged through your body. “I can’t, I just can’t,” you told him. You opened your mouth as if to say something else, but no words came out.

Steve stood on the other side of the room for a moment longer before he spoke again. “I’ll wait for you.” Then he turned and went into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

You stood by his front door for a long time, trying to process everything that had just happened. Finally, a single word came to mind:

Run.

You’d left that night, taking everything that would fit in your backpack. It had been hard, parting with some things that reminded you of the misfits, but dropped some stuff off at Natasha’s apartment on your way to the train station. Including a letter to her, asking to take care of a few things for you.

Like telling Steve you’d left.

Wanting to get out of New York, you’d taken the first train that left the state and had made your way down the eastern seaboard. Then you’d headed out west, ultimately ending up in Nashville, Tennessee, where you only stayed for a couple weeks. Too many songs about unrequited love and broken hearts.

Unlike your previous travels, you found yourself finding a fault with every town new town you found yourself in and unable to settle in any of them. None of them seemed like the right place for you.

It took three months of traveling around the United States and a month traveling in New Zealand for you to admit to yourself that there wasn’t a place that could replace New York City for you. Further revelations had come to you in Australia when you realized that it wasn’t the city that was magic to you, but the people you had left behind.

It had taken you another few weeks to admit that the person you missed the most was Steve. But you were still adamant that you weren’t in love with him. At least not in the type of love that was described in sappy movies and books.

With six months of traveling between you and Steve’s declaration, you found yourself backpacking in Europe. You’d gotten used to the strange looks people gave you when you told them that you were traveling alone. It was how you preferred to be.

Most of the time.

It wasn’t until you were walking down an old cobblestone path and saw someone who reminded you of Natasha that you suddenly felt like you weren’t where you were supposed to be. You longed, not for your tiny apartment, but the bar where you’d met the Misfits. Natasha and her tough girl attitude. Bucky and his ability to charm the pants off of everyone. Sam and his stupid jokes. Maria and her ability to see right through you. And Steve…

You missed everything about Steve. Right down to the stupid way he put his hands on his hips when he was disappointed in you.

It was there on the cobblestone streets that tears rolled down your cheeks for the first time since you were a kid. And you realized you were homesick for the first time in your entire life.

You returned to your hotel room and had the sudden urge to hear a friendly voice. You picked up the receiver in your room and started to dial Steve’s number, but chickened out before dialing the last few numbers. You couldn’t talk to him. Not yet.

Instead, you dialed Natasha’s number, hoping you’d catch her at a good time. She answered on the third ring. You timidly told her who it was and felt your heart skip a beat when she exclaimed that she missed you.

Then the connection started to break up and you only caught three words:

“Steve-”

“-wedding-”

“-Saturday.”

The line went dead after that and you felt your stomach drop.

Steve was getting married on Saturday?

“I’ll wait for you.”

Steve’s final words to you came back and you shook your head. Natasha had to be mistaken. Unless your disappearance had opened the door for Steve to find someone new. Or maybe develop new feelings for someone he knew?

You slept fitfully that night and gave up before the sun made its appearance with your mind made up. You were going home.

Two long train rides later, you found yourself in Paris, France, waiting for your flight to New York City that was scheduled to land in New York City sometime Saturday morning. You just hoped you could find Steve in time.

You managed to sleep some on the flight, but the adrenaline to get to Steve in time kept you going as you all but ran out of the airport. You weren’t sure what you were going to tell Steve, but you had to see him one last time before he got married. If he got married.

As the cab driver made his way towards Steve’s Brooklyn apartment, you tried to gather your thoughts, but they were sporadic and refused to come together. It wasn’t until the driver was around the corner from Steve’s place that one word seemed to fight it’s way through the mess:

Love.

“We’re here,” the driver announced.

And you looked up in time to see Steve coming down the stone steps of his building wearing a black suit. Your eyes met his and he missed the last step, but caught himself before he could hit the ground.

“Are you getting out?” the driver asked.

“Yes,” you managed to reply. You paid him and then grabbed your backpack before you opened the car door.

The cab merged into traffic seconds after you closed the door. Leaving you and Steve alone on the sidewalk.

“I’m back,” you announced, instantly feeling like an idiot.

“So I see,” Steve replied. “You look good.”

“Thanks, you look good, too,” you said and gestured to the suit. “Big day today.”

He nodded his head. “It’s about time, too,” he said. “I didn’t think Sam was ever going to work up the courage to ask Maria out and now they’re getting married.”

“Sam and Maria!” you exclaimed, feeling the lead weight that had been sitting in your stomach for the last three days all but vanish.

Steve studied you for a second before saying, “Who did you think was getting married today?”

In the past, you had learned how to read his emotions based on his expression and his stance, but you found yourself unable to as the two of you stood on the sidewalk. You’d seen the initial shock that had crossed his face at your appearance, but had masked his emotions since and you knew you just had to go for it. He’d told you where his heart and mind were months ago. Now you had to do the same.

“I took two trains and a plane to get here in hopes that I’d be able to talk to you before you got married,” you confessed, feeling hints of your exhaustion seep into your body. Or maybe it was more of the emotions you’d tapped into on that cobblestone street.

“You know my background, Steve, you know that I’ve never had a home or a family,” you continued. “And then I met you and your band of misfits. And you guys took me in under your wing and let me experience what it’s like to truly be loved. Only, I didn’t realize it until I walked away from you all.”

“What are you saying?” Steve asked.

“What if I love you?” you said, repeating his question from that night months ago. “Do you still love me? Can I be with you? Can I be a part of your misfit family?”

Instead of answering verbally, Steve closed the distance between the two of you and kissed you, his hands cupping your face in a firm but gentle manner. You’d kissed him before, but it had been nothing like the kiss he gave you now. This kiss told you everything you needed to know.

He still loved you.

He wanted to be with you.

And you were part of his family forever.

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted the kiss and it took Steve a moment to realize it was coming from his pocket. He answered the phone and then glanced at you before telling whoever was on the other end that he was running late but had a surprise for everyone.

Then he led up you to his apartment and opened the coat closet door, revealing all of the clothing and personal items that you had left behind in your furnished apartment because they didn’t fit in your backpack.

“I knew you would come back eventually,” he told you as he watched you grab a dress. “And you’d need clothes.”

Turning towards him, you pressed your lips against his briefly. “I could get used to that,” you said with a small laugh.

“We might not get to if we aren’t at the church around the corner in the next fifteen minutes,” Steve said with a smile. “Nat is stalling for us, but you know how Maria is.”

You changed quickly and then you and Steve all but ran to the church. Bucky was pacing the lobby when the two of you burst through the doors and he stopped when he saw you. He stared at you for a second before he shouted with glee and ran to give you a hug.

His shout brought Sam out of the groom’s room and he greeted you with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He then had Steve lead you down to where Maria and Natasha were getting ready, knowing that the two women would be happy to see you, too.

The moment Natasha opened the door and saw you standing there, she yanked you into the room and slammed it closed in Steve’s face. Then she wrapped you in a hug and told you off for disappearing into thin air. You got the same response from Maria, who, after scolding you, started crying saying she was so happy that the whole family was there for her wedding. Then she insisted that you be a part of the wedding party.

After spending nearly seven months running away from your family, you openly cried as you watched two of them exchange their vows in front of the small group that had gathered for the ceremony. You still had a lot to learn about love and family, but you knew you had the right people around you to learn from.

[hexlikesramennoodles]

32 please :)

32. A kiss so passionate, so perfect - that after they part, neither person can open their eyes for a few moments afterwards.

Author’s note: this one got away from me! Writing unnecessarily long fic is my brand, I guess.

“What the hell are you doing?” Steve’s voice demanded.

The bathroom door swung shut behind him with a metallic scream of hinges. In the corner of the mirror, Billy caught sight of him: stalking forwards with his hands bunched at his sides, his hair a ludicrous, flopping bouffant. He was wearing a new sweater: a deep navy blue, luxurious and soft-looking. The Ralph Lauren logo was sewn onto his breast, its stick man arm raised. His mom had bought it for him, Billy guessed. Steve rarely chose any of his clothes himself, and it showed—he always looked awkward, conscious of his body and how you perceived it.

“What’s it look like I’m doing?” Billy zipped his fly, then stepped away from the urinal. He let the faucet run, taking his time on purpose. If Steve was going to come in here and harass him while he answered a call of nature, he could wait until Billy had washed his hands.

“Uh-uh,” Steve said. “Don’t do that. I hate it when you do that.”

“Harrington, I’ve got a date waiting for me, so if you’re gonna—”

“Oh, a date, huh?” Steve’s eyebrows arched high. “A date with Stella, of all people? Since when was she your type?”

“Since yesterday,” answered Billy. “Time is money, Harrington. I’m gonna miss my movie.” He smiled nastily. “Who knows, maybe we’ll get to second base before the credits roll.”

He didn’t doubt it. Stella Delgado was one of those girls whose clinging insecurity was as loud and obvious as the cheap perfume she wore. She was every small town cliché wrapped into one: an alcoholic father who beat her bloody on the regular. An absent mother, dead or eloped with another abusive deadbeat. Three runty, snotnosed siblings under the age of ten of whom she was the unwilling primary caregiver. She looked at Billy the same way Karen Wheeler looked at him: with moist, lip-wobbling hope. Billy imagined that she’d already written the names of their children in her lockable diary, using neat, curlicued handwriting; two of them, a boy and a girl with his hair and her eyes.

Steve stared at him, red-faced and irate. A loose thread dangled from the sleeve of his sweater. Billy was seized by a strong impulse to pull at it. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Don’t,” Steve was suddenly snarling. He took a step towards Billy, long and darting, then seemed to stop himself. “I hate it when you act like there’s nothing wrong. Like you don’t know exactly what you’re fucking doing. It drives me crazy.”

Good, Billy thought. That loose thread was starting to piss him off; everything about Steve was starting to piss him off.

“This is about Nancy, isn’t it?” Steve went on. “Who told you we were going to the movies? Fucking Carol? I knew it.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Billy said venomously. “You think you’re that important, Harrington? Huh? You think I pine for you?”

“Stella’s really nice.” Steve’s voice was deliberately calm, rigid. “You’re gonna break her heart. Does she know you’re g—”

Billy lunged at him. Steve must have been expecting it; he rapidly backpedaled, raising his arms as he did so. “What was that?” Billy said loudly, putting a hand to his ear. “You wanna repeat that for me?”

He hated that he knew which of Steve’s clothes his mom had picked out for him, and which ones Steve had chosen for himself. He hated how looking at Steve made him feel: tight and hot and uncomfortable, as if he was covered in a layer of clay that had set wrong and was starting to buckle at the edges. Brittle, too close to snapping. Most of all, he hated Stella Delgado, and how vulnerable she was. How trusting.

She should know better by now.

“Look, it’s whatever, alright?” Steve said. “Just stay away from Nance. I mean that.”

His sneaker squeaked on tile; in the bathroom mirror, Billy saw him turn to leave. “You think she loves you?” he called.

He shouldn’t have said it, should’ve known when to leave well enough alone, but that required more foresight than he was capable of mustering. It was too gratifying to watch the words land, the impact they had on Steve’s posture: a visible rippling down his spine, as if he’d passed close to an electric current. He was so easy to read. There was a hole in Billy’s chest, a hole with ragged, eroded edges that went all the way through him. The sickly rush of gratification filled it right back up, made him believe—for one brief, terrible moment—that he wasn’t so hollow inside.

“Nance fucked Jonathan Byers,” he said. The faucet was still running, the sound seeming to come from right between his temples. It was thunderous, relentless; the sound caught him, swept him up, and he didn’t know how to make himself stop and so all he could do was keep going, descending towards his inevitable doom. Billy’s mother had been an alcoholic, too; self-destruction was in his blood.

“We’re past that,” Steve said quietly.

Billy licked his lips. “No. I mean—I mean she fucked him again. On Memorial Day. Ask Carol if you don’t believe me. She doesn’t love you. She’s just waiting for something better to come along.” He licked his lips again, then showed Steve his teeth. It felt more like a grimace than a smile. “Looks like she found it—”

But Steve was shaking his head. “Jonathan’s my friend, Billy. Why would he—Christ, do you even hear yourself sometimes?”

“She doesn’t love you,” Billy repeated. “Ask Carol. Ask anybody. Half the town knows by now. You’re the only one who’s not with the program, pretty boy.”

He was paraphrasing what Carol had told him, if only to spare Harrington’s ego. In reality, Carol had drunkenly mimed the story using a popsicle stick and the middle of a jelly doughnut—splat!—laughing while she did it. Her grin had been wide and stupid, her laughter snorting and pig-like. Billy had wanted to throttle her.

“What are you saying?” Steve sounded tired, not outraged. Billy hated that, too. Wheeler made Steve so fucking weak. Billy had been expecting a shove, maybe even a punch. He deserved as much. But no—Steve was good for Nancy, perfect princess Nancy. “It’s Nancy, it always comes back to Nancy. Are you trying to tell me that I’d be better off with you?”

Billy opened his mouth. He had the words, all the bad nasty evil words that he knew would hurt if he decided to unleash them. You think I’m some kind of fucking queer? When Stella had bounded up to him in front of the concessions stand, her mud-colored hair pushed behind her ears and her unremarkable mouth stretched into an even more unremarkable smile, she hadn’t even noticed the lipgloss Billy was wearing. Maybe she’d told herself it was a trick of the fluorescents, that she was seeing things, silly girl. People always see what they wanna see.

“Billy,” Steve said. His voice was much closer. “Do you love me?”

His reflection had become a smudge on the glass of the mirror. It hurt to look at him. It made Billy’s eyes prickle. His hands were frozen around the edge of the sink, the water streaming from the faucet ceaselessly. Its spray wet his face and his eyelashes, but he could hardly feel it.

“Yeah, right,” Steve muttered. “Like you’d even know what that is. People are just disposable to you. Just—”

When his sneaker squeaked again, it was accompanied by the sound of the door reopening. Billy looked up. Steve’s sweater was shrinking, vanishing into the hallway outside, its loose thread fluttering.

They had entered an arrangement based on a mutual understanding of three things. One, that Billy had a cock. He wasn’t like Nancy, or any other girl Steve had been with before her. Two, that he wasn’t soft, delicate, or malleable. He would never fit into whatever Steve’s ideal for a life partner was. He didn’t want to. Three, that Steve didn’t want him, either. Steve liked his body and his face, but he was always telling Billy about the things he didn’t like. Always telling Billy he was too much, too intense.

Fine. Crystal fucking clear. Or so Billy had thought.

“I’m goin’ away for the summer.” Steve was holding the door open with his foot. He always had to have the last word. “With my parents. To Spain, then Portugal. Might visit the grandparents while we’re there. Do some … soul searching. So.”

Billy felt himself blink. “So?”

Steve’s Adam’s apple was a slow roll. He shrugged, and pushed the door wider. He was leaving. Billy watched him go, his hands gripping the sink uselessly. Faucet still splashing, but the sound wasn’t inside his head anymore. It was far off, unimportant. Steve was leaving, and Billy wasn’t doing anything to stop him.

“I’ll miss you,” he blurted.

Steve sighed.

The door slammed shut. Two, three steps: Steve was moving faster than Billy had ever seen him. He yanked Billy by the collar, kissing him with such force it jarred his neck. Billy’s hipbone was crushed against the sharp edge of the sink, but the pain was the sweetest he’d ever felt. Steve kissed him hard enough to make his jaw ache, then soothed the ache with a touch of his fingertips. He kissed the lipgloss from Billy’s mouth and moaned at the taste. He kissed angrily and with teeth, like he had a bone to pick, an itch to scratch. That was nothing new.

“I miss you all the time,” Billy said.

“Shut up,” Steve whispered. “Don’t talk. Everything you ever say—you never mean it—”

“I do. I do. I’m sorry.”

Steve’s fingers were still touching his face. Billy didn’t open his eyes. He could feel Steve there, a closeness that bordered on claustrophobia. His spine was pressed up against the sink, running water soaking the back of his shirt. The stillness, the intimacy of being this close to someone without doing anything about it, was unbearable. Exhilarating.

“God.” Steve exhaled harshly through his teeth; his breath surged over Billy’s face. When Billy willed his eyes open, Steve was standing in front of him, looking like a middle schooler faced with a complicated math problem. His eyes were scrunched shut, and his teeth worried at his lower lip. Billy could see where some of the glitter from the gloss had smeared on him, pink and little-girl pretty. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached across and wiped it off with his thumb. 

Steve’s eyes snapped open. He looked at Billy almost wonderingly. “You wanna get out of here?”

What about Nancy? Billy wanted to say. I’m gonna miss my movie, he wanted to say, like a smartass. He wanted to kick and scream and give Steve hell, send him flying straight back into Wheeler’s bony arms. Instead he lowered his head, meek, and let Steve entwine a finger around his pinkie. Stella was better off without him.

They left the bathroom together. Walking past the concession stand and the claw cranes, the squashy chairs where you could sit and watch the trailers for every movie that was coming out for the summer. Steve’s finger stayed curled around his pinkie, because he couldn’t outright take Billy’s hand. Not while they were in public.

By the time they reached the escalators, they were running.

[the-canary]

Lips on Lips - B.B

Summary: It was so easy to slip from dislike to love. Both of you learned that the hard way. (40′s!Reader/Bucky Barnes).  

Prompt: “I thought you said you couldn’t dance?”  

A/N: This is for @coffee-with-bucky ‘s writing challenge. in the beginning, this is a different bucky from the one i usually write. i am trying to picture what would happened if he had been saved after falling from the train and all that good stuff. so, it’s a little different from what i usually write, but I hope you enjoy it either way. 

He sees her from outside the small bakery that is just a few blocks away from his large and always empty apartment. She smiles and laughs with a customer and it has James Barnes pausing in the middle of the busy New York street. He needs to know who she is, needs to see more of that smile she seems to throw with ease.

It takes him three days to pick up the courage to enter the bakery. It takes him another two of walking around and staring at everything they have to finally come up with what he is going to say and what he is going to buy.

It’s a bustling Monday morning when Bucky finally decides to get his sandwich set and face that beautiful redhead with those bright, brown eyes. He takes one breathe then two, as the cashier upfront yell next. However, as their eyes meet, his blood suddenly freezes. He knows that he isn’t the same smooth talker as before, but now he was more of a recluse and irritable when things didn’t go his way.

Did he really want to subject a beautiful gal to that?

“Excuse me,” a voice from behind declares in irritation as Bucky’s melancholy, anger, and annoyance all mix together at being pulled out of his thoughts, “Could you please hurry up and move?”

Blue eyes, with James ready to give the person bothering him a piece of his mind, turn to be meet with a floppy white hat and with a woman wearing a frown on her face.

To leave a long story short, they both end up banned from the bakery that day.

Rebuilding, even some after some years had passed since the end the war is still on in some countries and thus both Steve and Peggy find themselves --along with the rest of the reformed Howling Commandos-- there most of the time since then. However, neither of them can wait any longer -- the subtle need to call each other man and wife is budding more than ever, it might not help that Peggy is already a few months along, and while they could have it anywhere in the world -- there are still precautions and people they want there.

Steve knows that he needs Bucky there --the man had been discharged after the whole train incident and sent back to New York to recuperate-- and Peggy was adamant to having her parents there, along with one other person. And while Steve had never meet Peggy’s old school friend face-to-face, they had traded enough phone calls and telegraphs to be somewhat friendly with each other.

This was meeting for some of the closest people in their younger years to come to celebrate their impending union and future bliss -- for the maid of honor and best man to get to know each other.

Neither Peggy nor Steve would have imagined, as they sat and sharing meaningful looks, that these two would have already known each other, much less dislike each other.

Steve knew from the very beginning that Bucky wasn’t in a good mood. The stocks --the profession that Bucky had chosen after graduating-- hadn’t been doing so well and his metal arm, for all of Stark’s latest tech wonders, was hurting like hell. It didn’t help the nightmares came back every once and awhile either.

“The strongest stuff you got,” Bucky suppress through gritted teeth from the counter as the attendant simply nods. Bucky tries his best to be his charming, former self by throwing the woman a smile, but all she does is look at the blond at his side.

Invisible all over again, Bucky thinks bitterly before hitting the countertop none too lightly with his left arm. It causes the young woman to yelp and Steve to give his best friend a questioning glance, but none of those are the things that catch James Barnes’ attention.

“Who is the asshole causing so much commotion?” a voice asks in annoyance from the back, where Peggy is seated talking to her friend who had arrived sometime before Bucky had, as blue eyes turn to meet a familiar figure -- one that had haunted him since New York.

“Who are you calling an asshole?” Bucky retaliated as he turns around and sees her sitting next to Peg in a black and white dress with her hair pinned back. Her eyes lit up in recognition and Bucky can’t help but be delighted that someone is paying attention to him, at least in some way.

She frowns and walks up, as Steve and Peggy look at each other: “The asshole that is making a commotion to this fine establishment for no apparent reason.”

The engaged couple is lucky that the little shop is empty as they watch the pair begin to verbally spat, though they are quick to calm down once Bucky gets his espresso drink and Peggy throws in a few choice words.

However, the tension is still there as all parties agree to stay in Paris for the month for Steve and Peggy’s small wedding.

Can you believe that idiot? How rude, I don’t understand how you would call him charming…

Peggy can’t help but quirk an eyebrow as you keep going on about one James Buchanan Barnes on the way back to your hotel room.

Such an infuriating dame! The nerve she has to…

Steve can’t help but grin behind his drink as he watches Bucky go on about a certain gal once they go get drinks to celebrate his upcoming wedding and child.

Steve and Peggy can already see ten steps ahead of where this might be going and with a shared laugh -- they plan together for the inevitable.

The four of you agree to meet every Friday to set up things between now and the middle of next month when the wedding is supposed to take place. You find out that Peggy wants to keep thing simple -- she already has the flowers and dress ready, but there are things between her and her mother that need to be sorted out -- you’re there to play mediator, make the lists and send them to Amanda Carter since Peggy was still tied up with SSR dealings.

Outside of supporting Steve, you weren’t sure what Bucky Barnes --sour-faced and drinking the most bitter on the menu-- was supposed to be doing there.

He sat there most of the time in silence, as you talked with Steve or Peggy about their current dealings, either that or he was hidden behind a newspaper grumbling. It’s annoying and unpleasing, as you wonder where the hell the Bucky that Steve had told you so fondly about was.

It’s the second Friday when you finally decide to ask.

“If you’re busy with something else,” you ask sometime before Peggy and Steve arrive, as you realize both you and Bucky are more punctual than normal people should be, “Why are you here?”

Blue eyes look up to meet yours for a moment as he puts the paper down. There is a seriousness to his face, but instead of it being mixed with anger or annoyance --  he’s tired and maybe even a little sad.

“’ve been through hell and back with Stevie,” Bucky remarks as he closes in a bit more on you, “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him, ‘m sure ya feel the same way about Pegs.”

Your eyes meet and he gives you a crooked smile for good measure, for you to understand exactly what he means,  before leaning back into his chair. If he is a bit more vocal after that, you don’t say anything about it. Steve even gets him to share in on the stories from their childhood days more than usual and for some reason, you can’t help but feel that you might be a little wrong about your first impression when it comes to Bucky Barnes.

It’s the third Friday when it happens -- Bucky is cursing up a storm after the message he got from his associates back home. He was losing more faster than usual in his current investments and while he would rather be heading back home right now --he promised he would be there for Steve and Peggy.

He’s tearing himself over the newspaper and numbers adding up when he sees a finger pointing to a small company he has never heard of before. Bucky looks up in his desperation to see you with a serious look on your face, as you tap on the paper.

“If you care about your investments,” you explain as you take a seat across from him, “I suggest placing them here, they might be small but they’ve got some good backing -- both from Stark and Ford from what I have heard. If not, you should take it all out now.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Gathering information is my business, James,” you give him a smile with a wicked glint in your eyes and Bucky tries to ignore the shiver that goes down his spine, “And I am very good at it.”

“And you expect me to believe you?”

However, he doesn’t get an answer to that question as Steve and Peggy comes into the little shop. You simply give him a shrug before getting up and getting your order. If Bucky ever listens to you, he never tells you and if you saved him a couple of thousands — well, you most certainly didn’t know that either.

However, their world doesn’t stay quiet enough for the power couple planning their upcoming nuptials as both Steve and the rest of the Howling Commandos are called for a classified mission, Peggy is sent somewhere else though she can’t tell you anything else. Everything is close to being completed and her parents and younger brother have ready set sail. The couple frowns as they ask you if you could wait — it wouldn’t take them long.

“Can you both stay a little while longer?”

That is the question, as you pretend to ignore Bucky’s right hand turn a stiffening white due him gripping it too hard together, but you already knew the answer to that one.

“I have nowhere else to be,” you admit, trying to hide the obvious fact that you lacked a family or anyone besides Peggy and your job with a bright smile, “I’ll wait as long as you need of me.”

Bucky agrees to the same, but you can’t help but wonder —as he has that glassy-eyed look and somber smile for a quick second— if he would rather be following Steve down that familiar road once more.

However, Bucky --through the war and work-- had become a man of routine and even when he knows that there is going to be none waiting at the cafe that Friday after both Steve and Peggy had left, he goes anyways. He is surprised to see you there, sitting by the piano the owner has tucked away in the corner, with a cup of tea at hand. You’re moving your fingers to-and-for on the keys, like a familiar song that a much younger Bucky Barnes used to dance to filters into the small shop.

The owner simply nods to him a greeting as Bucky finds himself walking to where you are. There are a million questions on his mind as you pause playing midway to turn up from your seat and give him a questioning glance. He gives you an awkward smile and for once the ever-present feeling to fight or just cause you some type of annoyance is drained out of him with the realization of just how pretty you are sitting there in that light-colored dress and painted lips.

“That was really nice,” Bucky can’t help but admit as your smile grows just a bit, “Where ya learn to play?”

“Etiquette school,” you explain with a slight frown while moving a bit to the side --as a peace offering for now-- and allowing Bucky to share the piano bench with you, “Though it’s probably the only thing I learned there.”

“Now, that sounds like a story,” he remarks as you look at him, sizing him up, for a moment before you move forward with talking a bit more about yourself.

And boy do you, as you end up talking about how your parents ended up settling in England for diplomatic purposes and you ended up taking classes here and there for a proper “debut” -- that’s how you meet one Margaret Carter, who while you didn’t see eye-to-eye on some things they were teaching understood you on some level. It was the start of a lifelong friendship, though it did come with dumps here and there -- namely when one of you got in trouble.  

“--And the Peg punches him straight in the face,” you let out a huge laugh at the memory before covering with your hand, “We were both sent to the headmaster’s office and weren’t allowed in the same classes all year.”

“Troublemakers, the both of ya,” Bucky can’t help but chuckle with a shake of his head as you keep laughing.

“Like you and Steve are any better, Mr. Barnes,” you answer back as Bucky tries to defend himself by stating that the back alley fighter was Steve.

And you spend the rest of the afternoon trading stories and showing Bucky what else you could play on the piano.

It’s between the first and second Friday without Steve and Peggy that Bucky realizes that he might actually like you in a certain type of way. Yes, you could be an annoyance, but you were a spitfire and when you smile -- well, it makes the whole room shined. But, it wasn’t like before that Bucky said a few choice words and smiled and had all the gals at his feet -- he didn’t feel like doing that anymore and he was sure that wasn’t going to work with you.

“You should just tell her, Buck,” Steve remarks in the middle of the week in their quick phone call, “You might be surprised with the outcome.”

“It’s not that easy anymore, Stevie,” Bucky fusses while going over the numbers again in his room alone, though he would rather not be.

“You should take my word on it, punk,” Steve quips and James can just imagine that shit-eating grins on his face, “When ‘ve I ever steered ya wrong?”

“Too many times, pal,” Bucky sighs out with a laugh before saying goodbye.

There are too many things running through his head as he lays down for the night -- of what could be and your pretty laugh as you played a very bad rendition of Fur Elise. He thinks about what you like and what it would be like if you said no -- if you could walk around Central Park together or if you could just walk around Brooklyn. They are all silly thoughts, but for the first time in a long time -- Bucky ends up going to sleep without any nightmares bothering him.

He keeps it to himself that on his morning walk he finds a hairpiece in the shade of your eyes and he decides to buy it in that exact moment.

The following Friday, Bucky is ready -- there is a speech in his head and he’s ready to declare all his emotions, regardless of what you might feel for him. I mean, really -- who in their right mind would like the man that had treated them so rudely before?

He gets his answer when he sees you sitting outside of the cafe for once, underneath the bright blue sky with some man that he has never seen before and as much as Bucky shouldn’t jump to conclusions -- he can’t help it at the sound of your laughter in certain way he has never heard before.

Bucky lets out a sigh of defeat before turning around and going back the way he came from.

You end up trying to connect with Peggy when you realize that Bucky never came to meet you that afternoon. However, Peggy isn’t in the best place to get a connection, which leads to trading short messages through telegraph with her instead.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO BUCKY?

Peggy takes some time to answer back, but her response makes you freeze in realization.

HE IS FINE, BUT WHY ARE YOU SO WORRIED ABOUT HIM?

You knew why though, had known since New York actually.

It doesn’t take you long, that next morning, to find out where Bucky is staying though you probably always knew --just across the cafe in a suite too big and lavish for him-- and had decided to tuck the information away until it was necessary. Now, with feeling and something else on the line, it seemed like a good time to go out there.

You dressed in that familiar dress and hat from the first time you had talked to him, even though you had watched him for much longer than that and head to his suite. You knock once then twice, hearing his voice yelling that he wants to be left alone, which only leads to you knocking harder until you hear him moving about.

You have a growing mental list of all the things you want to yell at him, but that all die when he opens the door and you finally see him after a whole day apart -- loose button up shirt and slacks with mussed hair and sad blue eyes.

“Idiot,” is the only thing you manage to say before grabbing and pulling his face to meet yours in a kiss. He lets out a sigh, as he slowly comes to understand everything that you are trying to convey in that one action as he pulls you in closer and you end up closing the door with your heel.

Neither of you let go of each other, trading in the long kiss for short nips and bites when air becomes needed once more. He drags your body closer to his as you move about the suite. However, Bucky only lets you go once, as you make it to the master bedroom and keep scattering clothes about as he stares at you with a serious look in those baby blues of his.

“And that man I saw you with yesterday?” he asks breathlessly.

“Peggy’s dressmaker,” you explains through puffs of air and kiss-swollen lips, “Needed an update about her measurements.”

“You’re an infuriating woman, doll,” Bucky lets of a relieved sigh and gives you a silly grin before picking you up and throwing you into the large mattress. You can’t help but laugh as well -- surely not believing that it could have ended like this for the two of you.

However, things are taken slowly --for his own anxiety and your own personal fears-- as you spend the rest of the evening talking quietly to each other and trading in soft, pliant kisses with one another.

If Steve hears a light giggle (after he tells Bucky that they are heading back to France) on the other side of the line, well he doesn’t say anything on the matter -- waiting for how long it takes Peggy to put two and two together when she can’t reach you.

It takes them a little while longer for them get back, but the Carters and Howling Commandos --along with you and Bucky-- are there to welcome the future of your best friends.

“--and do you, Steven Grant Rogers--”

It’s then that Peggy curses and starts falling to her knees, though Steve stops that from happening.

Peggy ends up going into labor before the priest can finish the nuptials and as everyone rushes to the hospital, you can’t help but squeeze Bucky’s hand just a bit tighter than usual as he leads you down the hallway.

Everyone is a mess with excitement and anxiety, but you can’t help --as you stare at bright blue eyes-- thinking that everything was going to be okay.  

A few years down the road, once everything had settled down and with Sarah being a little older, Steve and Peggy have a much more extravagant wedding paid for by one Howard Stark in Upper Manhattan, though the guest lists is still rather tamed and you and Bucky still up with your former duties of best man and maid of honor.

However, the nature of your relationship is a bit different as you push him to the dance floor with a laugh as he can’t help but follow.

“I thought you said you couldn’t dance?”  Bucky can’t help but ask as you give him, remembering it wasn’t something you actually really enjoyed.  A wide smile on his face over the potential change before he twirls you around, though not enough to take any attention from the bride and groom.

“I’ve been practicing,” you remark vaguely, not ready to tell him that was trying to pick of the hobby that as of recently Bucky was trying to enjoy once more. He grins as he catches sight of a certain hairpiece placed perfectly within your stunning hair-do before trying back to look and Steve, Peggy, and little Sarah dancing.

It passes, but you can’t help but be a little curious: “Why do you keep staring at Steve and Peg?”

“I’m just wondering,” Bucky states in a more confident voice as blue eyes turn to meet your own.

“About what?”

“Just how lovely you might look in a wedding dress,” he gives you that dashing smile you have gotten so used to, before dipping you to the sound of the song. Though, you let out the most undignified squeal over the sudden act and his response.

Bucky laughs, hearty and full of love, as you pull him in for a kiss. The both of you silently thanking the married couple for bringing you together, as a certain velvet box stays hidden in Bucky’s pocket for a bit longer.  

[thecomicsnexus]

Final Crisis

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #12 MARCH 1986 BY MARV WOLFMAN, GEORGE PEREZ, JERRY ORDWAY, TOM ZIUKO AND TOM MCCRAW (RE-COLORED VERSION)

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

In Brainiac's starship, Dolphin, Captain Comet, Rip Hunter, Animal Man, the Atomic Knight, and Adam Strange convince the reviving robot that his memory was tampered with to make him forget the Crisis. Admitting that his power is inadequate to battle the Anti-Monitor, he sets course for the world of a more powerful being. On Earth, the Anti-Monitor's visage is seen in the skies all over the globe. He repeats that the Earth is now in the anti-matter universe. His past victories over positive universes are meaningless, he says, because of the super-heroes' efforts to stop him. When he lists Supergirl and the Flash as casualties, Kid Flash demands to know what has happened.

The Supermen scan the globe and watch the populace panicking. Harbinger appears, and teleports them to a chosen destination, then gathers Dr. Light from Japan, leaving Sunburst to defend the island. When Dr. Light states that she caused Supergirl's death, Harbinger replies that the battle had already killed Supergirl, and that the Anti-Monitor's final attack merely gave her a swift death. In the skies, the darkness splits into a million shadow demons, which begin an all-out attack on humanity, and the super-heroes mass to resist them. The Global Guardians team with other heroes to free their native lands from the threat, but the demons' numbers seem endless. The Phantom Stranger summons Dr. Mist to help revive the Spectre who lies comatose. Below, Harbinger has gathered a large group of heroes, along with Pariah and Alex, to lead a final assault on their nemesis. Alex creates a bridge between universes, and they depart near Apokolips.

Brainiac's ship goes into stationary orbit, and he and his guests teleport to the planet, where Darkseid appears and introduces himself.

Back on Earth, the majority of the heroes are still battling the demons. The Dove is slain by a shadow-being as his brother watches in horror.

In Dr. Fate's Salem tower, the magically powered heroes have gathered to pool their shamanistic might. The Earth-2 Green Lantern and Dr. Occult form the nexus of their energy.

On Qward, in the anti-matter universe, Harbinger and the heroes have arrived in the Anti-Monitor's old headquarters. Kid Flash insists on joining them because of his mentor's demise. Suddenly, an image of the Flash appears to him—the last one Barry cast before his death. Wally follows the afterimage to where an insane Psycho-Pirate clutches at an empty uniform. Kid Flash knocks him out, and realizes that Barry Allen is truly dead when Lady Quark finds his ring. Pariah informs them that a great concentration of evil lies before them. They follow to find a towering Anti-Monitor, ready for the final slaughter.

In Atlantis, Aquaman leads his underwater legions against the shadows. Lori Lemaris saves a trapped Mera with a force beam. A demon closes in on her and kills her. In Chicago, Green Arrow of Earth-2 is killed by a shadow. In Philadelphia, Cyborg, the Son of Vulcan, the Vigilante, and the New Wildcat continue rescue operations.

In New Orleans, Shade the Changing Man witnesses the death of Prince Ra-Man. In Skartaris, Travis Morgan leads his forces against the black menaces. In Gotham City, both Clayface II and the Bug-Eyed Bandit perish at the hands of the demons. In Salem, the tide finally turns. The supernatural crusaders send their combined force in a net of energy to gather the demons from the Earth's surface, and bind them helpless in space. Over the Earth, lives have been lost, including those of Kole, Huntress, and Robin, but other lives have been saved. For a moment, the survivors can take stock.

On Qward, the Supermen of Earth 1 and 2, Captain Atom, Lady Quark, Firehawk, Wonder Woman, and other tarot's strike at the Anti-Monitor, but he ignores their blows, feeding on the energy of a nearby star, As Dr Light absorbs the energy of one of the binary suns they are between, the Anti-Monitor feels his power draining away. Alex begins to drain the anti-matter energy away from their enemy. Negative Woman uses her negative-self to bind the Anti-Monitor and inhibit him: then Harbinger leads all the energy-producing heroes against him, Dr. Light blasts him with the energy of a sun, and he falls into the ruins of his fortress. Alex creates a dimensional hole, large enough to enclose the Earth and return it to its proper universe. The heroes follow. The ball of bound demons hover and then fall on the fallen enemy. Thus, the Anti-Monitor absorbs his slaves energies and rises again, while the heroes start to give battle. Wonder Woman is caught in a withering flash of power, and is borne away to an unknown destination. Superman of Earth-1 and Lady Quark vow deadly revenge, but Kal-L knocks them out, and tells Superboy to take them back. Since he has no world and no wife to return to, the elder Superman has the least to lose. Then he confronts the monstrous Anti-Monitor, and batters him. Superboy sends Superman and Lady Quark back through Alex's shrinking body, and turns to aid him. Superman continues his one-man war against the Anti-Monitor, striking telling blows, while the villain, his power waning, absorbs more energy from the anti-cosmos, and blasts him and Superboy. Darkseid, watching the conflict on a viewscreen, proclaims his planet to be endangered if the Anti-Monitor survives, sends a power burst at him through Alex's eyes. The enemy, devastated, is hurled into the core of one of the binary suns. Superman, Superboy, and Alex are stunned to see the spectre of their enemy rising from the sun. Superman smashes into his foe's fiery body, scattering him: the remains fall back into the sun and the star begins to implode.

They bravely await the end and Superman wishes that Lois could have lived to see their triumph. At that, Alex produces Lois from a void-pocket in his body where she had been sent to wait. She tells her husband that she had been to a tranquil world. Alex cannot return them to Earth but he can take them all to this beautiful world. Superman, Lois, and Superboy opt for that choice. The foursome vanish seconds before the exploding sun would have reached them.

Back on Earth, Lyla is explaining facets of the Crisis to Pariah and Lady Quark. Wonder Woman was returned to the clay which Aphrodite and Athena had given life, then spread across Paradise Island.

Time then continued to reverse itself, as the Amazons were returned to their original homeland before they fled Man's World. Zeus brought the homeless Wonder Woman of Earth-2 and her husband Steve Trevor to Olympus, where they could live peacefully. The bodies of Robin of Earth-2, the Huntress, and Kole were never found. All those who died were mourned. In Keystone City, Jay Garrick determined that Kid Flash's illness was in remission, his body chemistry being changed by a blast from the Anti-Monitor. He could again move at super-speed, though only to a maximum of Mach-1. Wally donned Barry Allen's uniform, and announced, "From this day forth — the Flash lives again!"

The Great Disaster will not exist in the Earth's future, but a lost child will be found in Command D. adopted by General Horatio Tomorrow of the Planeteers, and named Thomas. Jonah Jex will be torn from his era to fight in the future, while the Guardians of the Universe must face the first division in their ranks. Thus, Lyla concludes her tale, and Lady Quark and Pariah ask her to help them explore their new homeworld. They leave with her, honoring the memory of their benefactor, the Monitor. And, in Arkham Asylum, the staff discuss a new patient who seems beyond help, straitjacketed in a rubber-lined room. Roger Hayden, formerly Psycho-Pirate, gibbers about Earths beyond numbers, the Anti-Monitor, and the memories, which only he had been allowed to keep.

NOTORIOUS DEATHS IN THIS ISSUE

Anti-Monitor

Dove

Green Arrow (Earth-2)

Huntress

Kole

Robin (Dick Grayson, Earth-2)

Sunburst

Bug-Eyed Bandit

Clayface II (Matt Hagen)

Lori Lemaris

Ten Eyed Man

REVIEW

The ending of Crisis is the only part of it that remains canon after it (as it happened on new earth). Although many things about it will not remain (no one will remember the multiverse, not even the ones that survived it). Same will apply to deaths like Huntress, who will be completely replaced post-crisis.

So, was it worth it? Absolutely. Wolfman’s idea of rebooting the universe every 10 years would have been a great idea, but sales will not always allow for it (this is the reason DC was never able to do a complete reboot, you don’t fix what isn’t broken, namely Batman, Legion of Super-Heroes and the Green Lantern Corps).

As for its legacy, this event is the father of all events. Cross-overs and team-ups have been plenty, not only at DC, since the Golden Age. And while there have been similar events in 1982 and 1984 over at Marvel, they barely had any impact (Spider-symbiote being the one thing to remember). Crisis was a whole different thing. But sadly, it happened at DC, that means that not all the opportunities will be taken seriously.

Crisis offered the chance of a blank slate, but instead, the relaunch was sloppy and as a result, the universe required a soft reboot less than 10 years later. Crisis tie-ins are a good demonstration of how slow DC was to react to what they were doing. They do not match the chapter of the month.

Another interesting example is Wally West, who was restored in the end, with a slower speed, and became the Flash. However, it would take more than a year for Wally to take on his own book. This coincided with Justice League International and the end of Legends. Wonder Woman suffered the same delay as well. There were no plans to what would happen afterwards, because DC wasn’t fully aware of what they just did. They were too busy closing down titles, and the reaction to restart everything was delayed, sometimes by more than 5 years. Fortunately, the man of steel would end the year with one of his most emblematic runs.

As for the story itself, the science makes little sense, but I am willing to forgive those flaws. The essence of the event was to revisit the DCU history, to streamline everything and to showcase every single character they had. It was supposed to launch in 1983, but it had to wait until the 50th anniversary (while a long research had to be done to figure out the full DCU history). This story accomplishes that. The tie-ins... not so much. But Crisis as a story works very well. Without tie-ins.

There is a lot of love poured into it as well, and you can tell. Those final sequences with Alex Luthor, Kal-L, Lois and Superboy-Prime are beautiful and sad at the same time (again, DC would shoot themselves in the foot by desecrating that ending in 2005, but that’s a story for another time).

You cannot imagine another penciler for this story either. George Perez is the god of team-ups. Since then, he had some replacements, most notoriously, Phil Jimenez, but in 1985, it was pretty much him. And the art is so beautiful, and so meaningful, Crisis on Infinite Earths became on of the greatest achievements in comic-book history.

Jerry Ordway had to step in after Giordano and DeCarlo, for reasons I do not know. He was the perfect choice for this event. His style adds some clarity to Perez style, where Tanghal wouldn’t have dared to modify too much. As a result, you get an interesting hybrid. Ordway’s realistic faces, with Perez crazy layouts and detailed backgrounds.

The art in general is something to admire over and over. That scene where the shadow demons break apart and darkness becomes sky... that’s Michael Bay High Octane shit. You are basically watching a disaster movie.

Some of the deaths in this story mean nothing. Losing Green Arrow from Earth-2 or Helena Wayne will not have an impact. But they can seriously affect some readers.

One thing I didn’t mention before, was that New Genesis was actually part of the Crisis, as Darkseid only cloaked Apokolips, but apart from Crisis #10, I haven’t seen anything happening over there in other books.

Now, which version should you buy? All of them.

I grew up reading the spanish adaptation, which was pretty much the original with translated text. Then I bought 1998′s slipcase, which was already re-colored. I really think this one was the best as the wrap-around cover has the full Alex Ross painting. 2015′s deluxe edition includes the History of the DCU, with a new cover by George Perez. Perhaps this one adds more value. There is also a very expensive edition coming at the end of the year that includes all the tie-ins, but as you may have read, not all tie-ins are good or worthy of reading with this saga.

Then I actually recommend the digital version, as this book is so beautiful, you don’t even want to touch it.

I give this story a score of 10

[gunterfan1992]

What Became of Marcy and PB?

I thoroughly enjoyed the finale, but I was left with one nagging question that is still bothering me: what became of Marcy and PB? I’m not talking about their relationship status. (The epilogue of the episode makes it pretty clear that they ended up as a happy couple.) I’m talking about 1000 years in the future.

In an interview with TVLine, executive producer Adam Muto noted, "I don’t want to lay out their entire future ... but there are enough pieces there that you can kind of construct what their life will be like going forward.” If that’s the case, then let us follow the hints and try to figure out what became of our two favorite (quasi-)immortals.

Reader be warned: this post is full of half-baked conspiracy theories and cherry-picked data points, all assembled in a way that vindicates my theory that Marceline and Bubblegum are still alive in Ooo 1000+. I make no claim that this is 100% full-proof. I just don’t want to believe that they are dead!

Let’s start with the King of Ooo: BMO. After Beth and Shermy question the robot about what happened to Marceline, Bubblegum, Finn, and Jake, BMO responds that they “kept living their lives.” This, combined with the fact that Marceline no longer lives in her house and the Candy Kingdom is in ruins, suggests that the two are dead. But while this answer might seems obvious, it leaves a lot to be desired.

First off, Marceline’s cave-house being abandoned is not indicative of anything too major. Remember, she used to live in the Tree Fort before eventually abandoning it, too. By the time that Ooo 1000+ rolled around, she could have easily moved to another locale. In fact, I would argue evidence within the episode suggests that sometime (probably awhile) after the Tree Fort was destroyed, Marceline gave her cave-house to Finn, Jake, and BMO, and then likely moved in with PB (given that at the end of Stakes, Bubblegum offers to let her move into her castle, an offer which Marceline initially declines, but implies she might one day take up). Not only would this be thematically fitting, as it was she who “gave” Finn and Jake the Tree Fort in the first place, but it would also explain how some of Finn and Jake’s belongings found a home at the house (1) and how BMO came to be in possession of a few of Marceline’s items, like her DARE shirt, sunscreen, or Simon’s broken glasses. These were items that Marceline probably didn’t care that much about (2) and consequently left behind when she moved.

Perhaps a bigger issue is that Marceline, for all intents and purposes, can’t easily die—if at all. She is immortal, and while she has her weaknesses, it’s unclear if they truly are lethal weaknesses: we’ve seen her survive being exposed to sunlight (“Henchman”, “What Was Missing”), cut in half (Stakes, “Everything Stays”), bombarded with garlic (”Henchman”), and poisoned (Stakes, “May I Come In?”). You might be asking, ‘The previous Vampire King was killed? Could not someone have staked Marceline, too?’ Unlikely. We know from Stakes that the Moon—the vampire from whom Marceline derived her healing powers—could survive being staked in the heart (remember, she was only defeated when Marceline absorbed her vampiric essence, not when she was staked). Marceline absorbed the Moon’s power, therefore it follows that Marceline can’t die from being staked. Perhaps Marceline had her vampiric essence removed by Bubblegum, and she grew old and died, just like her fever dreams in Stakes? While this is certainly a possibility (we know that Bubblegum can remove the Vampiric Essence from Marceline, given that we have seen her do it), it negates the main themes in Stakes, which focused on Marceline coming to terms with her immortality and learning to love her lot in life. If Marceline can die even in her undead state, then all the suffering unleashed upon Ooo during Stakes was for naught, and that just doesn’t seem like something Adventure Time would do.

And what of Bubblegum? We know that Bubblegum’s biological age is correlated with her candy biomass (“Mortal Recoil”, “Too Young”). This means that her “rate of mortality [is] decouple[ed] … from chronological age,” heavily suggesting that she is ‘biologically immortal’. This concept—which is a real thing, fyi—does not mean that she can’t die, just that she won’t die from old age (3). Thus, she likely lived hundreds of years into the future after the age of Finn and Jake, probably into the Graybles 1000+ world. This is implied by the state of the Prizeball Guardian: it looks rather pristine, in comparison to pretty much the entirety of Ooo, suggesting it is a somewhat new creation. Given that the guardian was almost certainly created by Bubblegum (I mean, just look at it), and the guardian is new-looking, it suggests that Bubblegum herself was alive at least recently (4). (This is also suggested by admittedly non-canon drawings that Steve Wolfhard made clearly showing his belief that Bubblegum is alive in the Ooo 1000+ world.)

Given that Bubblegum cannot die readily from old age, the only other thing that could have killed her, I argue, would be some sort of calamity. Ooo 1000+ looks pretty wrecked, and was not the Candy Kingdom destroyed? Yes, and in both “Lemonhope” and the intro to “Come Along with Me”, we catch glimpses of the ruins! But, if one peruses the storyboard of “Lemonhope II”, one will notice Tom Herpich’s purposeful note that the kingdom is “abandoned (not bombed out)” [emphasis added]. Indeed, the kingdom looks overgrown and desolate, but not like the site of a war zone (e.g. the main citadel is mostly intact, and a number of skyskrapers are unscathed, unlike others we’ve seen that we know were caught in the crossfire of war). This, coupled with the fact that the Prizeball Guardian exists suggests that, rather than having her kingdom extinguished in a war, Bubblegum loaded up her citizens into the Guardian, put them in what is effectively cryogenic sleep, and then abandoned her old realm (5). Why? We’ll come to that in a second.

But before we jump into that, let me entertain the idea that Marceline and Bubblegum are dead and living together somewhere in the afterlife, say, the 50th Dead World. While a sweet idea, it is complicated by the fact that Bubblegum is the embodiment of the candy elemental, and will almost certainly be reincarnated in the future. [I now enter into headcanon territory] Also, Marceline is the daughter of the Lord of the Nightosphere, a deathless entity. Given how much he wanted Marceline to “take over the family business” (“Daddy’s Little Monster”), do you think he’d really let her succumb to a mortal’s demise? Almost certainly, he would have had a few words with Death. While this is extrapolation beyond the text, I think it’s worth thinking about.

Now, let us jump back into the main discussion by considering BMO’s collection of Ooo memorabilia. Eagle-eyed viewers will note that BMO’s trove of junk is made up almost entirely of bits and pieces from the show’s past: including Finn and Jake’s clock, a King of Ooo figurine, Simon’s glasses, Carol’s elf drawings, Ice King’s drums, and a collection of princess crowns. While a handful of the items almost assuredly belonged to Marceline (e.g. Simon’s glasses, sunscreen the DARE shirt) and Bubblegum (e.g. one of the crowns), there is one item of immense sentimental value missing: Marceline’s ax bass. Surely, if BMO were to keep sentimental reminders of previous friends (notice, BMO has both the shattered remnants of the Finn and Jake clock, as well as Jake’s favorite cup, which has been glued back together) the robot would have kept the vampire queen’s most prized possession? Its absence suggests one of four things: a) Marceline is still alive and in possession of the bass, or Marceline was killed and the bass was b) buried somewhere (a la Finn’s robot arm or as a grave marker), c) carted off by scavengers, or d) returned to the Nightosphere. All are viable possibilities, but the fact that BMO tracked down some rather valuable items (GGGG’s groovy Martian headgear, the crowns of power, etc.), it seems strange that the robot could not have also tracked down the bass, given that BMO liked Marceline (“Ketchup”) and probably knew how much the instrument meant to her (based on their interactions in “What Was Missing” and “Ketchup”).

Given all the issues above, there is one answer that I believe solves the mystery: Marceline and Bubblegum are both alive, but have chosen to abandon the portions of Ooo that we know. Perhaps they are off exploring on their own, or perhaps they have left Earth far behind. Why would Bubblegum abandon her realm? Simple. She was ‘tired’. She expressed these exact same sentiments in “Varmints”, only after her citizens had ‘voted her out of office’. Perhaps by the time Ooo 1000+ rolls around, Bubblegum was once again exhausted by the duties of office (having ruled for 1800 years), but decided to leave on her own terms. Simply abandoning her kingdom would have caused it to quickly collapse (cf. “The Pajama War”), and every time she created and/or appointed a successor, they turned into a tyrant (”Too Young”, “Goliad”, “Bonnibel Bubblegum”). Thus, the only option left was to load up her citizens in a device that would keep them safe until she eventually returned at some point in the future to resume control of her realm.

But could not the Prizeball Guardian simply be a defense mechanism in case the kingdom is attacked and/or Bubblegum is killed? Possibly, but cryogenically preserving candy citizens would do them no good if their creator—the one who could wake them up and then take care of them after some calamity—was gone (consider, for instance, that during times of war or natural disaster, governments don’t load up refugees onto buses, anesthetize them, and then drive them around in circles for decades). Indeed, the Prizeball Guardian seems less like a disaster-evasion project and more like a stasis chamber to keep the candy people safe until some future time. The storyboard for “Graybles 1000+” seems to back this up: when Crunchy is removed from stasis, he mumbles, “What time is it? Did it work?” In other words, it is as if Crunchy was expecting to be displaced in time and to be revived at some future date, rather than simply ‘saved’ (7).

The theory that Marceline and Bubblegum are still out there sidesteps many of the problems we have considered. It explains why some of Marceline’ stuff was picked up by BMO, whereas other items of greater sentimental value (e.g. the ax bass) are missing. Likewise, it nicely explains what happened to the Candy Kingdom. But where did Marceline or Bubblegum go? That is the real question. Perhaps they hopped down to the Nightosphere (unlikely), or perhaps they set off to find parts unknown. Maybe the went to Mars. (There’s even substantial evidence that they might be in the finale’s intro sequence!) The Oooniverse is pretty much unlimited, meaning that so too are the possibilities. Given that the Prizeball Guardian was designed to one day ‘wake up’ all the candy citizens, it is likely that Bubblegum (and Marceline) will one day return to Ooo, but for now, they are outies.

Still not convinced? Think I’m grasping at straws? Then let me present one final piece of evidence. Into 2016, Cartoon Network released a bonus video on their YouTube channel that features Marceline singing a song about “someone kind of special” to her. This song is a cover/reworking of the shows ending theme, "Come Along with Me”, in which Marceline lovingly intones:

Run away with me And the poltergeists and ghouls. We can wander through the darkness And play by our own rules.

Run away with me To a cavern shaped like home Where we'll build our own forever And never dance alone.

[emphasis added]

While rife with similes and rich language, the lyrics of the songs are pretty easy to decipher: Marceline cares deeply about someone and yearns to literally run off with them, living forever in a state of happiness. And what’s the name of this song? Why, the “Happy Ending Song”! While one could argue that the song isn’t canon and thus shouldn’t be considered as evidence (6), I think it nicely foretells what Marceline and Bubblegum‘s future holds. For one thing, the song is a play on "Come Along with Me", which in many ways is canonically 'prescient', as it is the song that plays during the montage depicting the future of Ooo's citizens. By alluding to and building off this tune, I would argue that "Happy Ending Song" arguably absorbs some of the original’s 'prescient' nature post facto (8). For another, the very last shot shows two feminine figures silhouetted against the setting sun, holding hands. Notice that this shot follows the lyrics and Marceline’s dialogue, subtly implying that it is depicting some future event. Ultimately, both the imagery in the video and the lyrics themselves hint heavily that Marceline and her paramour (which the series finale finally confirms to be Bubblegum) end up living together happily, free from the cares of modern society, as they “build [their] own forever” [emphasis added]. This nicely echoes what Marceline told Bubblegum at the end of Stakes: “Now, I guess we get to hang out together forever.”

Long story short: I believe that Marceline and Bubblegum are still alive and kicking, but have left Ooo far behind.

Footnotes

1. For instance, the the weird diving bell that used to hang from the Tree Fort is on the porch. While Marceline certainly lived in the Tree Fort at some point in the past, it's not entirely clear why she would've hauled this item all the way to her house and then abandoned it. It's more likely that it was scavenged by Finn and Jake, who arguably had a much more sentimental attachment to the old fort.

2. But Marceline loved Simon like a father! Why would she leave behind his glasses? Likely because these glasses were the ones that Simon wore while he and Marceline wandered the wasteland (you can tell because the left lens is broken). When he was returned to his normal state, he likely got new glasses, and these older ones were forgotten about.

3. While Bubblegum fully admits in “Goliad” that she will likely one day die, it is heavily implied that she believes her death will come from some horrible accident (like the Lich possession), rather than just old age. Furthermore, Bubblegum and Marceline’s discussions about mortality in Stakes suggests that Bubblegum would outlive Marceline were the latter to turn into a mortal. Remember, that in Farmworld, Marceline lived 1000 years as a mortal before she was killed by the Mutagenic Bomb. This means that Marceline as a mortal in Ooo Prime would likely live 1000 after turning mortal again (with the 1000 years she lived as a vampire not counting, since she was essentially ‘stuck’ at age ~20). Putting these puzzle pieces together suggests that Bubblegum believes she can easily live another 1000 years.

4. Notice also that in “Graybles 1000+”, the interior of the Guardian is dark but not dusty or abandoned. In fact, it looks quite well-lived in (and the storyboard for that episode, described as “cozy”); this suggests that someone was living here not too long ago. Given Bubblegum’s love of knowledge (note that books are strewn about as if they were recently read), and the portrait of the candy kingdom on the wall, it is heavily suggested that Bubblegum herself was the one who was occupying the space.

5. You might asking: what about Neddy and his love of the Candy Kingdom tree? Is not the tree dead in “Lemonhope”? Yes, but you will also notice that on the Prizeball Guardian, there are trees very similar to that which grew out of the Kingdom’s main tower.

6. The song was neither featured in nor written for a specific episodes, per Adam Muto. However, because Muto is very good about confirming/denying what is and is not canon (e.g. “The Adventure Time comics are as canonical as a Funko Pop”), the fact that his answer does not immediately decanonize the song is notable. Furthermore, the song is sung by Olivia Olson (that is, the official voice actress of Marceline), and the video even features new footage (albeit, mostly composed of flash-edited scenes from “Marceline’s Closet”).

7. Also, consider how hopelessly bleak and cruel it would be for the Prizeball Guardian to have been destroyed in “Graybles 1000+” if Bubblegum isn’t around anymore. The candy citizens would either sleep for eternity, or die a la 2001: A Space Odyssey. Neither fits with the arguably bittersweet (but certainly not mean-spirited) world of Adventure Time.

8. Perhaps this is why Marceline ends her song by noting it is an example of how "totally deep" she can be.

* As an aside, I also like the idea that Bubblegum, before she left, gave her crown to BMO (after all, were PB to have effectively abandoned her post, she would have no longer needed the crown), jokingly anointing the robot the “One True King of Ooo”, or something like that. It’s fitting that a joke like this would be taken up by BMO and turned into a veritable legend. It would also serve as one last dig against the charlatan King of Ooo, whom we know Bubblegum hated.

[diinofayce]

Shadows on the Horizon - 4

Pairing: Winter Soldier! Bucky Barnes x OFC! Layne Hardin | Word Count: 2,666 (I’m very amused that I ended on that) | Warnings: Language, ANGST, Layne falls off the wagon | A/N: I believe everyone needs to fall down once to pick themselves back up stronger. This is a sequel to my story Like A Whisper in the Night. | Shadows on the Horizon Masterlist

“Fuck,” Layne murmured.

“Friday! Any read on him?” Tony’s voice came billowing out from the other side of the floor as he landed in full Iron Man suit.

“It seems like he’s heading towards the living quarters, boss.”

“Shit!” Steve swore harshly and turned on his heel to bound up the stairs.

Layne’s hopes rose, she would be first to admit that she thought maybe, just maybe Bucky broke through and he was just going back to their room to take one of his scalding hot showers. The kind that made Layne feel the like the flesh was going to sear from her bones. And go to bed. It’s been a long day for all of them, bed with Bucky sounded so fucking amazing.

Layne rushed off after Steve, she knew she would never beat him up there but she would be hot on his heels.

They found Bucky in his and Layne’s room, Steve blocked the doorway with his broad frame which caused Layne to try and squeeze in under his arm, but he jutted his hip to the side and cut her off.

“Bucky?” Steve asked hesitantly to the man who had his back turned to them as he stared out the window overlooking New York.

He turned slowly and Layne stopped fighting to get under Steve’s arm. It was still the Soldier, his eyes as cold and expressionless as ever, the only read she could get on him was the confusion that tugged at his eyebrows.

“You always call me that,” the Soldier acknowledges and Steve softens slightly. Layne digs her nails into his elbow to keep him on alert, now was not the time to go soft, no matter how bad they wanted too.

“That’s your name,” Steve presses.

“That’s his name.”

Steve and the Soldier stare at each other for a moment, assessing one another, trying to get a read on the other’s next move. But they were too alike, trained by different people to fight in the same manner.

Layne finally managed to push herself in front of Steve. “Then tell us yours.”

The Soldier eyed Layne up and down, his gaze pausing on the handprint bruise that spanned her throat. It was already a deep purple with green around the edges, if he had squeezed any harder that would have been it, he would have crushed her throat. They both knew it, but she was ignoring it, looking past it like it was something completely trivial, like her brainwashed boyfriend didn’t almost squeeze the life out of her with his bare hand.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he responded stoically, turning to look back out the window.

He wasn’t dropping his guard, not by any means. He knew that Susanna and Sam had been portalled into the hallway in case everything went to shit. He knew that Stark hovered below the window line, the soft sound of his boosters giving his position away. He knew that Thor stood on the roof, waiting to give chase if necessary. He was surrounded in enemy territory, but he’s been in worse situations.

“In our room, James?” Layne asked, cocking an eyebrow and moving herself slowly to the side entering the room further.

“That’s not my -” he started, his voice still cold and monotone.

“I know it’s not. But you don’t have one, they only ever called you Soldat or Asset, and that’s not right. It’s not fair.” Layne was trying to put herself between him and the far wall. The wall that with one press of Bucky’s flesh hand would open and reveal the hidden arsenal of weapons. A literal smorgasbord of guns and knives and grenades. She didn’t know if he knew they were there, some deep-rooted muscle memory having brought him here to begin with, but she couldn’t take the chance of him getting into it.

The soldier ground his teeth together, not looking at her, not looking past her to the wall, just a steady beaded gaze out the window over the Manhattan skyline.

“I’ve seen you,” Layne continued softly, motioning for Steve to back off because she was sure his intense stance was only putting the Soldier more and more on the defensive. “I have. On the nights the nightmares are so bad and I wipe away Bucky’s tears, I can see you. I see you in his eyes and I know you saw me last night when they woke you up. Before they hurt you again. I know you saw me.”

“I am not him.” He gritted out once more.

“Yes you are and he’s you.”

“You’re just going to lock me away again.”

“What if we don’t have to?”

“Layne,” Steve hissed, a threatening edge to his tone.

The soldier finally turned to look at her. To actually take stock of the small woman in front of him, with her slim shoulders and narrow hips, limbs long and frail like a bird’s. Her chocolate waves were streaked with auburn highlights that caught like fire in the morning sun and were frizzing out of a poorly kept ponytail that sat high on the back of her head. His icy stare landed again on the bruise he placed on her throat, the blotchy purple standing out grotesquely on her creamy flesh and somewhere deep down inside of himself he felt a searing hatred for himself for doing that to her.

“You are James Buchanan Barnes and I love you. I love you so much that I will do everything I can possibly think of to make your two halves work as one if that’s what it takes. No one is going to lock you away, no one is going to put you in the dark. If I had known that was what was they had chosen as a solution, I promise you, I would have offered to find a different way sooner,” Layne swore vehemently. And she could see it in his eyes, the icy blue cold precision of what he had been trained to be, and the warm intuition and insight of the man Layne loved. Because as much as Bucky needed to hear that he wasn’t the Soldier, the Soldier needed to hear that he was Bucky, or at least someone.

The soldier closed his eyes and took a deep-drawn breath. It was the first break in composure any of them had really seen from him. He swallowed heavily, his Adam's Apple bobbing in his throat.

“You need to leave,” he said with finality, his voice coming out harsh and raspy like crunching gravel. The warmth that had been there for just a quick flash was gone from his eyes and Layne scoffed in disbelief, her jaw falling open and her hands falling to her sides.

“Well. No. You can’t just be here on your own. Like you said, you aren’t him. Only he gets to stay here,” Layne argued.

“I can stay. Being in here is probably better for him than the container,” Steve piped up and Layne shot him a venomous glare.

The soldier turned and eyed Steve up and down before nodding. “That’s fine, but she needs to go.”

Layne ran her tongue along the front of her top teeth, sucking on them harshly as she tried to bite back the hot sting of tears and rejection.

“Fine!” she finally snapped. Slamming into their shared bathroom she grabbed her overnight bag and then her guitar off the wall of their living room. “Fucking fine. Kick me out of my own goddamn motherfucking apartment. FRIDAY! Wipe all of Sergeant Barnes’ passcodes and prints from all of the safes!”

“Done, Agent Hardin,” came the AI’s reply.

With one last glare at Steve and the thing that was invading the body of the man she loved she turned like a hurricane and stormed from the apartment. Steve had to practically jump out of her way; Loki and Susanna still stood in the hallway, all three watching Layne warily like she was about to break or rabbit from the tower completely. Angry at Hydra, angry at the world, and angry at herself and her inability to keep her boyfriend safe she ducked her head against their stares and pressed her thumb into the handle of the door directly across the hall. It clicked, the little light flashing green before she threw it open and slammed it closed in everyone’s faces behind her.

It must have been Susanna that kept them from going after her because if anyone would know when to leave Layne alone it was Sue and if anyone could stop a bunch of overbearing superheroes that cared too much it was Sue. Susanna had been there through most of the rough patches in Layne’s life. First when Danny disappeared, and then with the ex-boyfriend, and again when everything with The Avengers and Bucky had gone to shit for a while. That wasn’t counting all the little times in between, the not-so-major life events that Layne might not have come out as unscathed as she had if Susanna Sweet had not been by her side. But Susanna was also very skilled at knowing when to give Layne space.

It was not a crowning moment of maturity and it certainly wasn’t the best way to handle the situation at hand. But she didn’t want to see their looks of pity any more than she wanted to deal with the cold, hallow, emptiness that sat like a heavy pit in her stomach. She looked around her old room, the one she hadn’t even moved back into since she left to go on tour a year back when she needed a break to sort herself out. As soon as she came crawling home she had moved into Bucky’s larger apartment. He hadn’t even thought for a moment about taking her back, it was instantaneous, all slights already forgiven on both sides.

Tony still had cleaners for all the empty rooms, so they didn’t go stale, so there wasn’t any lingering dust on the furniture. The furniture that he had let her pick out on her arrival, her old bright orange down comforter looked like it had washed recently, the bedding crisp and clean. Hooks for her guitars still hung on the wall, she wishes she knew that before she ordered new ones off of Amazon. Hanging her cherry red Paul Reed Smith from the bracket in the hall she caught a look of herself in the mirror and was startled to see that she was crying.

Dropping her bag at her feet she swiped harshly at her face and sniffled softly because now that she was aware she was crying she was finding it hard to stop. She observed herself in the mirror, the face-framing of her brown hair pulled free from its hair tie and sticking to her damp cheeks which were flushed pink with anger and pain. She had dried pine sap crusted to the shoulders, back, and ass of her uniform from sitting in that goddamn tree and she was sure if she reached up to check it was probably matted in her hair too. She could see why everyone kept staring at her neck, it looked bad, hurt like hell - but not as much as her heart. She didn’t heal as fast as the boys, already the super fiscal cuts and the burns from the chair had already healed on Bucky, she’d have this bruise for at least a week.

What she hadn’t noticed, until now, was the amount of blood that was crusted to her from after she returned to her body to rush into the compound with Thor in her attempt to save Bucky. Too late, she had been too late. Maybe if they could have gotten to him before they stuck him in the chair? No. He was just as dangerous after the words and before the chair. The important thing was that they had killed all the Hydra operatives before anyone had given the Winter Soldier a mission. She had killed Hydra operatives. Tackled the scientist at the switch and pressed a pistol between his eyes and fired. That was probably why Bucky was being so compliant, everyone who was supposed to be giving him orders was dead. But she was still too late. She should have just sent Thor in, lightning flying, stealth be damned. Maybe they wouldn’t have had time to finish the words, could he be half activated?

Screaming once more in anger and frustration she ripped the mirror from the wall and threw it across the room where it shattered, silver glass tinkling sadly to the floor. Grabbing her go bag she stomped into the bathroom. She had done that too much in this room, shatter mirrors while trying to repair her shattered heart. The only difference was you could always buy a new mirror.

Stripping off her combat suit, she started the shower and immediately stepped in. Bucky needed his showers scalding hot, all the time, the heat that flayed the skin from your bones if you weren’t careful. But she understood that lived with that, after decades of being stuck in cryofreeze there was no way she could ever expect him to take one of her showers. Layne needed the water like ice when she got like this. It made it so she could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, could feel the air ripping through her lungs as she raggedly gasped for breath. The water pelted onto her bare back, finding cuts she didn’t know she had, numbing bruises she knew she did while leaning forward - arms outstretched in front of her - holding her body up with the wall.

It was there she let herself fall apart and break. Crumbling disastrously as she clawed fruitlessly at the tiles until her nails, soft from the water, gave way and bled. She screamed at the shower wall, screamed at the gods, screamed at herself. This should have been different, she should have been better, she should have never come back. All she did was poison and hurt everything, she was in charge, her soldiers should have come home safe and in one piece. But now her soldier, the most important one of them all, was broken in two all over again. All because of her.

Layne turned the water off when her fingers stopped bleeding and started turning blue and she couldn’t get her teeth to stop chattering. Stepping out she realized there were no towels and numbly threw on what clean clothes were in go bag over her dripping form, the clothes instantly soaking and sticking to her skin. Layne stared at the toilet, wondering how thorough Tony’s cleaners were as she reached out with shaking hands and lifted the lid from the tank. Licking her lips with a feeling of regret and trepidation she reached in and pulled out a tied off plastic liquor store bag. Untying it she pulled out the 750 of Jack Daniels and set it down on the closed toilet lid. Slowly she sank down to the tile bathroom floor and pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the bottle of amber liquid that had been her fall back for so long.

It was like an affirmation, like it was okay, just this once. Because it was still here and accessible and no one was here to tell her no. There was no sponsor, no Bucky, no anything to tell her to just be strong. Before she could talk herself out of it she reached forward and snatched the bottle to her chest, ripping the plastic off and breaking the seal on the cap. She pressed her lips to the lip of the bottle and froze, blinking once at the tile wall of her bathroom, contemplating for a just a second about what she was doing, before tilting her head back and letting the amber liquid burn a path down her throat.

[paladin-pile]

Shiro’s role in VLD and what that means for us.

I see a massive variety of opinions on Shiro these days, most of them negative, and I’m getting tired of it. I’m not posting this to be salty or argumentative. I’m here to explain why we should be grateful for this brilliant rep, this character with the most beautiful and inspiring story that should got down in history. Shiro is not the show’s “punching bag” or anything else, and in this meta I’d like to begin explaining my position on why Shiro’s story is exactly what the world, (that includes us) needs. No matter what your position, please take just a few minutes and read.

In my perspective, being a punching bag means that a character is being repeatedly hurt, beaten down, and being ground into lower and more painful places in life, for no reason, or for reasons that are for action purposes only, not contributing to a meaningful arc for the character. It might even be detrimental to their arc. The characters in the MCU are a perfect example if this. I like Marvel movies, and I love the characters, but as I watched through the movies I started to like them less and less because of how the characters were treated. It was hard to watch the people I cared about accumulate trauma on top of trauma that was never addressed. They were never allowed to rest, heal, reach a better place in their physical/mental/emotional states.

 Sometimes in little things, yes, but not much. I just watched people get beaten to a pulp physically and emotionally. I cared about them, I want them to be okay, I want them to have hope and opportunity of meaningful connections, peace, and recovery. If Tony Stark or Steve Rodgers die in Avengers 4, I see that as a horrible end to horrible arcs for both of them. Steve has been fighting his whole life, never got to have a home and family, or deal with some of his issues. Tony has barely gotten a glimpse of a happy life with Pepper and a baby, and has grown so close to Peter. Peter has lost his parents, his uncle, and now he might lose Tony too. 

Do you see what I mean here? If you’re familiar with the MCU you might see my point. This is because the movies exist to serve the comic book action, not the people. The action, the aliens, the robots, the fight scenes; that’s the whole purpose of these movies and they’re not going to take time to show us how Natasha is slowly recovering from her childhood trauma with help from Clint and his family. When we watch endless action-based stories like this, we tend to get depressed because we long for hope. Everyday in real life we see hopeless situations where the people we love get hurt and hurt again without any hint of things getting better, we don’t want to see that in our media.

But Voltron...Voltron is different.

The problem is that people come to Voltron looking for a utopia (“If war was perfect this is what is should look like. If everything happened perfectly for so-and-so this is what I think it should be and its not so it’s evil,”etc). That’s not going to work. Voltron does a great job of showing realistic experiences that we can relate too, and still give us hope and inspiration. The character development and story arcs for each character are nothing short of brilliant. Please also keep in mind, some characters are more central than the others and will receive more focus, but everyone gets at least some meaningful things. What makes Voltron do this while other shows/movies don’t, is that Voltron is not about Voltron, it’s about the characters. The first season or two you might think it’s about the robots and the big fights, but I recall it was around season 5 that the realization hit me. “Holy shit this isn’t about Voltron, it never was.” What made me realize? Well, Shiro and Keith’s related arcs specifically. The entire plot revolves around how they revolve around each other. Pay some close attention to each plot point and ask how it relates to Keith trying to save Shiro or vice versa. But that’s beside the point of this post. I came here to talk about Shiro.

Shiro is the main character of Voltron. No contest. Everything revolves around him, is influenced by him, or is tied back to him somehow. It’s incredible to watch. The show starts with him and I’ll damn well bet it’ll end with him. He’s the fated, Chosen One that the whole show is on the shoulders of. So why don’t most people realize this?

Shiro isn’t a loud person, he shoulders a lot of his work in the background. We don’t see things from his pov very often. It’s easy for our attention to drift to the more outgoing, loud and chaotic characters, but that does not determine how important they are to the story.

Doing rep right is not, “This person is LGBT/poc/mentally ill character, therefore nothing bad can every happen to them.” That would be of no help to anyone at all. People need to see rep that goes through things that they do or even worse, and is still ok, who can still be happy and adapt and be strong and find meaning in life, be in healthy, wonderful relationships. People who can climb higher and shine brighter because of what they’ve been through, not in spite of it.

Remember the beginning where I described what it means for a character to be a punching bag? Shiro is none of those things. This sweet, earnest, and lovely boy has been through so much suffering. You’ve all seen it, or inferred it from what we did see. But never have I ever seen someone with such a mighty heart, or such resilience. He kept fighting, never lost hope, never gave up on the people and causes he cared about. He never got any less kind and selfless. He stayed loyal to what was right and never sought his own glory. And he has been abundantly rewarded for it. The MCU characters I talked about have gotten worse of the course of their arcs. Shiro has gotten better.

His life isnt perfect. It’s not a utopia. He has sustained a lot of losses, his path has changed direction in confusing and sometimes painful ways. But he takes it in stride. No suffering Shiro has been put through has been for nothing, and in this is the basis for my argument. It has all changed and influsned his character arc in positive ways. Even if it took a while for that to become apparent. He has been leveling up this whole time. Even things that seemed the worst turned out to be a blessing to both him and the universe.

Is he sad about no longer being a paladin? We will never know. Even if he was he is not one to dwell on it. He now has a bond with another mecha just like he had with black, one that’s his and only his. (One that's 100 times bigger than his old ship and way cooler, Voltron whomst?) He has his own path and his own crew, he’s working side by side with the people he considers family. He is showing signs of healing, of being happy. He’s just as much a part of the team as he was before. It’s the fandom who excludes him from their art and fics of the othes, the fandom who is casting him aside, not the show.

For someone to say “Oh Shiro’s arc is terrible and he’s being treated badly because look at these things that happened to him. Things he loved got taken away and now he’s lost and sad and feels useless and is getting knocked down a few pegs in life.” Where are you seeing this? What happens in our own lives when things change or painful things happen. Do we roll over and die? Say “oh my life will be miserable from now on because this or that happened?” No, and neither would Shiro.

We see Shiro growing. He is leveling up. He knows how to live and adapt and find meaning. I don’t think Shiro regrets or mourns anything for very long. His coping skills are very good since he came back form the “dead.” He may have feelings of sadness and loss. Of his arm, of people close to him like Adam or others, of the people lost on Earth. But roles? Jobs? Circumstances that he knows could have happened to anyone and he can’t change? He knows better than that. Have more faith in Shiro people. I have been more inspired and encouraged and blessed by his character and story than I have in any other media ever. I love him and I am grateful.

I understand that a lot of good folks who love Shiro have been genuinely concerned and confused. If you are one of those, please message me. I would love to talk to you. I know some folks have made posts mentioning specific events in the show that have influenced their perception and I was not able to address all the specifics in this post, only generally. Anyone is more than welcome do drop by my ask box and start a conversation! 

[patriotsnet]

When Have Republicans Controlled Both Houses Of Congress

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/when-have-republicans-controlled-both-houses-of-congress/

When Have Republicans Controlled Both Houses Of Congress

There Were 26 Additional Seats Up For Election But None Of These Seats Changed Parties Louisiana Could Still Switch But We Wont Know Until December And It Wont Make A Difference To Democrats

Republicans keep control of the House and Senate

The rest of the Senate races didnt switch parties this year. This includes 16 seats held by Republicans and nine held by Democrats. We still dont know the outcome of the Senate race in Louisiana as it has moved to a run-off that will be decided in December.

The open seat of Sen. David Vitter could now end up Democrat, but it still wont matter for Democrats when it comes to control of the Senate. The two candidates on the Louisiana ballot to fill Vitters open seat are Louisiana state Treasurer John Kennedy and Foster Campbell .

But this wasnt always the case: Up until a few weeks ago, Senate seats in Florida, Arizona, and Ohio were seen as pretty competitive races. The races only began to open up in recent days.

In Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio had a 3.7-point lead over challenger Patrick Murphy heading into Election Day. And in the other two states, incumbent Republicans John McCain and Rob Portman both enjoyed double-digit leads over their opponents, securing easy Republican victories.

Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism?

Millions turn to Vox to understand whats happening in the news. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today from as little as $3.

This Is The Future That Liberals Want

Say the Democrats win. Then what?

If Democrats manage to hold the House of Representatives and win back the Senate and the White House in November, the party will have full control of the federal government for the first time in 11 years. Police reform, climate change, and health care are all on their agenda. But before newly empowered Democrats get to any of that, they will very likely pass a relief package to address the coronavirus pandemic and the associated economic crisis. Then, they will aim to fundamentally change how voting and government work in the United States by expanding voting rights, reducing the influence of money in politics, strengthening ethics rules, and maybe even ending the Senate filibusterreforms they hope will make Americas democracy work better and the rest of their agenda easier to carry out.

If there is any political capital to be spent, the concerns over democracy reform take a front seat to everything in the agenda, a senior aide to a progressive senator told me . It would mean so much just in terms of building long-term power, a senior aide to a progressive House Democrat added.

What Is The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

Republicans and Democrats are the two main and historically the largest political parties in the US and, after every election, hold the majority seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as the highest number of Governors. Though both the parties mean well for the US citizens, they have distinct differences that manifest in their comments, decisions, and history. These differences are mainly ideological, political, social, and economic paths to making the US successful and the world a better place for all. Differences between the two parties that are covered in this article rely on the majority position though individual politicians may have varied preferences.

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Biden Introduces Attorney General Nominee In Wake Of Capitol Riot

While introducing his nominee for attorney general, Merrick Garland, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said the nation needed to restore the independence and integrity of the Justice Department.

What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent, it was not disorder, it was not protest it was chaos. They werent protesters dont dare call them protesters they were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists. Its that basic, its that simple. I wish we could say we couldnt see it coming. But that isnt true. We could see it coming. The past four years, weve had a president who has made his contempt for our democracy, our Constitution, the rule of law clear in everything he has done. We need to restore the honor, the integrity, the independence of the Department of Justice in this nation thats been so badly damaged. And so many former leaders of that department in both parties have so testified and stated that. I want to be clear to those who lead this department, who you will serve. You wont work for me. You are not the president or the vice presidents lawyer. Your loyalty is not to me. It is to the law, the Constitution, the people of this nation, to guarantee justice. As everyone who watched yesterdays events in Washington now understands, if they did not understand before, the rule of law is not just some lawyers turn of phrase. It is the very foundation of our democracy.

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Isan Control Of Congress

This table shows the number of Congresses in which a party controlled either the House, the Senate, or the presidency.

Party

^U.S. Senate: Party Divisions

^The Anti-Administration Party was not a formal political party but rather a faction opposed to the policies of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The faction eventually coalesced into the Democratic-Republican Party.

^The Pro-Administration Party was not a formal political party but rather a faction supportive of the policies of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The faction eventually coalesced into the Federalist Party.

^ abThough Washington never formally joined a party, he was broadly sympathetic to the coalition which later became the Federalist Party.

^Washington disapproved of formal political parties and refused to join either party, though he became a symbol of the Federalist Party.

^Adams won election as a Democratic-Republican, but he sought re-election as a National Republican.

^Whig President William Henry Harrison died April 4, 1841, one month into his term, and was succeeded by John Tyler, who served for the remainder of the term. Tyler had been elected as vice president on the Whig ticket, but he became an independent after the Whigs expelled him from the party on September 13, 1841.

^Whigs held their only trifecta from March 4, 1841 until later that year when the Whigs expelled Tyler from the party on September 13 and he became an Independent.

^

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Visual Guide: The Balance Of Power Between Congress And The Presidency

Which party controls Congress? Which, the White House? The answer reveals the balance of power in the two branches of government that have elected officials .

Americans seem to prefer that the checks-and-balances envisioned by the founders be facilitated by having different parties control Congress and the White House.

Contrary to popular belief, most of the time Congress and the President are at odds; that is, most of the time the same political party does not control the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

Congress has usually been controlled by the same party; with the odd man out being,;literally, the President. Only 16 times since 1945 have both branches of Congress and the Presidency been controlled by the same party; the Democrats have held this advantage more often than Republicans . However, it has happened four times since 2003, making this seem more common that it has been, historically . Prior to WWII, having House, Senate and White House controlled by the same party was the norm.

Since 1945, the House and Senate have been controlled by different parties only six;times . The first three were under Reagan . The other three have been since the 2000 elections, which makes this seem more normal to us than it is, historically.;From 1901-1945, this happened only twice.

And there have been only two complete turn-overs of Congress since 1949: one in 1995 and the other in 2007.

How Is Senate Majority Chosen

The Senate Republican and Democratic floor leaders are elected by the members of their party in the Senate at the beginning of each Congress. Depending on which party is in power, one serves as majority leader and the other as minority leader. The leaders serve as spokespersons for their partys positions on issues.

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Iowa Montana And South Carolina

Though Iowa, Montana and South Carolina are all traditionally right-leaning, polls had shown tight Senate races in those states, and the Cook Political Report had rated each a tossup. But come Election Day, Republicans easily won each race.

In Iowa, Senator Joni Ernst, the Republican incumbent, dispatched Theresa Greenfield, her Democratic challenger, by 6.6 percentage points. In Montana, Senator Steve Daines, the Republican incumbent, won by more than 10 percentage points against Steve Bullock, Montanas two-term Democratic governor.

And in South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, survived a challenge by Jaime Harrison, a former chairman of the states Democratic Party, winning by 10.3 percentage points.

Election Results : Veto

SE Cupp: Republicans have let Trump get away with too much

See also: State government trifectas

Two state legislatures saw changes in their veto-proof majority statusâtypically when one party controls either three-fifths or two-thirds of both chambersâas a result of the 2020 elections. Democrats gained veto-proof majorities in Delaware and New York, bringing the number of state legislatures with a veto-proof majority in both chambers to 24: 16 held by Republicans and eight held by Democrats.

Forty-four states held regularly-scheduled state legislative elections on November 3. Heading into the election, there were 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof majority in both chambers; 16 held by Republicans and six held by Democrats. Twenty of those states held legislative elections in 2020.

The veto override power can play a role in conflicts between state legislatures and governors. Conflict can occur when legislatures vote to override gubernatorial vetoes or in court cases related to vetoes and the override power.

Although it has the potential to create conflict, the veto override power is rarely used. According to political scientists Peverill Squire and Gary Moncrief in 2010, only about five percent of vetoes are overridden.

Changes in state legislative veto-proof majorites State

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The laws largely focus on tightening voter ID requirements, purging voter rolls and restricting absentee and mail-in ballots.

Texas

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New Hampshire Hasnt Been Called Yet But That Wont Change The Balance Of Power In The Senate

New Hampshire, where Sen. Kelly Ayotte has a narrow margin over Gov. Maggie Hassan . Votes have only been counted from 94 percent of precincts, so there is a possibility that Hassan could still win, but with Ayotte wining 48.1 percent of the vote compared to Hassans 47.8 percent, it seems as if Ayotte will hold onto her seat.

Annual Congressional Competitiveness Report 2020

Ballotpedias Annual Congressional Competitiveness report for 2020 includes information on the number of elections featuring candidates from both major parties, the number of open seats, and more.

HIGHLIGHTS

More U.S. House races were contested by members of both major parties than in any general election since at least 1920, with 95.4% of races featuring major party competition.

Of the U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators who were eligible to run for re-election in 2018, 55 of them did not appear on the general election ballot in 2020.

In the 53 open seats where an incumbent either did not seek re-election or was defeated in a primary, there were 13 races where the incumbents district overlapped at least one pivot county in 2008 and 2012, before switching to support President Donald Trump in 2016).

In 20 races, only one major party candidate appeared on the general election ballot, the lowest number compared to the preceding decade.

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Y Control In Congress And State Legislatures

In the politics of education course I teach this semester, I was looking for a nice overview of trends in party control for Congress and state legislatures. Just a simple chart showing trends in which party holds the majority in the House and Senate and whether similar trends occur in state legislatures. We often just focus on one or the other, but I want to see Congress and states on the same graph.

But I couldnt quite find what I was looking for. So in its absence , I compiled data from the Senate and House history pages along with the National Conference of State Legislatures partisan composition page.

A few notes about whats being measured here. For the states, NCSL tells us whether both chambers are controlled by a given party. If Democrats hold both chambers, then the state is coded as Democrat. States are coded as Split if Democrats carry one chamber and Republicans the other. Nebraska is omitted because it has a non-partisan unicameral legislature, but I put them in the Split plus NE category just so we have all 50 states. And all data are as of January of the given year, except 2016, which uses December to reflect the outcomes of the most recent election:

Shifting gears to Congress, the chart shows the percentage of members from each of the two parties:

But these three charts are hard to put the full picture together, so the following combines them into a single visualization that I think tells the story a little clearer:

Data:

What The Midterms Mean For President Obama And 2016

Only one in three voters in exit polls said the country was on the right track, and one in five said the government in Washington could never be trusted to do whats right. Two-thirds said the economic system is unfair.

The Republican swing fit a historical pattern: The last three two-term presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush all served their last two years with the opposing party controlling both houses of Congress.

And the party controlling the White House has lost seats in the House in the midterm election every time but twice since World War II.

In the Senate, Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas was ousted by Rep. Tom Cotton, and Mark Udall of Colorado was bounced by Rep. Cory Gardner. Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan lost her seat to Thom Tillis.

Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire held off a furious challenge by ex-Sen. Scott Brown.

Republicans Joni Ernst in Iowa, Steve Daines in Montana, Mike Rounds in South Dakota and Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia all captured seats held by retiring Democrats.

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What Happened The Last Time Republicans Had A Majority This Huge

They lost it.

Josh Zeitz has taught American history and politics at Cambridge University and Princeton University and is the author of;Lincolnâs Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincolnâs Image. He is currently writing a book on the making of Lyndon Johnsonâs Great Society. Follow him .

Since last week, many Republicans have been feeling singularly nostalgic for November 1928, and with good reason. Itâs the last time that the party won such commanding majorities in the House of Representatives while also dominating the Senate. And, letâs face it, 1928 was a good time.

America was richâor so it seemed. Charles Lindbergh was on the cover of Time. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Jean Lussier went over Niagara Falls in a rubber ball . Mickey Mouse made his first appearance in a talkie . Irving Aaronson and His Commanders raised eyebrows with the popularâand, for its time, scandalousâsong, âLetâs Misbehave,â and presidential nominee Herbert Hoover gave his Democratic opponent, Al Smith, a shellacking worthy of the history books.

The key takeaway: Itâs been a really, really long time since Republicans have owned Capitol Hill as they do now.

But what if the Republicans of 1928 owed their demise to a more fundamental force? What if it was demography, not economics, that truly killed the elephant?

On a surface level, the Great Depression was to blame.

By Patricia Zengerle, Susan Cornwell

4 Min Read

A Quick Guide To The Eight Competitive Senate Races We Watched Most Closely

There were 34 Senate races this year, but only eight had a reasonable chance of a seat switching from one party to another. There were four races where Democrats led in the polls and four where Republicans were ahead. Most of them were very close, with the exception of the Illinois race between incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk and challenger Rep. Tammy Duckworth , where Duckworth handily beat Kirk.

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Control Of The Senate Could Be Decided By Georgia Races

;There are two races up in Georgia this election, a regular Senate race and special election. The rules in Georgia for both the regular Senate election and the Senate special election require a candidate to win a majority, and if none of the candidates clear the 50% threshold, the race goes to a runoff in January.;

Recent polling in the race between incumbent GOP Senator David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff has been tight, and the presence of a libertarian candidate on the ballot could prevent either Perdue or Ossoff from clearing the majority. In the special election, 21 candidates have qualified to be on the ballot, including Democrat Raphael Warnock, who has led in recent polls. GOP candidates Senator Kelly Loeffer, who was appointed to the seat last year, and Congressman Doug Collins are also on the ballot. If no candidate clears the majority, that race will also go to a runoff in January.

[wits-writing]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie review

Back in 2015, The Force Awakens brought Star Wars back to the big screen by introducing us to the new characters that would be carrying the saga into the future. It operated mainly on laying the groundwork for what was to come. Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Kylo (Adam Driver) all showed the potential of this new story was vast, but whether it could all pay off was always down to whatever writer/director Rian Johnson managed to do with Episode VIII.

With The Last Jedi, he’s managed to craft a tale that goes beyond any expectations. This movie isn’t about any major plot twists, reveals or simply moving the overarching plot along, it’s about exploring the place these new characters are forging for themselves in the galaxy. It takes the legacy of Star Wars and makes exploring what legacy means one of its central themes. It’s about what The Resistance is fighting for in their struggle against The First Order. This is the most human movie to ever come out of Star Wars, a story that explores the importance of hope in the darkest of times. There’s so much going on in this movie that I barely know where to start, but it all comes together to form something uniquely its own.

[Full review under the cut.]

For the first time in Star Wars history, The Last Jedi picks up immediately where The Force Awakens left off. Even though The Resistance managed to destroy Star Killer Base last time, The First Order is still using their vast resources to go after them and snuff out the one obstacle keeping them from total galactic conquest. What’s left the Resistance fleet are running on what little power they have against First Order Star Destroyers capable of tracking them through lightspeed. General Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) manage what little resources they have left until they find a way to signal for help. Meanwhile, Finn and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a Resistance maintenance operator, work together to find a way to stop the First Order from tracking them while Poe tries to buy them as much time as possible.

During all of this, in the far reaches of the galaxy, we also pick up with Rey as she’s meeting Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) and tries to convince him to return with her to the Resistance so they can save the galaxy. Rey’s journey in this movie mainly concerns her looking for someone to give her meaning so that she’ll finally know where she belongs after a lifetime of solitude. Luke’s more concerned in his own interrupted isolation than he is with defeating The First Order or showing Rey the ways of the Force. He’s grown to resent his own legend as a Jedi and is determined to die alone as the last of their kind. All he can think of while talking to Rey is how he failed Kylo Ren and that he never wants that to happen again. He doesn’t believe the Jedi should own the Force, because the Force is not a power that belongs to anyone but the thing that binds all life in the galaxy together. Hammill brings a strength to this performance that sheds new light on one of the iconic heroes of movie history.

Rey’s personal arc concerns her search for belonging. She wants to be shown who she is and what to do with that. Now that she’s discovered the Force as it exists in side her, she believes it must mean something greater that connects her to everything else going on. She wants a destiny, prophecy or anything to tell her the “why” of how she ended up where she is now. When Luke refuses to give her that, she starts to sense something she hadn’t before. A connection between Kylo Ren and herself start to develop and she takes that as a sign that there’s something they are meant to do together. They discuss their respective connections and experiences with the Force together and how they ended up where they are in life. The more they talk the more Rey believes there’s something more to Kylo and that he has a chance to be Ben Solo again, while Kylo believes Rey will eventually succumb to the call of the Dark. Eventually, she’s able to find her way towards understanding how to forge a path for herself without anyone needing to tell her about it. All she needs by the end is to know who she is as part of the Force and that will help her carry on the legacy of the Jedi in her own way.

The story of the Resistance fighters as they try to find a way to escape The First Order’s pursuit is a story of desperation. Poe, Finn and Rose are all looking for a way to win against all odds during The Resistance’s darkest hour. Poe Dameron was the least fleshed out of the new main cast during The Force Awakens, now The Last Jedi gives us insight into his approach to the fight and how that changes over the course of the movie. He’s willing to strike powerful blows against the enemy no matter the cost to The Resistance and early in the movie, that cost is heavy. His cocksureness puts him in immediate conflict with Admiral Holdo. She wants him out of the way to make sure his brazen attitude doesn’t cost them any more than it already has. Over the course of Poe’s conflict with her over this, he ends up seeing what these superior officers need to do to make sure the spark of hope can keep shining. Oscar Isaac does a lot with this material to bring new depth to who Poe is beyond “the best pilot in The Resistance.”

Finn and Rose’s story to find someone to help the Resistance escape takes them to a planet of gambling and drinking where the rich elites of the galaxy live in the lap of luxury with the privilege of not having to acknowledge the conflict going on or worry about the possibility of The First Order’s encroaching rule. Kelly Marie Tran as Rose brings an immediately compelling new perspective to the war going on in these movies. Rose grew up on a planet that was subjugated by The First Order and she sees the hedonism on display as an extension of the cruelty that she lived under growing up. The people on that planet grew rich by war profiteering, selling weapons to both sides and then drinking the night away without a care for the consequences. Finn sees through her perspective how war creates suffering beyond the immediate casualties of battle and understanding what The Resistance means aside from “the people who fight The First Order.”

On the other side of the conflict, Kylo finds that he’s lost his favor with Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) after his defeat on Starkiller. Kylo’s getting further away from the dark master he aspires to become, and he blames Rey for it. He wants to rise above and become someone who strikes fear into everyone’s hearts the way Darth Vader did. There’s a desperation to destroy any remnants of who Ben Solo was so that he can find what he’s meant to become. While the movie let’s Adam Driver portray Kylo as a conflicted figure, especially as he explains why he’s chosen this path, it also never let’s us forget that he’s a villain and his actions are all well within his control.

Snoke’s presence in the movie is used as a marker of a constant threat, since his Star Destroyer is the main one tracking the Resistance fleet over the course of the story. He obviously serves a similar role to the Emperor in the original Star Wars trilogy as the grand master and manipulator behind the main bad guys our heroes are fighting. However, The Last Jedi finds a couple ways to subvert that archetype that’s exemplary of a motif in the movie flaunting of not letting the audience get too comfortable thinking they know exactly what’s going to happen in these new movies.

The Last Jedi plays around with audience expectations in a way that never feels like it’s trying to totally subvert what Star Wars is at its core. It starts doing this from the moment Luke takes back his lightsaber from Rey only to immediately throw it away behind him without saying a word to her. That’s early in the movie and exemplary of how the rest of it plays. The more the movie goes on, the more moments like this pile up and it’s all with a purpose. The theme of this movie is the necessity of new generations to learn from the old, but more importantly how it’s necessary to move passed that and forge something new. To paraphrase how one old character puts it, a master’s duty is to make sure the student grows beyond them. Tradition and dogma are only stepping stones to forging an identity or making a difference in life. All of this comes together especially well in some gorgeously composed final sequences, courtesy Johnson and Director of Photography Steve Yedlin.

Rian Johnson and the crew behind The Last Jedi craft a look for everything in the movie that expands what a Star Wars movie can be visually. The new creatures we meet, including the puffin-like porgs and some crystalline foxes, are well put together blends of CGI and practical effects with behaviors that breathe life into the settings where they’re found. The sets are put together to set the mood of their scenes well and serve as tableaus for some incredible moments, including the casino planet mentioned earlier, Snoke’s throne room and the planet where the final battle of the movie takes place, where bright red minerals are covered by a layer of white salt. This also allows the settings to operate as strong backdrops for some of the absolute best action sequences that have ever been in a Star Wars movie, including a stunningly choreographed lightsaber battle and what may be Luke Skywalker’s finest moment.

The Last Jedi is a movie with so much going on that how much of it holds together would be impressive under normal circumstances. That it does all of this as a means of making Star Wars feel fresh again after 40 years as one of science fiction’s most enduring cinematic franchises makes it feels like a miracle. It’s enjoyable, thematically rich, and makes it clear that this trilogy is its own story beyond the legacy of the original three movies, while still carrying that legacy with pride.

Above all else, it’s the best goodbye to Carrie Fisher we could’ve asked for.