#also going for a born vampire not turned tony

[starker-sorbet]

Tony was used to how humans reacted around him when he displayed what he was. Despite the fact supernatural creatures had lived alongside humans for centuries now instinct just couldn't be helped when it came vampires. They were predators after all. The thing is even though he's really young for a vampire (he hasn't even stopped aging yet) Tony had figured out all the reactions he would usually get. Humans were consistent creatures after all. Which is why his new roommate's reactions were so confusing. He never tried to make excuses to not be around Tony when ever he had to fed. Hell he often seemed to deliberately try and stay in their room whenever Tony went to get a blood bag from his fridge. Peter was just a conundrum to Tony. Peter's heart rate went up whenever he showed his vampiric nature, like any humans, but what else goes on with him just doesn't make sense to Tony. Pete seemed to blush at the merest hint of fang and bit his lip whenever Tony needed to use his vampiric strength. If he didn't know better he'd swear that Peter was getting aroused by him. But that wasn't right humans couldn't get over vampire being their predators. Couldn't they?

Modern fantasy au with vampire!Tony used to scaring humans meeting human peter who's attracted to him for anon

[one-chaotic-bee]

Batfam x TMA au

Bruce - Avatar of the Dark

Bruce was first marked by the Darkness when he fell into the tunnels under Wayne Manor as a child. (In canon this is when he developed a fear of bats) He doesn’t really accept the Darkness til after his parents die, after that the Darkness is the only place he’s safe from the eyes of the media. Bruce truly becomes an avatar shortly after becoming Batman though. Throughout his life he was also touched by the Desolation and the Web. (The Web tried to claim him too but the Darkness beat it to it)

Powers: His suit is literally made of shadow and he can bring shadows anywhere he goes. Lights also tend to mysteriously turn off when he’s around.

Bro is never going to be able to beat the vampire allegation now. 

Dick - Avatar of the Hunt

Dick was basically marked from the day he was born. Both because of his potential future as a talon and his never ending drive to be the best at everything he does. (I fully believe that Dick’s toxic perfectionism came from the circus not Bruce, after all, we saw what happened if even one mistake occurs during a performance) Dick would fully become an avatar after his parents died. He could already hear the Hunt calling to him before their deaths, and afterwards it was the Hunt that gave Dick the ability to break out of Juvie and the Manor to find and kill Tony Zucco. It was during this that Dick was fully turned. Throughout his life he was also touched by the Stranger. (I thought about the Flesh as well since one of its characteristics is objectification and the fear of SA probably falls under the Flesh but that felt a little to real, you can add it in if you want but it kinda feels like walking in a minefield)

Powers: He has enhanced senses, speed, stamina. He’s able to see in the dark. When he’s pissed/stressed/agitated his grows claws, fangs, and his eyes start glowing yellow. He also has a were-owl like form has only ever come out once, when he killed the Joker. (In this au he stays dead because Dick didn’t beat him to death, he ate him. The rogues have been terrified of Dick ever since.)

Barbara: Avatar of the Eye

Babs was kinda like the Gertrude Robinson of the family. Constantly around the different entities but never letting one get to her. That changed after she became Oracle. At first when she felt it she was horrified and quit being a hero to try to avoid it. But she couldn’t bring herself to abandon her second family like that and willingly became an avatar of the Eye to help them. She was also touched by the Web shortly after becoming Oracle.

Powers: She is able to see through every camera in all of Gotham and is also able to see through the eyes of the gargoyles around the city. Sometimes when all of the knowledge she’s absorbing becomes too much for her, she ducks underneath Bruce’s cape because the Darkness is only place she can get a break from the Eye.

Jason: Avatar of the Desolation

Jason wasn’t actually claimed by an entity until he died, but while in the Lazarus pit he was claimed by the Desolation. Bruce and Dick had always told him that he did not want to be an avatar, no matter how cool it might look from the outside. Jason never took their warnings seriously until he was turned himself. Now he knows how horrible it is and is horrified by the prospect of anyone else having to go through the process. When he sees Tim as Robin he makes it his mission to scare the kid away before an entity can claim him. (Little does he know that Tim had been turned long before he was ever Robin) Throughout his life Jason was also touched by the Buried and the End.

Powers: Jason burns anything he touches, the angrier he gets the hotter his skin burns. When he’s happy he’s warmer than normal but not painfully so. But when he’s angry his blood literally starts to boil in his veins as a green fire that burns in his chest heats up. Making his eyes glow green and a green glow to come from his chest and the back of his throat.

(Dick uses his body heat as an excuse to cuddle in the winter, Jason acts like he hates it but the fact that Dick’s skin isn’t melting off his bones when they touch says otherwise)

Tim: Avatar of the Lonely

Tim had only been free of the Lonely one time in his life. The day he went to Haly’s circus as child and meet Dick for the first time. After that thinking about that day was the only thing that gave him any relief from it. He was sure that if he meet Dick again it would make the Lonely go away (if only for a few minutes) and he was actually right, however by the time he really meet Dick again he has already been a full avatar of the Lonely for a few years. During his life Tim was also touched by the Eye.

Powers: Tim has the ability to trap people in a pocket dimension for as long as he wants. Time moves differently in these pocket dimensions so even though they are typically only in there for a few minutes, it feels like years. The people trapped also don’t age while in there so that they can really feel every second passing. These pocket dimensions normally take the form of a foggy open field with nothing around but it can change to be anything really, the only thing that is consistent is the fog. Tim is also able to conjure fog around him in the real world and the temperature tends to drop a few degrees when he’s around.

Steph: Avatar of the Spiral

Steph doesn’t even know when she became an avatar, though her best guess that it happened sometime after becoming Spoiler. She actually is pretty okay with the whole avatar of an unknowable horror thing and she actually kinda vibes with Micheal and Helen. Her first encounter with the Spiral though happened when she was a kid and had first run away from her father. She had saw a door that she didn’t recognize and ran in trying to hide in from her father. Instead of being afraid of the endless doors and hallways, she was just happy to be safe from her father. The Spiral basically did the ‘who is this sassy lost child’ meme before deciding that Steph was its sassy lost child. No other entities have tried to touch Steph, the Spiral wouldn’t let them.

Powers: Steph has the same powers as Micheal and Helen do, however she still looks mostly human. Lacking the knife fingers and extreme height the others have. Her body does glitch sometimes though. She can have the full avatar of the Spiral look that Micheal and Helen do but it only comes out in extreme situations, like Dick’s owl beast form. Steph, like Tim, will lock people in the Spiral for a while before letting them out.

Cass: Avatar of the Stranger

David Cain had known about the Entities before Cass was born and when she was a child he did everything in his power to make her an avatar of the Slaughter, it did not work and all of his efforts only made her the perfect person to be claimed by the Stranger. The Stranger had turned Cass in to something more resembling a life sized porcelain doll than a human. Even giving her ball joints, painted lips, and glass eyes. The Stranger had also given her a new voice box after David Cain cut her vocal cords. After becoming a bat she was also touched by the Darkness.

Powers: Cass might look like she’s made of porcelain but she is not fragile, quite the opposite actually. She’s incredibly strong and durable. And she’s able to tank a lot of damage that the others can’t. Cass is also able to change out her voice box so that she can sound like anyone she wants. The other bats always make sure that Cass has any voice box she could possibly ever need.

Damian: Avatar of the Extinction

Damian would not have become an avatar of the Extinction if his mother and grandfather hadn’t forced it on him. Both Ra’s and Talia are also avatars of the Extinction and they believed that Damian needed to be one too. If left alone he would have probably been an avatar of the Corruption, however that didn’t happen. He has also been touched by the End and the Corruption (obviously).

Powers: Unlike the others, Damian doesn’t have any powers that are useful in a fight. Instead if he concentrates on a certain species, he’s able to see what the world would look like if that species went extinct.

Duke: Avatar of the Darkness

Duke is a special case when it comes to Darkness avatars. He doesn’t hide from the light (obviously man works day shift). Instead his meta gene makes both light and dark bend to him. This makes him an incredible choice to be an avatar for the Darkness. Duke’s ability to see into other timelines had also gotten the Extinction’s attention but the Darkness suited him better. Throughout his life, Duke has also been touched by the Desolation and the Extinction.

Powers: Dukes powers don’t actually change from his canon ones, but he does get the ability to blind people.

[leslutdepointedulac]

So I don't know if this is already common knowledge or not so my bad if it is and I'm just late to the party, but I just found the coolest thing ever. I was just doing some research for one of the fics I'm doing for Valenfangs next month, and ended up finding this thing called La Commedia del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre. Long story short in the 90s a guy called Tony Sokol interviewed about 250 people all around NYC who were self-proclaimed vampires and then he turned his findings from those interviews into plays et voila the Vampyr Theatre was born. So now I'm just going down this rabbit hole and doing some digging into this theatre because you mean to tell me the Theatre des Vampires was basically a real life thing!? Also apparently Tony Sokol got the idea to interview 'real life vampires' from IWTV so that's really cool. I just think it's super interesting. I'll put a link about it in case anyone else is interested.

This is the website I was looking at, it has a ton of information.

[leam1983]

Types

I used to think that being poly meant an end to most fantasies. I thought it would mean those three or four OCs I spent using strictly as a medium to yank on my crank would be pushed in some musty corner of my subconscious, but a check-in with Walter was all I'd need to realize that fantasies are like cockroaches. You can't kill them, but they also have a role to play in your relationship's ecosystem.

We just settled into bed and I mention this to Walt, who seems nonplussed. "George Grimm isn't real and he couldn't be real, hon. Am I supposed to be jealous of a made-up guy you've pulled up AI art renders of? He's never actually touched you, never actually kissed you - and you know what I noticed?"

Walt smirks. "You're feeling guilty about it. That means you probably went at it last week, during one of the two evenings I spent at the office, and now you've got irrational guilt pangs about having cheated on me with a JPEG of a guy that could be me if I got everything tailored on Saville Row and had absolutely zero backdoor shyness in regards to your kinks."

His smirk turns into a chiding gesture. "You're being silly, you silly goose. We've sploshed - you know we're open concerning our kinks. Come on, tell me about him. Tell me about George Graham Grimm the Food Vampire."

I figure I'll do it like this, instead.

George was a solid coping mechanism in my late teens, someone who's cropped up in my dreams during a phase of my life that saw me define myself as unloveable by default. I don't remember the specifics of that particular dream, but I do remember the broad strokes.

I dreamt I was dragged to some sort of symposium by my Ph. D. of an aunt and was forced to spend four hours dipping my lips in cheap champagne while pretending like I didn't have a piteous inferiority complex. Dreams go as they're wont to do, elastic and fluid in their arrangement of Time, and I find a secluded dining room on the floor being used by the reception. Its décor is ornate, and its four massive tables are arranged in a square. In the middle of one of the sides is seated a mountain of a man, about four hundred pounds and change, and he's dressed in custom-tailored clothing that's probably cost a fortune. As obese as he is, he's the most smartly-dressed of the assembly, with a bowtie and vest combo that's so perfect you'd swear he was born with them. His thick fingers are impossibly agile, swiping things from the piles and piles of food waiting on the table and wolfing them down with a mixture of sheer abandon and meticulous precision - extended pinky finger included. He somehow never stains himself and his thick and flowing beard remains immaculate no matter how fast he goes. His utensils are barely touched, and he instead keeps going back to sucking on his fingers. He's a very vocal eater, groaning in appreciation or drowning a satisfied chuckle in an umpteenth bite. He does it all with his eyes closed and a light frown, almost as though he's got a mental map of the table's furnishings he keeps perfectly up-to-date.

Considering the amount of food that's involved, my first thought is that this is actually a buffet and this dude here's just decided he'd click on that I Will Attend link for the RSVP for the exact purpose of stuffing his face with free food. I don't remember the exact dialog in the dream, so I'll sub what was probably said with what actually makes sense in-context. Guy sounds like Tony Jay and Sydney Greenstreet made love and had a posh, congested and vaguely eerie descendant - and he stops between two bites, eyes opening to reveal two gray slivers behind his bifocals and his thick and well-groomed snowy-white eyebrows.

"Pardon the intrusion, but I don't recall the help replacing the buffet sign on this table..."

Just that is enough to prime my hind brain. This man's voice is the stuff my insecure adolescent self's dreams are made of. The snootiest Received English Pronounciation imaginable, rendered in a low and rough timbre by a guy who looks more fit to mumble than ti articulate - except everything is crisp. My flustered teenage brain thinks he's being contemptuous so I nervously blurt out a response - and he laughs.

I woke up, the first time my subconscious made George Grimm laugh. Again, it's Tony Jay and Greenstreet melded together, as if normal people had Plosive Laughing Prefixes without veering into outright guffaws, or as if your classic swell of Evil Laughter could've actually sounded congenial.

"Never you mind, dear boy - I was merely... indulging."

Over time, I'd realize George refuses to call eating what it is. He seeks repaste or regales his tastebuds, or maybe he prays to the God of Luxury, which I've always taken as being my subconscious regurgitating my brief obsession with Roman mythology. Grimm does fit the bill for some sort of modernized and expanded take on Dionysius and he did first come into being during my High School History classes on the Roman civilization.

"Go on, fix yourself a plate," he then says. "I'll hardly miss these bites you'll take."

I realize that he's serious, at that moment. He was rearing to polish off all four of these tables on his own. Something makes me want to keep my distance and to settle with clearing off a bit of table surface for my plate - and what I put in it never quite gels into something. It's like AI Art's idea of a plate of food, with chunks of unidentified meat, mounds of recursive and self-cannibalizing stringy pasta, black masses that might be meatballs or olives, it's hard to tell - and Dream Logic being what it is, I'm not fazed by this at all. My plate seems endless, but I work through it at a pace that I assume matches with my usual pace for a normal-sized meal. In the meantime, the big man's gaining speed at an impossible rate. He's slurping, gnashing, worrying, moaning and grunting his way towards my location, and I get the sense that he'll just keep getting faster if I try and slip away. So, half-convinced this just flipped into Nightmare Country, I feel the dream turn lucid as the overly-dressed organic Shop-Vac I'm seated with works his way through enough food for twelve people in a few seconds. He stops right next to me, daintily raised a tiny piece of cheese to his mouth and politely covers his mouth. If he's burped, no sound's been made.

He turns to face me and outstretches a hand that certainly has the mitt-like qualities of the appendages of particularly fatter people, but with an almost feline level of grace.

"George Graham Grimm - monster, scholar, gentleman, professor amongst others - at your service."

I take his hand. There's an instant of tension, the sense that Grimm's hunger's just shifted - and he's warm, warm like I've never felt anyone's hands being, before.

What I remember is that this was enough for my dream self to practically climb over his immense paunch and perch myself on it. His amusement and surprise immediately turns to relish, and George's kisses would be my measurement for Decent Snoggings for years, up until I met Prof - and eventually Walt. The specifics leave me, but I do know I dump everything on this posh quasi-ogre. Time dilation being what it is, George ends up being the perfect listener, as you'd assume, and he knows his voice is basically single-malt whiskey down my ears - again with weird plosive inclusions that make it so he hungrily moans or grunts at the beginning of every other sentence.

Obviously, my subconscious and my loins don't care about logical progression - we're Together, and that's it. George would crop up every now and again, typically when arousal was mixed with loneliness, and he'd call me his "dear boy" by repeating the word dear a good ten times or so.

Unsurprisingly, Younger Grem had Sugar Daddy fantasies and dreamed of a man large enough to be heavier than a loaded semi who'd take him out to walks and daintily request stops for "snacks" that would involve lifting hot dog carts à la Obelix the Gaul and tipping them into his open gullet. I understand that I spoke, in those dreams, but I don't remember anything I ever said. Even George's actual words faded, but I was left with a sense of either glowing praise or the sort of public expression of physical attraction that would normally make people ill-at-ease. Dude was horny on main the same way I was, adolescence oblige, and bowties-plus-silk-scarves affairs turned into spy thrillers as we both tried to find a sufficiently quiet and secluded space that would let us screw each other wild instead of catering to a gaggle of strangers in galas and receptions neither of us knew what to do with.

Then came Prof, and now Walt and Sarah. I started to feel guilty about an overdressed fatty that would've never left the confines of my mind - especially in regards to Walt.

The coincidence didn't escaspe me, back then. George Graham Grimm. Walter C. George. Walter's actually Grimm with the brakes on, the much more realistic idea of what it means to have a plus-sized boyfriend. The closeness isn't always welcomed on my end of things, seeing as I want to enjoy the Actual Man's emotional and intellectual availability, but my hind brain wants the Fake Man's relentless libido or his appetite. It's not that much of a problem, but it makes those occasional times that see me superimpose red paisley-patterned silk over Walter's gray gabardine feel like a dereliction I'm the only one to perceive.

I guess I needed George Grimm, back in the day. I needed a belly platform so big I could sleep over his chest without my feet touching the mattress, or the eventual internal running commentary on the various happenings in my life. I needed a guy with so much self-confidence and zest for life that he could turn morbid obesity around on a dime and make it look sexy. I do channel him on occasion, when I have to be snippier or more authoritative than I usually am. I probably needed the embryonic forms of the Loudest Fake Lover in Existence to make some inroads about my sexuality. I probably needed the imagined bedroom theatrics, Grimm gnashing his perfect teeth at me over climax, heatedly declaring that "our exquisite flesh" would "endure for aeons".

I think everyone needs or wants a concept of a certain "Forever Love", past a certain age, and it's probably natural to start out with an idea, a dream, a fantasy that's gone a little haywire in my case, that still sometimes looms over me while I'm working on our server stack, smelling of expensive cologne and of the cooked juices of something that's been expensively prepared. I don't need running commentary from Walt; he's always right around the corner!

George Graham Grimm, however - monster, scholar, gentleman, professor amongst others - hasn't really left my side for a good twenty-three years.

[lightsonparkave]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LIGHTS ON PARK AVE! WE’RE OFFICIALLY A THREE-YEAR-OLD TODDLER TODAY. Join the celebrations by submitting a work! There’s a little less than a week and a half left until Round 36 closes on August 31, and you have 161 prompts to choose from. There are no minimum work requirements or limit to how many works you can submit.

Not sure you can finish your work in time? Little messages are great presents too. What has the past year of Lights on Park Ave been like for you? Do you have a favorite prompt or round? A favorite LoPA work? Want to make a rec list of your favorites or wax poetic and show some love for a specific work and/or creator? Go for it. Let the Steve/Tony community know! The LoPA askbox is open or if you want to make your own Tumblr post or tweet, you can mention @lightsonparkave​ or tag #lightsonparkave. Whatever method you choose, I’ll make sure to share your message/post on here and Twitter.

Or maybe you’re not up to making anything this time. In that case, let’s take a walk down memory lane. Here are all 35 Lights on Park Ave works for previous rounds.

ART

Any 

Steve in a crop top and Tony in an open shirt dancing in a nightclub with their middle fingers up - @soraempty​

A WIP of old Steve and Tony, with Tony wearing a shirt with Cap’s shield on it - @soraempty​

The boys cuddling on a camping trip - @venomous-soliloquy (WIP)​​

AU 

“A Monster Rendezvous” - @jetblackfeeling​ it’s capwolf’s rut season and tony has a gift

Portraits of vampire husbands - Kota RiverRoad (@unstable-river) Anthonio was originally born as an aristocrat in Italy. Centuries later finds his future husband Stephen as a soldier on the battlefield of Waterloo, saving him from certain death. Tony being an inventor in the thriving renaissance and Steve fighting in a major historical battle. Tony got changed by a kind doctore due to his poor health and heart problems. Living a double life since then. How could their life look like nowadays?

“hot toasts and cold showers” - @jetblackfeeling​ (also on Tumblr) steve wants to get in the pants of the new tavern keeper in lowtown (pirate AU)​

MCU 

J. C. Leyendecker-inspired art of old Steve and Tony in formalwear at a gala - @pineapplebread “Will you be able to put up with me for another 56 more years?” “I am looking forward to it.”

EDIT

MCU

Two scenes from Civil War where Steve and Tony knowing each other - @meidui

FIC

616 & AU

“august in the heat” - @starvels​ A collection of ficlets for the Lights On Park Avenue round 24 prompts: featuring hurt/comfort, canon divergence and lots of pain. :)

AU

“Even If It Hurts” - @ralsbecket​​ While on a holiday vacation in Thailand, Stephanie and Tony's family are faced with the impossible.

“Our Corner of the Universe” - @mildlyholmes It's senior year, and Tony hates it here. He's still licking his wounds from his recent break-up with Pepper and would much rather hide up on the roof with a drink than join the party that's going on in his house. He doesn't expect Steve Rogers, beloved football captain and school heartthrob, to show up with just as heavy a heart. Late night talks turn into a tentative friendship that blossoms into a summer fling that is doomed to fail when they eventually go off to different colleges. Then, ten years later, they meet again at a friend's wedding for the first time since their tumultuous break-up. --- Including: rooftop conversations, a post-graduation summer fling, and learning from past mistakes as the years go by.

“for the love of renegades” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) Tony is a lonely millionaire with a drinking problem. Steve is a lonely personal trainer with anger issues. They sneak back and forth from LA to New York and somehow make it work.

“angels who sin” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) Summer air is thick and sweet, like Tony's voice pouring honey into Steve's throat, telling Steve more than he needs to know. He's here with his parents for the summer, he just finished his first year at college, he doesn't believe in God but his parents make him come to church. "They said you can help me find faith," Tony says, as mischievous as he is innocent, and Steve is as good as gone.

“Star-Crossed” - illogicalkat Tony watches the ocean. He watches the waves rolling in, cresting and crashing to the shore. He watches the surface, how it bends and curves out in the distance, how the sharks and the whales cut through it like it’s nothing while the surfers and swimmers are pummeled. He thinks about wading out into the water, he thinks about pushing deeper until his feet no longer touch the floor and just floating, letting the current take him out to sea. He thinks about how long he might float before he is returned to shore.

An excerpt from a soccer AU where Tony and Steve dislike each other instantly when Tony joins Steve’s team but eventually fall in love - @nostalgicatsea “It’ll be a fresh start,” Pepper had told him, tapping the signature line with her “special occasions only” Montblanc—as if downgrading to the U.S. from Spain was a momentous event that deserved to be celebrated—and the best and worst part of it was that she had sincerely believed it.

“all the world is only you and me” - illogicalkat Steve has trouble breathing, when the air gets this thick.

“Bonfire Promises” - Infinitywrites/@infinitywriters-blog​ As the age-old tradition goes, desired Alpha and Omega are bonded during the new moon night in a bonfire. And a Bonding in a Midsummer New moon night is considered very auspicious by the elders. The elders say the bond would last the seven lives the Alpha and Omega will have if they are soulmates. Though Steve scoffs at the story from his elders, secretly he loved the magic of being bound to one’s soulmate for all of eternity. (Or)Bonfires, Bonding and Soulmates

“Kings of Summer” - @gonetoarcadia A bonfire. The last night of summer. Confessions in the dark. Tony did always want to dance after the sun went down, and Steve wanted everything, even if it hurt.

AU/MCU

Excerpt from a post-Endgame soulmate AU where Steve wrestles with his emotions about his soul bond to Tony - @nostalgicatsea “What do you think would have happened to us after the battle if we hadn’t bonded?” You’d be dead, Steve thought. But Tony didn’t know that. Wasn’t talking about that.

This is an excerpt from a fic where Steve and Tony reunite ten years after a bad breakup and are keeping secrets from each other - @nostalgicatsea​ “You want me too, don’t you? I don’t think I was…I don’t think I’m misreading things.” Tony’s grip on Steve’s shirt was surprisingly strong as Steve finished tucking him in, preventing Steve from standing up properly.

Avengers Assemble

“Surprise Fairies” - Neverever (@captainneverever) “We’re fairies, Tony,” Steve said resignedly. Tony and Steve's Halloween takes an unexpected turn.

MCU

“Running Up That Hill” - illogicalkat Following the events of Civil War, Tony returns to New York while his husband, Steve, goes on the run.

“Tell me about despair, yours” - @ayapandagirl/Fluffypanda The dock creaks as Steve lowers himself, pulling off his socks and shoes to dip his feet in the water. It’s cold, something Steve probably should have expected in late October. 

A ficlet where Tony looks for Steve and finds out he turned into a werewolf - @ayapandagirl/Fluffypanda “Steve?” Tony asked the cold night air. “Please tell me you’re out here.” Wind whistled through the trees, bringing with it the smell of frost and decay. Tony shivered and turned his makeshift light to the animal path ahead of him. It was the only way forward.

“the rest we know” - @meidui (also on Tumblr)​ Tony's been chasing peace at his lakehouse for five years, but he knows it's over for him the moment Steve steps out of the car in that black leather jacket.

“he hung the moon” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) Steve lives on the moon now.

“i intend to end up here.” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) It’s 1945 and Steve has been assigned a K9, a German shepherd that he handpicked out of the litter.

“every card in the deck” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) Angsty things Steve and Tony have said to each other in the MCU, said again years later but happy this time.

“eyes closed forever to find you” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) It can’t all be pain, but so what if it was? The hurt always felt a little like love anyway, when it came from Steve.

“What He Didn’t Know Before” - @ayapandagirl/Fluffypanda (also on Tumblr) Steve falls in love

“your eyes look like coming home” - @arabellamonkey​/ArabellaAM (also on Tumblr) To this day, Steve still remembers his first thought —the first thing he yearned for— when he woke up in the 21st Century. He still hadn’t found out he was in the future; he hadn’t processed that what had once been his present was now the past. He hadn’t even started grappling with the alien concept that what he had never expected to live to see had become his present. Even before any of those thoughts appeared on his mind, a more simple, instinctive one had shone brightly. He just wanted to return home.

“even in my worst lies (you saw the truth in me)” - @arabellamonkey/ArabellaAM (also on Tumblr) When Tony has an accident in the middle of a battle, his teammates find out the secret he's been keeping for almost a year: he's Iron Man. The Avengers take it surprisingly well. Except for Steve, that is.

“i cannot be known (better than you know me)” - @meidui (also on Tumblr) Steve isn't as good as they say, Tony decides. He's a million and one times better.

“you cannot be known (better than i know you)” - @meidui (also on Tumblr) Steve learns a lot about Tony before he ever meets him.

MCU/TRN634 (CIVIL WARRIOR) CROSSOVER

“love and war” - @meidui​ (also on Tumblr) “Who the hell are you?” Tony demands as Steve stands up and instinctively gets between them, taking him in: Tony’s armour, but in his colours. His shield, but with Tony’s arc reactor in place of his star. “I’m from Earth-TRN634,” he says. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to stop your Civil War.”​

[raith-way]

stories i would write if i had 12% more inspiration [1/?]

Fandom: Twilight Series

Main Original Character: Antonia “Toni” Swan

Side Original Characters: Alana Santos, Gabriel Lassiter, Sara Castle

Main Pairings: Toni Swan/Jasper Hale & Bella Swan/Edward Cullen

Side Pairings: Carlisle Cullen/Charlie Swan, Esme Cullen/Tanya Denali, Alice Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen/Gabriel Lassiter, Jacob Black/Alana Santos, Sam Uley/Leah Clearwater, Paul Lahote/Sara Castle

Summary: Having her younger sister living at home is a dream come true for Toni, even if things do start to get a little stranger in her small sleepy town. She keeps running into Doctor Cullen’s kids, Bella is having nightmares and wakes up speaking riddles, and Toni isn’t a fool. She finally gets Jasper Hale into direct sunlight and has all of her theories proven as his skin changes right before her eyes. Where the sun touches his skin, unhindered by clouds or shade, there’s tendrils of smoke starting to curl through the air. Her sister’s nightmares aren’t just nightmares. This is real. Vampires are real, and everything is going to change.

Part I – Viridian this battleground is deadly but you wear blood well for one so gentle.

Bella returns to Forks, and Toni befriends Jasper Hale. Things are going great, until Bella starts having nightmares and insisting that something horrible is coming for them. Something monstrous. Balancing Bella’s warnings with her every day life gets a little tricky, but having a new friend to talk to about mundane everyday things helps. Until she starts to really listen to what her younger sister is saying. The first time she sees Jasper start to burn in the sun, just small wisps of smoke, she faints. Luckily, vampires have quick reflexes and he saves her from cracking her skull right there behind the diner while on her lunch break. Before she can fully process that Bella is apparently psychic and that Jasper is an actual vampire, there’s a ballgame like Bella dating a vampire is completely normal and then her sister is running away from home. When Toni chases after her sister, who is being chased by a real-life myth, she gets there too late to help her sister and just in time to see the destruction. Vampires save her sister’s life, but that doesn’t mean she has to like all of them. As far as she’s concerned, they’re all on thin fucking ice.

Part II – Amaranthine and this was always your nature to give light in the dark

Toni greets the summer with forgiveness in her heart, and she rekindles her friendship with Jasper. She also still insists on calling him kid, as a petty punishment for stealing off with her sister in the middle of the night. On the night of Bella’s birthday celebration disaster, she tries to comfort Jasper and then tries not to take it too personally when he rebuffs her. The next day, when he stops by the house to tell her that his whole family is leaving, she takes it very personally. That anger is put on the back burner as she searches for her sister, and she’s beyond relieved when Sam comes out of the woods with Bella in his arms. Even if her old friend won’t speak to her or even look her in the eye. With the Cullens gone, Bella’s nightmares reach new heights. This time, Toni listens to every riddled warning. Makes notes to be afraid of the color red and to not be afraid of the moonlight. Thankfully, Bella spending time with Jacob seems to help some. Jacob is the kind of solid support that her sister needs, a normal friend, until he turns out to be a werewolf. Sam and Leah, her high school friends who just stopped talking to her one day, are werewolves. There’s also a guy that keeps coming into the diner and asking after the Cullen family, which puts Toni’s teeth on edge. Then Bella takes off, again, and Toni’s world becomes red. Like the hair that flashes across her vision, the mark on the side of her throat, the matching punctures circling her dad’s wrist, the scarf wound around diner guy’s neck, the shining pendant of one of Bella’s classmates. Suddenly, it seems like no one in their sleepy little town is entirely human. Bella returns, saving one nightmare and walking into another one.

Part III – Titian to shatter when needed

Toni is no longer human, neither is her dad. With a little bit of magic and tragedy, their changing process was halted. Dhampir is what she is now, not quite human and not quite vampire, and she doesn’t have much time to adjust. Her poor dad is still trying to reconcile the whole vampire thing, with Doctor Cullen’s help, and Toni spends most of her time with Jasper while trying to understand what she’s become. Diner guy has become Gabriel and is always around, but she doesn’t care if they’re the same species because he still sets her teeth on edge. (She’s also avoiding her sister, who wants to be a vampire because she’s seen herself as a vampire for years before she ever realized her nightmares were actually visions. Toni doesn’t want to be around for Edward’s brooding when he discovers that Bella doesn’t want to be a vampire for him. Bella wants to be a vampire for Bella, which means talking her out of changing is going to be impossible.) On top of the changes, there’s an army being built and Bella is convinced that there’s going to be a fight. Toni believes her sister, she knows better than to doubt her at this point, and things get even stranger. The vampires and werewolves start working together, Sam and Leah actually start talking to her again, and her (hopefully human) best friend returns to Forks to take over her family’s funeral home. The witch that saved her life won’t glance her way, which gets awkward considering how much time teenaged Alana spends around Jacob and the wolves. Also, Jasper fought in the Civil War? She almost decks him when he mentions being in the south at the time, with plans to claim she was just testing her strength, when he tells her about joining the Union and sneaking into the south to help others escape. The history lessons are fun, almost as fun as punching werewolves in the face, but the fun doesn’t last. The fight arrives, Bella’s nightmares becoming reality once more, and her sister is still so frighteningly fragile. So human. Even Toni and Charlie are practically human next to newborn vampires, but they join the fight anyway. Anything to keep Bella safe, now that they can. The fight ends in their favor, but the fight wasn’t so black-and-white. One vampire is spared, a girl younger than even Bella, and Toni and Charlie are tasked with getting Bree to safety before the Volturi can arrive. They manage their escape, they win the day, and Toni still has to listen to Bella scream at night about the monsters coming to rip them apart.

Part IV – Sable they say that the biggest stars burn brightly and die quickly.

Bella gets engaged, and Toni takes the plunge and kisses Jasper. She’d resisted during all of their tense moments, when they were pressed close and a movie would have had them bridge the gap, and waits until a quiet moment. It’s just the two of them, talking like they always do, and she kisses him like it’s something she’s done a hundred times before. In that moment, the pain of having vampire venom halted in her veins feels almost worth it. To have this moment with her best friend. Bella gets married, Toni gets to laugh at Jacob pulling at his best-man tux, and Jasper makes it look like she knows how to dance. (If she accidentally walks into a room to see her dad crying and the good doctor tenderly wiping his tears away, it’s a secret that she’ll keep for eternity.) While her sister enjoys her honeymoon, Toni gets to learn what makes Jasper laugh and what gets him to say her name in that way that makes her knees feel like jelly. Life is finally peaceful in their quiet sleepy town, until Bella walks into the Cullen’s house with a very visible baby bump a few weeks later. Toni stays by her sister’s side, mainly to attempt to get her to change the awful baby names that she picked out, and she watches as all their alliances start to fall apart. Witches don’t trust the unknown. Werewolves don’t trust the unknown. Vampires don’t trust the unknown. The only problem is, Bella’s baby isn’t an unknown. Alice can’t see the baby, but Bella can and Toni trusts Bella. One night, Bella wakes up laughing and tells Toni that everything is going to be perfect. The baby is going to be healthy, and Bella is going to be what she was always meant to be. Again, Bella is right. Things look dire for a while, her dad can’t go more than half an hour without a panic attack, and then there’s Nessie. (Toni refuses to say the entire name. It’s either Ren or Nessie.) Bella wakes up, and their family is whole. While the others marvel at her sister’s control, Toni isn’t surprised at all. Because this is who Bella was born to be. They get moments of bliss before the nightmares start again, Bella doesn’t need sleep to suffer through nightmares, and the Volturi come for them. For Nessie. Alice. Edward. Jasper. It’s a fight, it’s always a fight, and Toni doesn’t back down. She meets other vampires, what she thinks of as real vampires with their blood red eyes, and snaps her teeth at the ones who think she’s lesser for only being half of what they are. (She believes her human half is what makes her special.) Her only solace is with Jasper, and then the fight comes. Watching lines of black cross the white snow frightens her, but Toni stands her ground next to her family and she fights. They fight, and they win.

Part V – Mazarine achilles was the sun but baby, you were always a supernova

They get to see Nessie grow up, to see their family expand, and Toni is so happy that she feels like she could burst with it. Even Jasper smiles most days, and they start their life together. He shows her all the places she dreamed of seeing and never believed would be possible, and they frequently meet up with other members of their family. Edward and Bella, in France, traveling with Nessie and Bree. Jacob and Alana, in Spain, after the kids have enjoyed their own extended honeymoon. Sam and Leah and Paul and Sara, back in Forks, keeping the quiet town safe. Esme and Tanya and Garrett and Kate, under the beautifully dark Alaskan sky. Alice and Rosalie and Emmett and Gabriel in London, laughing in the streets. Carlisle and Charlie, in Brazil, where Toni and her dad can stay in the sunlight all day long without the fear of burning. Years pass, beautiful memories and beautiful moments, and Toni cherishes Jasper’s every sigh and laugh. When Bella finds her, with tears in her glowing golden eyes, Toni knows that this is it. Bella has dreamed of the monsters that would come for them since they were little girls. They’d glimpsed the monsters, and that had been a mistake. The monsters had seen them in return, knew what to expect and had time to plan, and Toni takes her sister’s hands and promises her that this time will be different. This time, they’ll kill them all and show them what real monsters can do.

Forever Taglist: @jinxsflame @hughstheforcelou @uno-reverse-reversed @hiddenqveendom @asirensrage @ocfairygodmother @jewelswrites-ish

[starvels]

3, 6, and 9!

hi cassabee! thanks :')

from this fic-reader’s ask meme

3. one otp or mix-and-match?

mix and match! i love stevetony of course lol, but outside of s/t actually, most of my main ships have been poly ships and not single OTPs 😂 and i'm not married to only stevetony. i would love if more fics were about them being poly together! esp with like, jan or thor etc.

i think what i find compelling in pairing is actually the exploration of how characters fit together and are, as themselves.

in that vein, here's some nice historically-set assorted pairings for ya.

Blood trust by unknownlifeform

Alucard knows his traveling companions probably do not trust him fully. He is half vampire, and humans don't like to have creatures around them who could drink their blood. He isn't exactly enthusiastic of them, either. Except, it turns out he is fond of them. And they, for their part, do not mind having a dhampir around them. With everything that comes with it. Or: Alucard's developing feelings, narrated through blood and its effects on him. (Castlevania, Alucard/Sypha/Trevor)

Confidence Artists by Fahye

The grey light of Spain carries their history with it, and it's gleaming through the cracks. // Two long cons, in thirteen conversations. (Road to El Dorado, Chel/Miguel/Tulio)

counterflood by Saathi1013

Wherein Duncan Idaho is devoted to his Duke, Jessica schemes, and Leto is wary of abusing his power. Set pre-movie on Caladan, before Paul is born. (Dune, Duncan/Jessica/Leto)

and an og femslash knights for you, cass hehe

Beyond the Sea by thedevilchicken

At the ten-year tournament, Errian of Elentar is her homeland's champion. She has a reputation. There is no doubt she'll win.

There's just one problem: no one thought to tell her what winning would mean. Not for her and not for Kerra, the crown princess of Stellan.

6. favorite AU?

one of my faves is a sci fi au! i love it so much, especially when its speculative like doing a firefly au !! here's a classic stevetony that i never tire of for that, an underappreciated stevetony:

Catch a Falling Star by tsukinofaerii

When Tony was sixteen, he got to meet his hero, Captain Steve Rogers, the Empire's not-literally-golden boy from the Continuity Wars. When he was twenty-seven, the aforementioned Captain turned Pirate picked him up at the outer edges of space. It would have been a good time to appreciate the abundant nudity that came from spending too much time with space colonists, but Tony had bigger worries than even Rogers' amazing hip-to-shoulder ratio. Something was sending the star-encircling computers that power the galaxy into a tailspin, and it was going to take a lot more than luck and skill to clean the mess up.

A Timely Rescue by vorkosigan

"Sorry?" Steve said. "What did you say?"

Yes, Tony wanted to sleep with Steve. He also wanted to hold him in his arms all night, and to talk to him for hours, and to play with his hair. Love, he thought, makes you utterly ridiculous. And it hurts like a branding iron, to boot.

"Nothing at all, buddy," Tony said cheerfully. "Nothing at all."

*

Tony saves Steve's life, but if neither of them says anything about how they feel about each other, Steve will stay in Timely and Tony will fly away to gallivant among the stars, and they may never see each other again. A Firefly AU.

and an a:tla one, very found family

Big Damn Heroes by Damkianna

Katara pushes past the curtains that block off the bridge - they have got to get a new door fitted - and stops behind Toph's chair. "I take it we didn't drop out of hyperspace on purpose," she says. (Aka THE GAANG IN SPACE.)

9. rec an angst fic

here's two stevetony i enjoy for being interesting conceptually!

Your Face in Tomorrow by WhenasInSilks

You are lying on your back in a bed three thousand miles away from your home.

You are ruining your life.

What Lies Beneath by asktheravens

All Tony wants is to make amends after a thoughtless reaction leaves him in danger of losing Steve, but a mission intervenes. The Avengers travel to a laboratory in a remote part of Appalachia expecting a routine job, but an ancient evil slumbers within Old Crow Mountain that will test much more than their relationship.

(disclosure, i haven't finished this one but it's a compelling premise!)

a witcher one that deals out some good realism

Something You Somehow Haven't to Deserve by Dira Sudis (dsudis)

What good would a one-footed witcher be to anyone? (The Witcher Games, Eskel/Geralt)

thanks cass!!

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 127: 12x14

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

March 2, 2022

12x14: The Raid

Written by: Robert Berens

Directed by: John MacCarthy

Original air date: March 2, 2017

Plot Synopsis:

Mary and the British Men of Letters have a chance to take out a nest of Vampires, but the alpha-vamp turns the tables on them.

Features:

Mary’s fight with her boys, Sam playing peacemaker, the BMoL sales pitch, the Alpha Vampire, Dean being a hypocrite, the invasion of the BMoL base, the colt is back.

My Thoughts:

In terms of the British Men of Letters, this isn’t a terrible episode. The actual raid part of the episode is fun, and I think Sam gets some actually interesting characterization for once.

My real problem with the BMoL is not the concept, its major parts of the execution. We didn’t really get any explanation for Toni Bevell going rogue and torturing Sam in the first episode of this season. It’s painfully obvious that it was a plot device so that the boys wouldn’t trust the BMoL at first and it could be a point of conflict throughout the season. If there had been more to her character, some backstory that made her want to torture Sam and use trying to get intel as a cover, it would be a believable issue. As it is it just calls into question the methods of the entire organization, a question that will not be resolved as far as I remember.

They’re also setting up a moral quandary of what makes a monster monstrous that they fail to follow through on. Supernatural does this a lot, but the BMoL plot is rife with the potential for it. The main difference between the British and the American hunters is that the British exterminate and supernatural threat before it has a chance to kill, while Americans typically do it after, meaning of course that there’s a potential for people who were turned against their will to be killed even if they never would have acted on monstrous impulses. The Garths of the world and the grey areas do not exist to the British. There’s also the potential to comment on colonialism and imperialism but I’m actually glad they didn’t try because the odds of that going disastrously are very high.

The last and biggest problem I have with the BMoL plot is that Ketch is in the running for my least favourite character of all time. They spent so long trying to build him up as an imposing character (RIP Magda) and then he looks like a thumb with bad hand tattoos and he lifts his pinky up while he drinks scotch. He was born and raised in Saskatchewan, if you were curious about his accent being so generic as to barely qualify for British. It’s like they just said “posh” and then he never interrogated it any further.

I was so mad that Dean let him in so they could drink scotch. I know the man’s an alcoholic but there’s no reason on Earth he shouldn’t have slammed the door on Ketch’s fingers and looked in the basement for another bottle. It makes no sense that in an episode with all the reasons he’s pissed at the BMoL that that tactic would work to get them talking.

Notable Lines:

“We're your sons, and you've been gone. Our whole lives, you've been gone.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 6.9

IMdB Rating: 8.5

In Conclusion: This one actually isn’t that bad it just put into words all the reasons this plotline failed.

<< Previous Day  |  Next Day >>

[otterskin]

Inverted Mobius, Mr. Tesseract and The Avatar of Truth

The mystery of the weird collar has deepened, thanks to @nebulousfishgills​ - by which I mean they totally solved it.

To those just joining me, I noticed this in my previous breakdown of the Loki trailer here.

Mr. Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, has an ‘inverted suit’. His collar is an indentation in his suit, rather than going on top of it.

So, first, a scene from Endgame that I seriously did think of when we learned there was a character called ‘Mobius M. Mobius’ in Loki (played by Owen Wilson). And yet I didn’t put this together. Thanks again to nebulousfish for making me realize that these things might not be coincidences.

When Mr. Stark is inventing time travel, he asks his AI to create a depiction of a Mobius Strip, inverted.

Which gets him this:

Anyway, what is a Mobius Strip, and who is Mobius M. Mobius? (Not to be confused with Morbius the Living Vampire, though wouldn’t it be funny if he was mistaken for Mobius M. if this show gets big first?)

I am not a quantum theorist or comic book aficionado by trade, so let’s do a Wikipedia-Fu on it.

In mathematics, a Möbius strip, band, or loop (US: /ˈmoʊbiəs, ˈmeɪ-/ MOH-bee-əs, MAY-, UK: /ˈmɜːbiəs/;[1]German: [ˈmøːbi̯ʊs]), also spelled Mobius or Moebius, is a surface with only one side (when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space) and only one boundary curve. The Möbius strip is the simplest non-orientable surface.

An example of a Möbius strip can be created by taking a strip of paper and giving one end a half-twist, then joining the ends to form a loop; its boundary is a simple closed curve which can be traced by a single unknotted string. Any topological space homeomorphic to this example is also called a Möbius strip, allowing for a very wide variety of geometric realizations as surfaces with a definite size and shape. For example, any rectangle can be glued left-edge to right-edge with a reversal of orientation. Some, but not all, of these can be smoothly modeled as surfaces in Euclidean space. A closely related, but not homeomorphic, surface is the complete open Möbius band, a boundaryless surface in which the width of the strip is extended infinitely to become a Euclidean line.A half-twist clockwise gives an embedding of the Möbius strip which cannot be moved or stretched to give the half-twist counterclockwise; thus, a Möbius strip embedded in Euclidean space is a chiral object with right- or left-handedness. The Möbius strip can also be embedded by twisting the strip any odd number of times, or by knotting and twisting the strip before joining its ends.

A Möbius strip does not self-intersect but its projection in 2 dimensions does.

Uh....right. Well, that clears everything up, doesn’t it?

Let’s crib off someone else’s work. Thanks to Thomas Wong on Medium, I was able to understand this a little better.

A Möbius strip is just a strip of paper, turned and taped together. It it only has one side, so an ant walking along the strip eventually returns to where he started. If we metaphorically interpret the ant, not as returning to a point in space, but a point in time, then it alludes to time travel.

...

As previously discussed, after a measurement, the quantum mixture (half born and half never born) becomes a definite state (born or never born). Finding the “spectral decomposition” is to find all the possible energies (eigenvalues) and states. Using these, one can determine how a quantum object evolves with time.

Combining this with the metaphoric interpretation of the Möbius strip, it could be that Stark found how to make quantum objects evolve such that they revisit a point in time, hence time travel.

Okay, that’s a little easier to understand. So how does this relate to the character Mobius M. Mobius, aside from him being named after the strip and the (apparently antiquated) ideas about time travel?

Well, he was based on Marvel Comics Legend Mark Gruenwald, a guy known for his passion for the lore of the comics, which he knew in innate detail. He even wrote the Official Handbooks and whatnot. Likewise, Mr. Mobius is a stickler for detail and one of the few members of the TVA even allowed a face - although it is off the rack, as he’s one an infinite number of clones (god I love the TVA so much already, it’s heaven for a Douglas Addams fan like me).

Despite being a clone, he rose through the ranks and is nearly the top guy, serving only underneath Mr. Alternity (and I am not familiar with these comics so feel free to correct me). Mr. Alternity has almost no comics history, but is based on editor Tom Brevoort.

There are several other misters, all of them near-identical to ‘Moby’. Mr. Orobourous, Mr. Paradox, Mr. Tesseract (!) and Mr. Oburos. They are also minor characters, but let’s look at all these names.

Clearly they are named after quantum theories of some-sort or another.

Mr. Mobius: Mobius Strip Theory - the idea that, essentially, is about the shape of time itself and the theory of traveling along that shape.

Mr. Alternity : Alternative universes

Mr. Ouroboros: A divine figure representing the beginning and the end of time in an endless cycle of death and rebirth.

Mr. Oburos - I’m not sure, but I think this is a variant of Ouroboros. 

Mr. Paradox - Temporal paradox, causal loops - ex. The Grandfather Paradox

Mr. Tesseract - An object that exists in 4 dimensions. Time is often called the fourth dimension.

Obviously that last one is interesting, considering how the Tesseract will be the start of our adventure. The Cosmic Cube was renamed for the MCU, and in the comics has no relation to this minor character.

But what if it now does?

What if Tony has caused a change in the very appearance of Mr. Mobius when he inverted the Mobius Strip - literally inverting his clothing because he changed the shape of the Mobius - does that mean that these seemingly human-looking misters are in fact some sort of avatars for aspects of time itself? And if Mr. Tesseract is representative of how space and time intersect in the fourth dimension, wouldn’t a rogue god twisting space and time with the device that shares his name cause him some affect? Perhaps why the TVA noticed something was amiss to begin with.

This would be a departure from the comics, but the characters have almost no history there. They are ripe for new ideas.

Or, then again, since Loki will be working for the TVA - perhaps he’s the one who becomes ‘Mr. Tesseract’?

But continuing with that ‘Avatar of Aspects’ idea, let’s get away from this sausagefest for a second and visit my next newest favourite character -

I’m guessing she’s one of the Justices of the TVA. What gives it away? The imperious look, the giant oaken table, or the fact that I’m suddenly self-conscious when she looks at me? It’s the last one, of course. She’s a natural judge.

Of the named TVA judges, there’s :

Justice Goodwill, Justice Hope, Justice Liberty, Justice Love, Justice Might, Justice Mills, Justice Peace and Justice Truth.

Could they also possibly be avatars of their respective aspects?

If I had to guess, I’d say this is Justice Truth, as pairing up Loki with an avatar of Truth seems like it’d be a smashing good time, similar to how he was paired with Verity Willis in the comics. She might even be a composite character with Verity.

Verity’s power is detecting and seeing through all lies and illusions. I think this powerset will be given to Justice Truth, except instead of deriving it from a magic ring that she swallowed, she’d simply be the actual ‘Embodiment of Truth’ - and let’s get real here, when I said ‘Avatars of Aspects’, I was using that clunky phrase because the more obvious one - God of - is already ‘taken’. So Justice Truth may well be the ‘God of Truth’, as it were.

I think she’ll end up in something of a buddy-comedy with Loki, giving him someone to bounce off against who literally cuts through his carefully crafted veneer.

I’m reminded of a great quote from Taika Waititi when he was talking about what he wanted to do with Loki in Ragnarok:

“(He’s) someone who tries so hard to embody this idea of the tortured artist, this tortured, gothy orphan...It’s too tiring trying to be like that,” he says. “And, most humans, we get over ourselves, we get to that point where we’re like, ‘man, being a tortured artist is actually, like, a lot of work. Maybe I should just be real and present, and just be me, and I don’t have to be a tortured artist to be interesting, I can just be a f*cking weird New Zealander and that’s enough.”

...I think Taika is a living Loki, tbh, ha ha. No wonder he gets it.

Waititi, Yost, Pearson and Kyle did great work to cut through Loki’s illusions, both with dialogue and the visual allegory of his projections being dispelled by handy thrown objects, culminating in the very sweet ‘I’m here,’ scene at the end of the film. Loki seems to be much more open and expressive at the end of that film, and it seems like a weight has lifted off his shoulders.

But while this new Loki (Loki 2.0? Loki’s Show’s Loki? Loki II? Lokii? Lokii.) is shown a clip show of Ragnarok (one I previously theorized will be deliberately incomplete), that’s quite different from actually experiencing it, and he’ll be as performative as he was in Avengers and Thor 2. Instead of processing that ‘lack of presence’ as he did in Ragnarok, which came about as a result of Thor finally seeing through Loki’s illusions (guess he doesn’t fall for it anymore) as a result of their long history together, I suspect the band-aid will be torn off much more harshly by a total stranger who nonetheless simply sees through him.

Loki in general has a bad relationship with the truth (see the famous Vault Confrontation scene), and literally putting him on trial before the Truth Herself would certainly be enough to get him to switch from this phony expression:

To this one:

That’s not much of a facade there.

It’s not the same character arc as Ragnarok, but it does get us to a similar place, albeit in a darker and less healing way for Loki. I mean Lokii.

Anyhow. That’s what I got out of this thing.

[iam93percentstardust]

AU-gust Day 14: Vampire

Requested by @dr-stxrk for a Winteriron AU! Careful, there are some slightly rapey undertones in this one but not by either Bucky or Tony (Tiberius Stone’s a dick though)

Also on ao3 here

~

There are some vampires out there who gives vampires in general a bad name. Those are the kind of vampires who suck your blood without asking and wait for unsuspecting passerby in dark alleys and use their thralls not to help kittens down from trees but on their chosen victim for the night.

Bucky isn’t like that.

Bucky runs a bar for other vampires but also for the occasional willing human donor who steps foot in his taproom looking for a bit of danger to spice up their night. He likes humans; they’re his main food source and make such cool things besides that. He can’t imagine why some people think that vampires should be ruling the world. They can’t even go out in the daylight.

“Buck, we’ve got a live one,” Steve mutters to him as he passes by, another keg hoisted over his shoulder.

He follows his gaze to a couple in the corner: one Tiberius Stone, one of the worst vampires Bucky has ever had the misfortune of meeting, and one cute little human with curly brown hair and big whiskey eyes that seem oddly dulled in the low light of the bar. In the next instant, Stone crooks his finger and the human sways toward him and Bucky thinks aw fuck.

Stone’s got him under his thrall.

He’s had issues with the guy before but Stone has never been so brazen as to bring someone he’s enthralled into the bar, considering it’s no thrall stance. He finishes with the drink in front of him and heads out from behind the bar, ignoring the people calling after him. They’ll pipe down as soon as they see what he’s doing anyway.

He stops beside Stone’s table, hands on his hips. “What do you think you’re doing, Stone?” he demands.

Stone glares up at him, angry from the interruption. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting a drink.” He starts to bend his head towards the human’s neck, stopped at the last second by Nat suddenly appearing beside Bucky and baring her fangs at him. He stops and gives her a wary look. Nat, unlike most other vampires, is a turned vampire, the result of a thrall gone bad and a born vampire wanting to avoid a murder charge. She’s big on things like consent.

“Doesn’t look like that to me,” she snaps. “It looks like you couldn’t get a ‘yes’ so you made one.”

Stone sneers. ���Look at him. You telling me you wouldn’t want to take a bite out of him?”

Bucky glances at the human and is about bowled over by how pretty he is. Yes he wants to drink from him but only if those gorgeous eyes are lucid and understanding of what he’s doing to him. Being drunk from can be orgasmic under the right circumstances and Bucky wants this pretty human to feel every last bit of it.

“Not if he can’t consent to it,” he says. “You know thralls aren’t legal in this part of the city.”

“Maybe I didn’t enthrall him in this part of the city, you ever think about that?” Stone mocks.

“So then you brought him here. You see how this isn’t better, right?” Bucky asks.

“If it’s such a problem, then I can take him elsewhere,” Stone says, starting to stand, his hand on the human’s wrist.

“No!” Bucky shouts, his own hand shooting out to stop them. “You’re going to give him the choice, right here, right now about going with you.”

“But he won’t—” Stone stops and Bucky can fill in the blanks: he won’t say yes if Stone gives him the option. His lips curls in disgust and he forcibly pulls Stone out of the booth, over the table, and passes him off to Nat.

“Get him out of my sight,” he snarls. When Stone starts to protest, he snarls, fangs flashing and eyes turning red in an instant. Just because Bucky owns a bar, that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous and the Barnes are one of the oldest families out there.

Once Stone is gone, he kneels in front of the enthralled human and croons, “Sweet thing. Come on back now.”

He sees it happen slowly, the dullness leaving his eyes, the glimmer of fear as he realizes he doesn’t know where he is, and then the human is scrambling backward, pressing himself flat against the wall.

“It’s okay,” Bucky says softly. “He’s gone. You’re okay.”

He keeps up the soothing stream of words, waiting until the human’s trembling has gone down and the stink of fear isn’t so prevalent in the air to say, “Can I sit with you, honey?”

“Are you like him?” the human asks, barely audible even to Bucky’s enhanced hearing.

“I’m a vampire,” he allows, showing a little bit of fang. Interestingly, that’s not what has the human smelling scared again. So he’s not against vampires as a whole then. “But I’m not going to hurt you. I can get my own partners without needing to enthrall them, thank you very much.”

To his surprise, and relief, the human giggles and then nods, shifting over so Bucky has room to sit next to him.

“What’s your name, sweet thing?” he asks.

The human blushes and Bucky finds his eyes drawn to the pink flush on his cheeks. “Tony,” the human eventually says.

“Well Tony,” Bucky says. “I’m Bucky and I promise you, I’ll never let that vampire hurt you again."

[themarveledwriter]

By the Light of the Moon~Part 2

Story Summery: Y/n is a vampire hasn’t told anyone about herself, her family, her history. She hasn’t even told her boyfriend. What happens when her secret is revealed in a violent manner.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Vampire!Reader

Words: 3.5k

Warnings: Angst, Sadness, Sorta asshole Steve (but his hearts in the right place), Cursing.

A/N: Here is the second part! Next part should be up soon! Not beta read.

She was gone. 

Just gone.

The window completely shattered, she didn’t even slow down. 

Everyone was stunned, Bucky wasn’t sure what to do. He knew he couldn’t go after her, she ran across the walkway and out the door before Bucky could even blink. 

Steve came out of it the fastest, “FRIDAY lock down the building.” This made me swing around to look at him, furious with what he was doing. 

“Are you still trying to stop her!? She doesn’t want to be here Steve! You pushed her to the edge and now she is gone!” Bucky says while walking towards Steve, shoving him with his last word. 

“Captain Rogers, Y/n is no longer in the building.” The AI says. 

Steve turned away from Bucky, “How did she get out?” 

“She exited from the roof.” Bucky was the one to talk this time, “What? How did she exit from the roof?” “She jumped.” Klaus said before the AI. Both Bucky and Steve turn around to Klaus, “What do you mean she jumped? This building is 93 stories!” Bucky said, panicked.

Klaus smirked, “She’s an original vampire. She could jump off a cliff and be fine, in fact she has.”

This confused Bucky, “Original vampire?”

Klaus tilted his head, and the smirk fell from his lips. “She really didn’t tell you anything did she?” Resulting in Bucky shaking his head. 

“Well, is there somewhere we can sit? It is a long story.”

Steve takes the lead on this, feeling more comfortable with having a purpose. “We can go to the common room. FRIDAY call the team down there.” Steve turns to Bucky, “I think this is something everyone should know.”

~

~

~

The entire team is already in the common room by the time Bucky, Steve and Klaus get down there. 

When the elevator doors open everyone stands up, Sam being the first to talk.

“Who is this? Where is Y/n?”

Steve goes to answer but Klaus talks first, “I’m Klaus Mikaelson, Y/n is my sister. She’s gone.”

This time it’s Natasha’s turn to talk, “What do you mean she’s gone?” She says, worried for her friend. 

Klaus steps forward, taking an empty chair, but no one else sits down. 

“Well? Go on, sit. It’s a rather long story and I doubt you’ll want to stand the whole time.” Everyone slowly takes their seats, Bucky sitting next to Sam who lays a comforting hand on his shoulder. Him and Bucky may have their differences but Sam can tell when his friend is hurting. 

“Alright, lets begin.” Klaus says with a smirk.

“So, as you all learned earlier, my sister is a vampire. What you didn’t know is that she is one of the first vampires in existence, along with me and our siblings. See, my mother was a witch, a powerful witch though not as powerful as her sister. My mother was barren, and made a deal with my Aunt Dahlia to be able to have children, she just had to give her first born to Dahlia. So she gave up my sister Freya and told her husband she had died from the plague. My mother had another child named Finn before they came to the New World in the 10th century when my mother was pregnant with my brother Elijah. They settled in a village where everyone was healthy and happy, we didn’t know that they were all werewolves till later, though we lived with them peacefully for years.”

 Klaus stops at this, taking a breath before continuing. “I was born next, but I was born out of an affair between my mother and another villager. I wouldn’t know that until after I became a vampire. Kol came next, and then Rebecka. Lastly my mother fell pregnant with twins, Henrik and Y/n.” 

Sam talks before Klaus can continue, “Y/n has a twin?”

Klaus looks down with a sad expression on his face.

“Not anymore… I was incredibly close to Henrik and Y/n, closer than to anyone else in my family. They were the youngest out of all of us and I was always more protective of them.” Klaus looks up at the group. “Henrik and Y/n were only 13 at this time… After we had discovered the people who lived around us became beasts on the night of a full moon, I became curious. I had planned to sneak out and watch them transform, which was forbidden, and when Henrik found out he wanted to come as well. Of course, Y/n being his twin came too. One of the wolves lost control, mauling Henrik. Y/n almost died as well, but was able to run from the wolf that was attacking her. Henrik died that night, from my ignorance and stupidity. It was also the night our mother decided to turn us into vampires.”

Now it was Bucky’s turn to speak up, “But Y/n doesn’t look like she is 13, how old was she when she turned?”

Klaus looked at him, “Our mother performed a ritual on all of us, including Y/n, to make us stronger. She wanted to protect us. My mother's witch friend Ayana refused to do the spell, but she did make it so that Y/n would continue to age until her 18th birthday.”

“The spell made us powerful. It made us fast, strong, it gave us fangs to rival the wolves, but it also turned nature against us. The sun burned us, the neighbors that had once welcomed us into their homes could now keep us out, the flowers at the base of the tree that was used in the spell burned us and prevented compulsion,” Klaus turns to Bucky. “That’s the ‘protection’ that Y/n mentioned earlier. Do you have a bracelet or necklace that she gave you?”

Bucky was already fidgeting with the necklace Y/n had given him for their one year anniversary. It was a habit he formed after she gave it to him. A pendant with his star on it, on the back engraved in her handwriting is “You are my hero”. She said it was to remind him that his arm didn’t make him a monster. 

“Yeah, this one.” Bucky says, not letting go of the necklace.

Klaus holds out his hand, “Can I see it?” 

Bucky is hesitant, but ultimately agrees. Standing up and handing the pendant to Klaus, who’s skin starts smoking the second it touches his skin. 

“Woah, what the hell?” Bucky says, taking back the necklace. 

Klaus smirks, “Like I said, vervain burns… The only thing that can kill us is a stake made from the tree that gave us life. The white oak… Like I said, werewolf venom won’t kill original vampires. I just had no desire for my sister to be in pain until it burned out of her system. I also haven’t seen her in years, I missed her.”

“When we became vampires, Y/n was the last to turn. She was so so young and killed the person that our parents used to complete the transition. She hated herself for so long after, and has always struggled with her bloodlust… When I killed my first human not long after my transition we learned that I was part werewolf. A hybrid, but my mother suppressed my wolf side. It was only recently that I was able to unlock it, which is why I can heal a werewolf bite. A normal vampire would die from a bite without my blood.”

Steve took this time to ask Klaus, “Y/n was drinking Bucky’s blood. Is he going to turn into a vampire?” This made Klaus chuckle, “No. You would have to die with vampire blood in your system and then drink human blood to complete the transition. But vampire blood also has healing qualities, if given to a human with a fatal injury they will heal within minutes.”

Klaus stood up, “I’m going to find my sisters storage unit, is there a room I can stay in tonight?”

Tony tells him where he can stay for the night, but when he turns to leave, Bucky runs after him. 

“Wait! Are we not going to look for Y/n?”

Klaus turns around, a small smile on his face. “It’s nice to know my sister has someone who cares so strongly for her, but looking for her right now is useless. If she doesn’t want to be found, she won’t be. I just hope what happened earlier doesn’t push her over the edge. She has gotten better at controlling her bloodlust but when she’s incredibly emotional she tends to struggle. We will know by morning.” This concerned Bucky. “What happens if she loses control?”

Klaus frowns at this, “Well, she will probably kill some people. That’ll cause her to have really bad guilt. If that happens I will need your help to make sure she doesn’t flip her switch.”

“What do you mean flip her switch?

“Oh I forgot about that. Vampires have this… ability. Our emotions are heightened, if the guilt or sadness gets too bad, we can turn off our humanity. It’s like this switch that we can flip. It’s incredibly hard to get someone who’s flipped their switch to turn it back on. We can’t let Y/n do that.”

That scares Bucky, “Has she done that before?”

Klaus nods, “She was the first one to do so… I feel like I should let her tell you the whole story but basically what happened was she accidentally killed someone she cared very much about. I believe that was why she was so scared when she fed from you. That person was her main form of sustenance but they were attacked by a hunter, she was severely weakened with vervain and he was seriously injured. She couldn’t control her bloodlust and he ended up dying.” This broke Bucky’s heart. He never wanted to see Y/n in pain. 

“She couldn’t take the pain and the guilt. It was killing her. She wanted to die but couldn’t find a way. She somehow found out she could turn it all off. It took me decades to get her to turn it back on. She left a string of bodies from New Orleans to Los Angeles. When she turned it back on she had all that guilt as well. Everytime she has turned it off it has always been worse when she turns it back on.

Bucky felt more comfortable now. It helped him to have orders, a mission. While Klaus isn’t technically in charge of him, he knew Y/n better than Bucky. Bucky could do what Klaus asked, or at least try. He wouldn’t lose Y/n.

“I am going to find Y/n’s storage unit. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is by any chance?” 

Bucky knew she had a storage unit near the tower, but he had never been to it. 

“I think it’s at Manhattan Mini Storage, it’s near Hell’s Kitchen.”

Klaus nods, “Alright, I’ll be back tonight.” 

He walks onto the elevator, leaving Bucky standing in the hallway.

~ ~ ~

Bucky was sitting in your room, it was almost bare because you have been slowly sneaking your stuff into Bucky’s room. 

But it still smells like you. 

He couldn’t believe he never noticed anything. Now that he knows he realizes there were many strange things that he always ignored. 

That ring you claimed you hated but would never take off. The time you lost it and refused to leave the tower, not even going into the common room. The fact you wouldn’t go into someone’s house before being invited in. You wouldn’t even go into Bucky’s room before he told you you could. 

He always thought it was because you didn’t want to spend that much time with him, that it was too personal. You had already been spending time with each other for a few weeks prior and he thought he had crossed a line. 

Apparently not. 

~Flashback~

Bucky had just arrived at the compound after his time in Wakanda. He was a lot more confident knowing the Soldier could no longer be triggered, but he still wouldn’t be the first to approach someone. 

Y/n watched him around the compound, fascinated by the other man out of time. Her and Steve had been friends for years, and she had helped him and Sam in Romania. 

When he arrived at the compound, she was one of the only people to truly try and make him feel welcome. No one was out right rude to him, but they weren’t exactly welcoming.  Only Steve, Y/n and Nat would ask him to join them for supper or training. 

But Y/n went above and beyond for him. 

She would leave food by his door when he didn’t eat with the team. She defended him when Tony would say something.

The thing he appreciated most was the time she helped him through a panic attack.

It was when he was on trial, there was no way he would be convicted with all the Avengers behind him, but it still took a toll on his mental state. 

People were able to find his files, and after the public found out how many people he killed a lot rallied against him. Calling for the death penalty.

Tony had a party after the trial was over. Inviting all the New York socialites and having Bucky as the “guest of honor” to prove that he was one of the good guys now. But all he could hear the entire night was people saying how they couldn’t believe Tony let the man who killed his parents on the team. A monster.

He was pushed close to the edge when a drunk man started asking him all these questions and accusing him of things he never did. 

He was pushed over the edge when he started talking about his family. Claiming his ma and sisters would hate him for the monster he became. He was hyperventilating and about to lash out. Looking around for Steve or someone who could help him. 

That’s when Y/n swooped in like a guardian angel. 

The media loved Y/n, she was always helping people. Visiting children's hospitals and helping the homeless. 

Which is why they didn’t care when she threw the man across the room. 

She walked right between Bucky and the drunk man, telling him to back off. Bucky couldn’t understand much of what she was saying, he was too busy trying to not shut down, but the last thing he heard was the man call him a monster before Y/n had shoved him so hard he flew across the room. 

She had always claimed she was a mutant. That was why she was so strong and fast, why she healed faster than him or Steve. 

Next thing he knew she was leading him out of the party, arms linked. 

He was gasping for breath at this point, not really noticing she was moving him until his back hit the couch. They were in a smaller common room at the tower, used as a sort of library. Bucky knew this was Y/n’s favorite room in the tower because there were days he wouldn't see her until she emerged from the library at midnight, walking into the kitchen wrapped in a fluffy blanket looking incredibly relaxed.

Not that he was looking for you. 

“-ucky. You are okay. Match my breathing okay? You are just fine.” You were pressing his hand to her chest, her hand on top of his. 

It's the first time they touched.

Well not the first time, they’ve trained together. Brushed shoulders in passing. 

But she was purposely touching him, comforting him. 

His breathing slowed down, and he was shocked when your arms were suddenly around his shoulders.

“I’m so so sorry he said those things to you.” 

Your voice sounded watery, which made him push on your shoulders to see your face. Which made you panic. 

“I-I’m so sorry Bucky. I know you don’t like to be touched. I should have asked before I hugged you. I was just so mad that he said those things to you!” You were aggressively wiping the tears from your face. “He had no right! He doesn’t know what you went through and the fact that he was accusing you of things you never even did! I’m so-” Bucky was smiling at this point. 

“Doll, you’re rambling.”

That shut you up really quick. 

A small smile slowly appeared on your face, confusing Bucky.

“Doll? You called me doll?”

“Uh… Yeah, I guess I did.” Your smile grew larger. “And don’t feel bad for hugging me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah I… I liked it.”

“Then why did you push me away?” Y/n says, tilting her head to one side. Making Bucky think of a confused puppy.

“I heard you crying doll. You should never cry over me.” At this she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, snuggling her face into his neck. “Everyone needs someone to cry over them sometimes.”

~End Flashback~

When Bucky came out of his mind, the sun was already rising. He quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks. 

He didn’t realize so much time had passed, and couldn’t help but wonder where Y/n was. 

Was she even in New York still?

Bucky laid back, grabbing one of Y/n’s pillows and hugging it to his body, breathing deeply. 

He was dozing off, comforted by the smell of you, when FRIDAY jolted him awake.

“Sergeant Barnes, Mr. Mikaelson is back and requesting your presence in the kitchen. The rest of the Avengers are already on their way.”

Bucky jumped up quickly, needing to know if Klaus found anything, when he your favorite of his hoodies in your closet. He quickly grabs it and throws it on, comforted by the fact it smelled like you. 

He made his way down to the kitchen as fast as he could, practically running once the elevator stopped.

When he made his way into the kitchen he noticed the rest of the Avengers were already there. Klaus was standing at the island with a canvas bag sitting in front of him. 

Steve was the first to speak, “Why’d you call us all down here? Have you heard anything?” 

Klaus looks at him, and then at Bucky. “I went to my sister’s storage unit. While I was there I got a call from my sister Freya-”

Natasha cuts him off. “I thought you said your mom gave her to your aunt in the 10th century?”

Klaus smirks, “You pay attention, nice. Incredibly long story short, my aunt discovered how to practically make herself and Freya immortal by sleeping for 100 years and then living and aging for only a year.”

“Anyway, Freya called me. She said that there were some ‘animal attacks’ on the outskirts of the town. I’m going there tonight, James is coming with me.” 

Klaus started gathering the bag, but Steve puts his hand over it, stopping him. 

“Bucky isn’t going anywhere with you, how do we know we can trust you.” Bucky was about to object, but Klaus started first. His face blank.

This is my sister!” Klaus says, getting angry as he said it. 

“I would not do anything to risk her. I agree, you don’t know me and have no clue if you can trust me, but I will help my sister no matter what. I need James to help me with that.”

“Why does Bucky need t-”

Steve is suddenly pushed against the wall, Klaus baring his fangs at him. 

“He may be the only one who can keep her from losing her humanity. He is coming with me.

Steve goes to object, but Bucky stops him. “Steve, that’s my girl. I am going with him.”

“Buck-”

“Stop. You are the one that pushed her over the edge. I will not lose her”

He turns back to Klaus, who looks overly smug.

“Is there anything you need before we go?”

Klaus nods at this, “I need a cooler, and you should pack for at least a week… Maybe longer. We will also need a car.” He says, looking at Tony.

Tony speaks for the first time, telling FRIDAY to ready a car and make sure it has a cooler in it. 

“Why do you need a cooler?”

Klaus walks back over to the canvas bag on the counter, unzipping it. 

“Well, I went and collected some things from Y/n’s storage unit. Let’s just say, it’s a tad perishable.”

With that he turns the bag over, ten blood bags spilling out.

“What the hell is that!?” Clint says, “Well, I know what they are… I’m in the medbay enough to know that, but why do you have them?”

Klaus looks at him, “Take a wild guess.”

He looks at Bucky, “She’s feeding on people, we need to get her back on blood bags as soon as possible. She may not be a ripper but she is in such an emotional state that we don’t need to risk her seriously hurting someone.” He finishes with a pointed look at Steve. 

“Sir, the car is prepped.”

Klaus looks at Bucky. 

“Go pack, we have a long drive ahead of us.”

Taglist (Open):

@tranquility-or-chaos​ @21st-century-daydreamer​ @winterboobear11​ @theycallmemrsbarnes​ @notawritergettingtherethough​

[wxldchxld]

[ What is Beck's worst fear as an adult? Does her magic react to her fears and instincts or is it all purposeful? How does Beck feel about other magic users?

In our verse, where does Beck run off to from time to time when life in the Tower and the city in general gets to be too much? What is Beck's honest opinion of Nat's job? What could Nat do to make her leave, and why does Beck want to stay, aside from them being soulmates (if there is a reason at all)? ]

What is Beck's worst fear as an adult?

I’d say it’s a toss up? Beck has two major driving fears. 

The first is very straight forward and that’s that she is terrified of losing a familiar again. The pain she suffered witnessing Dawnbreaker’s death is the worst she’s ever felt, and she genuinely doesn’t believe she would survive the death of another familiar. 

The second is living her life in a cage or under anyone’s thumb. Beck spent half her life being controlled and locked up, desperately fighting to be herself while being brutally punished for it. So one day she learned to unlock doors and break binding spells, she learned to run, and in running she found freedom. It didn’t matter if that meant an empty stomach or a night out in the rain. And one of her greatest fears is having that taken away from her. 

There’s a very finite amount of time Beck will tolerate people locking her up (like I have verses where she’s been arrested for certain periods of time). But eventually she’ll lose control of herself and find a way to escape. If she can’t escape... things will get bloody. Even toward people she knows and loves.

Does her magic react to her fears and instincts or is it all purposeful?

Her magic is very emotion and intuition based, so yes, it can happen involuntary. In a dangerous situation her effort is spent restraining herself and using her magic strategically, not in mustering up the spells themselves. As a feral witch (aka an incarnation of the Earth/Nature spirit my witches come from) the power will always come, but sometimes the control doesn’t. 

I will say generally Beck is very in control of her magic in her human form. The worst you might get is like, if you startle her she might shift without thinking and then be like “oh shit sorry” or like, if you have animals around, they will naturally listen to her emotions and heed them. So you might have a trusty dog that you’ve kept for years and all the sudden he’s snapping a hand off because he is sensing her fear/anger/etc.

In other forms it is harder for Beck to control herself, therefore it’s harder for her to control her magic. And how in control she is in depends on the form. As a fox or a cougar, she can maintain the same level of control as a human, but as a horse, despite mastering the form as a little girl, she’s still very much at the mercy of her emotions. It’s kind of a running joke that you don’t jump on Beck as a horse because she will take off running, and then her magic will respond naturally, making her run impossibly fast and for way longer than a horse should. So it really depends.

How does Beck feel about other magic users?

Depends on the species and the kind of magic they’re using. Other witches are usually pretty ok with Beck, even if they aren’t the same kind of witch she comes from. From there things can get rocky. She tends to get on well with gnomes and trolls she comes across. Once she had a dalliance with a mermaid. Werewolves it really depends on the kind. Vampires are usually something she stays far away from unless they’re the sort that don’t eat people.

In like Marvel where the MCU is trying to say Wanda is an actual witch I would say Beck would be pretty ok with the premise of a witch being artificially made by an infinity stone, even if she doesn’t know what that is. But in reality she’d probably give a HARD side eye to Wanda because of the choices she’s made with that magic. Whether or not she could get past her own worries and moral qualms with mind control is---questionable.

What I will say is people like Thor or Loki in the MCU that pull that “magic is actually just like science” bullshit are not ok with Beck. Because she practices magic that is not at all like science. It cannot be wielded by anyone who learns spells or comes to an understanding of it. Witches are born or they’re made by other witches, and my magic system is VERY different from Marvel. While I’m happy to allow it to coexist with my lore system, I will not go with Marvel canon when it comes to magic because frankly it’s a mess. So I just have Beck be like “no you’re stupid and you don’t understand actual magic.”

In our verse, where does Beck run off to from time to time when life in the Tower and the city in general gets to be too much?

Ooof Nat might not love this answer. So I imagine at nights since Grani can’t/won’t be dragged into a city with her, Beck travels through the spirit realm and materializes wherever Grani is as a horse and they spend the night running around and being feral horses. It’s probably the only time she gets to really spend with him, which is a major strain on her in general because witches can’t indefinitely be away from their familiars it causes them pain. So it’s a good compromise. 

But especially while they’re living in the tower Beck will probably take long trips. Like if Nat goes somewhere undercover or something and when this happens Beck will go---anywhere? You really can’t know. She disappears into the woods or the canyons or prairies or sometimes even travels north to run along the polar ice of the arctic as a snow white bear. She’ll travel to places on the Earth the non-magical folks aren’t even aware of, places hidden from maps and outside eyes since the dawn of civilization. 

If we’re talking about like short breaks like “Jesus this place is too much and I need to breathe” she’ll probably turn into a hawk and fly out of the city to whatever wide open space and clean air she can find. Once her mother is no longer a threat (Idk if they’ll still be in the tower or not) she may go see her grandmother or Cora or visit one of her friends. Dori and Frankie both live in NYC itself, and so does Harper (they’ll probably be good friends by that time), and Jari lives just outside of NYC so like, visiting them and being with people who are like minded would really help.

What is Beck's honest opinion of Nat's job?

sdfgdsfgsdfg Don’t tell Nat but she thinks it’s dumb. She doesn’t get why anyone wants to risk their lives for mortals that don’t give 2 shits whether they live or die. She doesn’t trust SHIELD, she barely likes any of the Avengers, and she’d be very relieved and happy if Nat all told them to go fuck themselves and moved away with her to a farm in Montana. 

Like, even if someone were to be like “well by helping protect the world she’s also protecting you” Beck would just be like “I don’t think I’d care much about dying because I’d be too dead to be bothered, but I do think being forced to live every day without the woman I loved knowing she died a horrific death of self sacrifice for people I don’t think matter would rot me away on the inside so...”

What could Nat do to make her leave?

Hmmmmm. Beck’s pretty determined to stay... But like, Beck really struggles tbh. Nat isn’t great at giving her the validation she so desperately needs from a partner. And that’s because of her own trauma, so once Beck knows that she tries to be more forgiving. But it is emotionally very hard on her to not feel like Nat is as into her as she is into Nat. I don’t know if that’s enough to make her leave.

Over all I don’t think Nat would ever say something so intentionally cruel to make Beck pack her bags and go for good, but over the years if Nat never starts to open up and reciprocate the kind of affection Beck needs she may eventually leave for someone willing to give her that (which, I’m sorry, it would probably be Harper), or also a little more likely, Beck might just go feral. Which is essentially her death. Because I feel like if she felt like even her soul mate couldn’t love her that she would truly believe she had no place with people and it would be easy just to wander off into the forest and merge with the spirit she came from. Which is, essentially the death of the individual of Beck, even if technically she lives on.

Why does Beck want to stay, aside from them being soulmates (if there is a reason at all)?

But all of that is near impossible based off of what we’ve discussed and how Nat has reacted thus far. 

Nat’s big selling point is that she has no interest of taming Beck or making her behave a certain way. Her whole life has been a series of “no” and “stop” and “why can’t you just be this way.” And I think especially once Nat knows that, she will empathize personally because of all she’s been through. So while she’ll probably be like “please stop chewing up Tony’s stuff and stealing everything that isn’t nailed down” I don’t think she’s going to ever really try to like, seriously try to change Beck. 

Another thing Nat has going for her is that, believe it or not, I actually think they have a lot in common? Maybe not on the face of it, but as far as like, suffering trauma as children and feeling estranged from people/displaced. I feel like they both enjoy nature and (tho Idk for certain about Nat) traveling.

It’s going to take a lot of work and compromise for them to work, and Beck knows that. I feel like the biggest reason she stays is because she believes and wants for it to work between them.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Sunlight

For @noire-griot​ as requested for a Raffle prize! (she also made the moodboard)

Warnings: non/dubcon elements (oral, intercourse, blood, violence, death, existentialism, general misery)

This is dark! (vampire) Steve Rogers x black!Reader and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: Steve is bound to eternity, but he’d rather be bound to you.

oh the tale's the same, told before and told again,soul is born in cold and rain, oh sunlight, sunlight, sunlight.

***

Reader

You were awoken by a terrible thirst. Your dry lips crinkled like paper as they parted. You opened your eyes but darkness remained. No breath rose from your chest, no heartbeat nestled behind your ears, but you were afraid. 

The blackness settled over you like a shroud. Your tongue flicked over something sharp. A fang. And another. Was this some nightmare? Was it your awakening in the underworld? A sinister reincarnation?

Stiff, you sat up but no ache, no pang, bothered you. Nothing but that void in the back of your mind. The stitches torn and left gaping. Memories distant and unclear. What was before. What had come to be. You blinked and light sparked in your vision. A face above the single flame. The glow made you recoil.

You recognized him. A tug at the thread. His face was pale in the orange glow as he stood and neared. You looked down the bed beneath you, draped in ebony. He set the candle on the stand beside it and sat on the edge. His hand was on yours, skin alabaster and eerie against the deep tones of your flesh.

“Steve?” You whispered. The thirst scratched at your throat. “Where am I? What…”

Your voice trailed off as you pulled your hand from beneath his and touched your temples. You leaned back weakly against the headboard and hissed. The daylight broke through the murk. The memories flowed in like a dark tide.

It was bright and then it wasn’t. Just outside your window, the city filled with dust and smoke. A cacophony of destruction filled the air as the building shook, a ceiling tile fell on your desk. Another. You backed away as the ceiling tore and the beast fell through.

Your co-workers scattered like bugs unearthed from beneath an ancient stone. You stumbled back as the broken figure slumped across your desk. Your chair nearly tripped you as you angled around it. The sound of another above. Heavy footsteps before another dropped through the hole.

Red boots landed on either side of the wretched creature as it twitched. Steve Rogers ignored its death throes as he leapt down from the desk. You knew him; on occasion, you’d interviewed him. Other times, you’d run into him by chance while covering another story. America’s first Avenger was never far when trouble loomed.

“You okay?” He asked, he touched your arm as he looked you over.

“I...think?” You glanced out the window, cracked from the force of the creatures dissent. “What’s happening?”

“Just some other wordly friends come to visit the city,” He kept hold of your arm and turned you away from the rubble. “Come on, you gotta get out of here.”

“But...how many are there?”

“Not too many I can’t handle,” He assured you as he led you around desks and chairs, “But you need to get somewhere safe. They’re sending people to the subway. Likely where your friends went.” He said shortly as he stopped before the door to the stairs. Another crash sounded through the ceiling and he tore open the door. “Go on. Get going.” He let go of you and looked back as he held the door open. “I got this.”

He waited for you to step through before he turned back to the strange clicking coming from the office. The door closed and you watched him disappear through the thin window. Another bang, another rattle, followed by the sounds of a struggle. You turned and raced down the stairs as your heart beat furiously.

"I brought you here after the attack." Steve said gently as you were dragged back to the present. The endlessly umbrous present. "To help you."

You covered your eyes and bent your head forward as you tried to remember. "I don't…"

You ran through the lobby. Dust fell down from the ceiling as it threatened to topple on top of you. In the street, the sun was blotted out with smoke and the circling creatures as they wove and dove through the air.

You crept through the shrapnel and cratered pavement. You ducked behind a vacant taxi, it's front end crumpled into the side of another car. 

The shrill cry of an invader preceded them. You barely had time to move out of its path as it swooped down. It tumbled from its small flying craft but quickly regained its feet. You looked around desperately for something; anything.

You grabbed a hunk of concrete and threw it back at the creature. Its sinister spear batted away the block. You threw another and another as you backed away fearfully.

You skirted around the taxi, the trunk busted from the force of its impact. You lifted the lid and felt around. You drew away just as the spear swung towards you.

You parried the next blow with the tire iron. The metal cross lacked the reach and power of the alien's weapon. You dodged again and smacked away another strike.

You weren't fast enough for the next. Or the one after. The first slashed your thigh and was followed by a swift jab into your chest. The tire iron fell with a clang before you did. The spear squelched as it was pulled from your flesh, the blood molten as it gushed forth.

You were in shock as you sprawled amidst the rubble. Your hands folded over your wound but the blood didn't stop. You felt it in your throat, tasted it on your tongue. Your vision turned hazy and a shadow darkened your world. A figure knelt beside you as the shock swept you into unconsciousness.

You dropped your hands and looked up at Steve. You should've been dead. You touched your chest. There was nothing there. No horrible wound, no bandages, just a loose medical gown.

"How?" You quavered.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"No, thirsty," You replied.

He nodded and stood. He crossed the room into the shadows and returned to sit beside you. He uncapped the flask in his hand and handed it to you.

You drank and flinched as the thick, irony liquid coated your tongue. You pulled it away and stared at it. You should've been repulsed but as you swallowed, you longed for more. You drank again, this time deeply, until it was all gone.

"I will tell you how but you must listen." He said as he took the flask and screwed the cap back in place. “Listen first then you may ask whatever is left unanswered.”

You stared at him and gulped. You wanted more of the metallic nectar. Your body ached for it. You nodded for him to go on and crossed your arms.

"That story you wrote on me. The one I told you was...not the whole story." His blue eyes caught the candle flame as he looked around. "They didn't find me in the ice. I found them and they didn't know how to explain to the world how a man who'd last been seen in 1945 hadn't aged a day."

He rubbed his hands together and sighed.

"You know better than anyone, the public can only handle simplicity. They don't want the tedious details." He stood slowly and the mattress shifted. He began to pace as if to settle himself.

"You know my history, at least the one they wanted me to tell. Johann Schmidt, the Nazi I fought all those years ago, wasn't so easy to defeat. It was only by his own vanity that I won.

"He captured me and like the Americans, he experimented on me. A serum of his own. He wanted a super soldier too but not one with a shelf life. He wanted that vaunted philosopher's stone. And he found it, in a way, but everything has a price. A life for a life. Life for death."

He stopped at the bottom of the bed, his pale knuckles gripped the foot board.

"He found a way but I wasn't the same, neither was I the tool he wanted me to be. I was horrified as I drained the life from him, as his blood slid down my throat so easily. How I enjoyed it and longed for more."

"I don't understand," You said.

"You've heard of vampires. Hell, in my day, Bela Lugosi made them infamous." He pushed himself away from the foot of the bed and rounded to you. "The serum changed me entirely, made me a monster but I refused to be that."

He sat again on the edge of the mattress.

"I went to Howard Stark. He made my shield, you know? I trusted him. We had to keep this all in the dark, in more ways than one. He formulated a substitute for real blood, something to keep me alive, to keep me from killing.

"I get thirsty still, like you are right now, but it helps.

"But I was still stuck in the shadows. First Howard, then Tony, they worked and worked and finally figured it out. The suit helps. Protects me in the daylight. Without it, I feel myself sloughing away. I get weak. It's not like the movies where you just turn to dust, it's slow and torturous."

"No, no," Your eyelashes fluttered. You felt your chest again, no heartbeat, no rise and fall of breath. Still and startlingly silent. "You can't be... I can't…"

"I had no choice. You would've died." He brushed his hand over his hair and frowned.

"And? You should've let me." You looked down at your hands as they shook. "What have you done to me?"

"I saved you. I never... never turned anyone before but I couldn't let you die. When I found you there on the street, I just couldn't leave you there."

"Why?" Your anger flared and your stomach grew deeper. "Why didn't you leave me?"

"Because, as always, I waited too long," His long nose was limned in candlelight as he looked down, "Waited too long to tell you how I feel."

"How you feel?" You rasped. "What about me? How I feel?"

He looked up at you and for once he was less than pristine. The lines along his forehead were deeper and his eyes were duller. "You don't…?"

"I don't know," You retorted. "I don't know. I should be dead and I don't know."

You drew away from him and sidled over to the other side of the bed. You turned your back to him and stared into the shadows. The dark wasn't so deep now.

"I listened, okay?" You growled and your lip curled. A sudden heat burned along your spine. A bottomless desire. "I'm thirsty."

The bed moved as he stood and you listened to him move around. He came to you with a bottle in hand. He held it out as you avoided his gaze.

"Don't drink too much," He said. "You'll make yourself sick. Make it worse." He backed away and crept back along the foot of the bed. "The first week is the hardest."

-

Steve

Steve hadn't planned on it so soon. In fact, he hadn't yet had time to plan it. All he knew was that he wanted her. That first day they'd met, he'd felt it. Felt something. It had been a very long time since he'd know anything but apathy. Nearly a century on this planet had dulled him.

But now the city was under siege and Loki had called in the Chitauri to wreak havoc. This was his chance. He headed down the streets between cars and pedestrians as they tried to flee the attack.

"To the subways. Get underground." He called as he raced past, his shield soared through the air and cut through metal and alien tissue. "Go. Go!"

A Chitauri warrior crashed down in front of him as he caught his shield and replaced it on his back. The rotors of the flying craft it rode still whirred and it beat against the pavement still cling to the feet of its rider.

Steve untangled the board and was nearly knocked off his feet by its sudden flight. He latched on as it ascended away from the street and he shifted his weight to steer it through the air. He kept clear of other Chitauri as he soared across the city.

As he flew between buildings he thought back to that first day with her. She interviewed him at Stark Tower. She smiled as he spoke and listened intently. She ate up his lies so easily but he hadn't wanted to lie to her. He wanted her to know his truth.

He saw the Chitauri crash through the roof. Heard it plummet through beam and board. He tilted the board and let himself fall through the gaping hole left by the creature. That he landed right in front of her was chance. Maybe even fate.

She was frightened but he saw the relief as she recognized him. He jumped down in front of her and she flinched.

“You okay?” He asked, he touched her arm as he searched for injury.

“I...think?” She looked past him to the window. “What’s happening?”

“Just some other wordly friends come to visit the city,” He held onto her and guided her away from the wreckage of her desk. “Come on, you gotta get out of here.”

“But...how many are there?” She asked.

“Not too many I can’t handle,” He wove around desks and chairs as he tried to distance her from the incoming fight. “But you need to get somewhere safe. They’re sending people to the subway. Likely where your friends went.” He said as they reached the stairs. Another crash sounded through the ceiling and he opened the door. “Go on. Get going.” He let go and looked back as he held the door open. “I got this.”

She finally stepped through and he dropped the door. He turned and headed back towards his foe. From there, he could watch her.

The enemy went down easier with each body. He could smell their blood. An acrid scent, not so sweet as humans. He went to the window and broke it entirely. The glass shattered and rained down onto the streets below.

Steve got up on the ledge and dropped to the next. He scaled the building carefully as he glanced down to keep an eye on her. She was between a taxi and several other cars. A Chitauri circled her on its board.

Steve caught himself before his instincts sent him hurtling down the rest of the way. She scrambled as the creature landed close to her. She edged back around the taxi as she stared at her enemy. She pulled out a tire iron and dodged the first blow. 

He could save her. He could get to her and keep her safe.

Steve dropped down as she began to swing. He didn’t hurry. She was clumsy, afraid. She was no match for the trained extraterrestrial soldier.

He smelled the blood as the spear tore her thigh and then sank into her chest. He dropped to the ground and started running. He had only a few minutes to save her now. Truly save her.

The Chitauri never even sensed him coming. He turned its spear back on it and impaled it without a second thought. He smelled blood. Her blood. He could taste it already.

Her eyes were fading as he knelt beside her. How long had it been since he'd tasted real blood and mot that artificial shit Stark produced? His teeth felt sharper as he drew her into his lap.

He touched her hands as the blood leaked between her fingers and he reached up to taste it. He felt another stir, more than the thirst. He sucked clean his gloved fingers and pulled her close.

"Shh," He cooed as he felt her strength dwindling and he bent over her. "I can save you."

She gasped as his teeth pierced her tender throat. Her body spasmed and her bloodied hand weakly batted against the back of his head. He gulped down her delicious blood, he could barely stop himself from draining her entirely.

He parted and felt the mess as it dripped down his chin. He brought her hand up and licked it clean of her blood. He dropped it and it fell limply to the ground.

He pulled off his glove tugged up his sleeve with his teeth. He bit into his wrist and the dark blood seeped from him slowly. He angled his arm over her mouth and a few drops fell between her lips.

Her cheek twitched and her breathing turned to treacherous rattles. He massaged her neck and she swallowed and coughed. She was dying. He waited with her. It was slow and agonizing, for him as much as her.

When she was still, he lifted her and looked around. He needed to be quick. Get her out of the sun and into darkness. It would be hours before she woke. Maybe more.

-

Reader

The first day you were weak. Steve left you after you drank. You laid down and tried to sleep but there was none to be had. The candle burned down as you watched the wax roll down.

Steve returned but you didn’t answer him. You hid beneath the black silk and waited for him to leave again. He did.

The second day you wept. Like the candle, your tears fell in tremulous orbs, slowly gathering along your throat. You got up to walk around and felt terribly thin. As if your bones were hollow and your veins were filled with ash. You drank when Steve brought you another bottle but remained ever silent.

The third day was like the second and on the fourth, Steve turned on the lights. They were brighter and seared like flames. After a while, you grew used to them and he sat in the chair and watched you rise. You still wore the medical gown he’d dressed you in. It smelled of tears but not sweat.

You sat on the edge of the bed and faced him. It was hard to look at him. He’d done this to you. Brought you here. Locked you up, not that you could leave if you wanted to. Not that you could bask in the sunlight or feel its warmth on your skin.

“Tony’s making you a suit,” He said. “When it’s finished, I can take you out. You’re life isn’t over.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It would’ve been if I left you out there,” He countered. “Don’t you see that? Don’t you see what I’ve given you?”

“What you’ve given me? You mean what you’ve taken from me.” You shook your head as you gripped your knees.

“As your maker, I can feel things. Everything you feel.” He said quietly. “This hopelessness will pass but it is not worth your life.”

“What is my life when it’s nothing? Don’t you get that? I feel nothing.” You hissed. “So how can death be worse than this?”

“You cannot lie to me.” He insisted. “You do feel. Anger, despair, fear”

“Is that what I feel?” You scoffed. “Tell me about myself, maker.”

He sighed and sat forward. “I can make you feel.” He said, his blue eyes darkened. “You just have to let me.”

“You can try,” You hung your head. “Because I have and there’s nothing there.”

You heard him move. Heard the rustle of his pants, the pad of every footstep. He got to his knees before you and put his hands over yours. You bit down as he dragged his fingers along the back of your hands.

“Then I will try,” He said quietly as he lifted your hands from your knees. He set them on his shoulders and looked up at you.

He reached up to frame your face with his hands. He drew you close and an unseen force urged you to follow his touch. Unlike the cold, unlike the heat, it felt like something. It startled you.

His lips met yours but you didn’t resist. You were stunned. You hadn’t even realized what he was doing until he kissed you. And you felt more. Felt an inhuman heat radiate from his icy flesh and into you.  His lips moved against yours until you kissed him back. He pulled away and looked into your eyes.

“Did you feel it?” He asked. You only nodded as you licked your lower lip.

He crushed his lips against yours, this time hungrier. You let him in and his tongue slipped past your lips. His hands were on your knees, slowly crawling up your thighs as he pushed the gown to your waist.

You pushed on his shoulders and parted. “Steve?” You were surprised by yourself. It was as if your body wasn’t yours. As if it worked of its own volition. How could this be you?

He pushed your legs apart and kissed your neck. He dragged his teeth along the flesh as he reached around to untie the thin strap at the back. It loosened and he undid the next. You leaned back on your hands as he untied the last one and slipped the gown down your arms.

As he bared your chest, his eyes flashed. No longer blue but a deep crimson, the pupils pinpoints at the centre. You watched as he bowed his head and his mouth continued its path along your velvet skin.

He played with your round breasts, doted on the soft flesh and toyed with the sensitive buds. You groaned as the fire burst from his touch and through your veins. It was like drinking the simulated blood but better. Perhaps what it would be like to taste real blood.

He let you fall back as he got lower. As he traveled the curves and hills of your body down to the most precious of all.

You lifted your head to gaze down at him. He paused for a moment as he held your stare.  What was it that you were so upset about? All you could see, feel, or think of was him; of the pluck deep in your core.

He bent and you watched him as he tasted you. His eyes didn’t leave yours as his tongue dipped between your folds and grazed along your clit. He flicked it down and back up. You shuddered and dropped your head back to the bed.

You closed your eyes as your fingers danced along your stomach and you tickled yourself. His tongue swirled and glided along your folds and you brought your legs up to hug his head between your thighs. He slung your legs over his shoulders and delved deeper as he hummed.

Your moans piqued and you clapped your hand over your lips as the noise of your own climax surprised you. It rose so fast, so suddenly, that you could not quell the storm. You writhed around him as he clung to you, bearing through until you were mewling and shaky.

You’d never felt this way. Moments ago you felt lifeless. The world was bleak and now you were entirely alive. The shadows crept away and bloomed into colour, the light was no longer a hideous yellow but a vibrant halo around you. You felt it all.

He pulled away for a moment. You listened to him. The flutter of fabric as it fell around him, littered on the floor forgotten.

His hand brushed along your body and all at once he was leaning over you, holding himself up with his hands on either side of you. He lowered himself down onto his elbows and kissed you. He tasted like you. Sweet like your orgasm.

You kissed him back, hungry for the pleasure he’d coaxed from you. The thrill he’d so easily inspired. Your body was his now. You felt his blood and yours, blended into one. His flesh melded to yours perfectly.

He reached between you and guided himself along your pussy. He dragged his tip along your folds and pressed against your entrance. His lips left yours and slipped down to your throat. His teeth threatened to pierce as he pushed inside. You bared your own with a glorious cry and arched your back to welcome him in.

He snaked his arm under you as he sank into you. His canines pressed to your throat and you grabbed the back of his head to urge him on. He bit down and you gasped, growled at the delight of the pain. What bliss it was to feel such an ache.

His other arm came up around you and he rolled over with you atop him. He pulled his teeth away and the dark blood stained his white teeth, smeared across his dainty pink lips. He sat up and you settled in his lap. He reached his limit and you rocked your hips, once, twice, again. Each time you did, he groaned. A lust so painful it was joyful.

His hands spread across your ass and he guided you. He beamed up at you like the Madonna. He worshiped you with every tilted, a prayer in every moan. The fire coursed through you, enshrined you in its embers. You wanted more, only more, never enough.

Your eyes rolled back and you saw the light. Sunlight so sparkling, so bright, so warm it held you in awe. The birds sang and the trees smelled of spring rains. The world turned to colours, to scent of grass, to the dew of early morning. The blessed fields of eternity stretched before you.

You heard your name in a symphony. Your eyes opened and you looked down at Steve as he called to you. His hand came up to cradle your face. He dragged his thumb through your blood and spread the slickness across your lip. You tasted the savory life that seeped from your veins. That still inside of you. Newborn and ancient at once.

You grabbed his jaw and forced his chin up. You bent and bit into him. You drank from the fountain of your new life as your hips moved without thought. The sounds of your lurid ritual added to the dirge.

You let the blood drip down as you pulled away and kissed Steve. You nibbled his lip as you carried your motion. He fell back and you went with him. His voice rose as you drew him higher and the light shone on him too. You sat up as you were baptized in it, never wavering as you raced towards the beacon.

The blood gleamed black in your vision, smeared along his neck and down his chest. Your spread it with your fingertips as he spasmed beneath you and the clouds broke completely. You threw your head back as the sunlight filled you and burst from you all at once. A heat so furious, so pure and sacred, that you could not contain it.

You cried out as you came in time with him. Reached to trace a line of your own blood down your chest, to mark yourself with the symbols of your consecration. You slowed and the light flickered. It petered out until once more the darkness returned.

You opened your eyes and stared down at the mess. The crimson fingerprints, ruffled golden hair, the desecrated shrine of your devotion. You lifted your hand, the lines of your palms thickened with blood.

Steve took your hand and pressed it to his chest. You looked down at him. Hypnotized in your horror.

“I’ve given you eternity,” He dragged your fingertips to the blood that welled along the crook of his neck, “All I ask in return is you.”

[ot5ismyhome]

15. You will serve your purpose

To read from beginning click here.

Wanda entered her home; she tossed her footwear to the side and placed her bare foot on the floor. After a long day of standing and roaming around non-stop the feel of the cool floor against her feet was soothing. She turned on the lights and made her way to the sofa. She let out a shriek in shock. She saw a strange man sitting on her sofa in the middle of the room. She embraced herself as she took out a small blade from her purse.

“Hello, darling” the man said with a smile. “That won’t be necessary, I guess.” He flicked his hand and the knife disappeared.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“It was very rude of me to not introduce myself” he chuckled. “I am Loki, First Born of Jean.”

The name rang a bell in Wanda’s head. Steve had mentioned him once. He had also mentioned that Loki went hell crazy before he had to be taken down. Wanda wondered how Loki had been freed and also why would he visit her.

“All your questions will be answered later, Ms. Maximoff. Now we have important business to attend to” he said with a dark smile as if he had read her mind. The evil glint in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

Wanda tried to back away but Loki was quick. He caught her elbow and held her in place. He pressed the forefinger of his other hand to her temple.

Wanda knew this sensation. She is entering into memories. Wanda suddenly felt her mind racing through time. She saw faces she never knew existed. She felt her head throbbing and her heart beat increasing. Every vampire’s memory was pouring into her mind and her brain was processing it all in a few seconds. She had no control over her mind. Finally, the whirling stopped. The surroundings became clear. It was a long corridor in a castle. She saw Loki standing near her. They saw a man with long blond hair walking away from them. Loki followed him.

“Hello brother, it’s been so long!”

The man didn’t hear Loki. He walked into the throne room. There a woman was waiting for the man.

“Do you have it?”

He nodded and took out a book from his bag. “Keep it safe and hidden.”

“Say no more.”

The world around Wanda started disappearing. The throbbing in her head started again. She wanted it to stop but couldn’t make it. She had no control over it. Finally, it stopped and they were standing in a meadow now. The moonlight light fell on the grass giving it a grey tinge. The woman who they saw earlier was standing there, gripping the bag in her hands. She kept looking on both sides, as if looking for someone. A stout man arrived at the scene. He gave a small nod. She returned the gesture. After a short while a bald man arrived on the scene.

“I’m giving you each an object to hide. Make sure it can’t be found for centuries to come” said the woman. She took out a spectre with a dull emerald green stone in it and handed it to the stout guy. She handed a hard-bound book to the other. Without any formalities, the three left the scene. The scene around them started to disorient.

Wanda and Loki returned to Wanda’s home. Wanda had lost her consciousness by then. She swayed and about to hit the ground but Loki caught her with his magic. With a flick of his hand, he settled her over the sofa.

“Just as I thought” Loki muttered to himself. There was a smirk playing on his lips as he cast a charm around her house.

…..

Daisy arrived at Wanda’s house a few minutes after Loki left. She rang the bell expecting her friend to open the door. Seeing that there was no response, she took the extra key that Wanda had given her. She used it to enter her home. She called out to Wanda but there was no response. She went further to see her friend lying motionless on the couch. Daisy quickly checked her pulse and breathing. Both were stable. She sprinkled water on her friend to wake her up.

Wanda woke up with a headache. She felt disoriented. For a moment, she didn’t understand where she was. She checked around her to see Daisy.

“Daisy?” she inquired.

“Yeah, babe. You alright?”

“No. I don’t remember how I got here” Wanda said, looking around her again.

“Here. Have some water” said Daisy filling an empty glass with the clear liquid and extending it to Wanda.

Wanda gulped down the water. She tried her best to recollect what happened. Slowly the incident came back to her. When she fully understood the gravity of the situation, fear hit her.

“Shit” she shouted.

Daisy was slightly thrown back. “What happened?” she inquired.

“I need to talk with Steve, immediately.”

“Okay…”

“It’s sort of private. I will be back” she said as she disappeared with her phone into her room.

Wanda dialled Steve’s number. The call immediately went to voice. She swore as she looked at the time. He must have boarded the plane. She called his number again but it kept going to voicemail. Howard had gone to Wakanda and there was no way he could come back in time. Natasha and Tony are also with Steve. She then dialled Coulson’s number. He was out of reach. Dejected, she paced the room, trying to find someone. Bucky’s name crossed her mind. She hadn’t even bothered to get his number even though he had warmed up to her in the last few months. It dawned on her that she was in this alone. She was panicking not knowing what to do.

Wanda made her way back to the living room to see Daisy, puzzled, waiting for her to explain. She decided she doesn’t have to be alone. She decided to confide in Daisy.

“I want to tell you something. But please don’t panic or… maybe think I’m crazy. Okay?”

“Wanda, you are acting strange. Is everything, okay?”

“So here is the deal...” Wanda started. She told Daisy everything except Pietro’s death and her power. Daisy does know about her late brother but doesn’t know the full story. Wanda decided to keep it that way.

Daisy sat there petrified not knowing what to say for a few minutes. Her face was of utter shock and disbelief.  

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“I wish I was”

“Then let’s stop him”

“We can’t do it alone, Daisy. We need help.”

…..

Wanda answered her door to see the guy that Daisy had said about.

“Robbie, right?”

“Yeah. Robbie Reyes, Private Investigator.”

“You are developing a catch phrase,” Daisy called out from the living room.

Robbie chuckled as they moved to the living room and settled on the sofa. Ash arrived after a few minutes. She was Daisy’s roommate in college and one of her closest friends. They called Piper and Davis too but both didn’t answer the call. Wanda had a sinking feeling that Loki had to do something with it. It increased her desire to stop Loki. Daisy filled them in about everything. She intentionally left out the vampire part and changed the story a bit. She and Wanda shared a look and nodded at each other. They knew the other two wouldn’t believe if they told them the whole truth.

“How are we going to stop the guy?”

“Good old school hacking, baby” Daisy grinned. Daisy tracked down the spectre which was in possession of ‘The Collector and Grandmaster’ in Costa Rica. She proudly showed off her skill to the other three.

“Costa Rica, here we come” commented Wanda.

“Wait, how did you figure this fast?” Robbie’s eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

“I have my contacts” Daisy winked.

“By contacts, she means her own group of hackers” informed Wanda.

“You knew about them?”

“We ran a background check before you joined.”

Daisy smiled sheepishly.

“Matter at the hand, guys. The collector only meets people of high class. We need to pose as rich bitches to get a meeting with him” Wanda intervened

“We can either impersonate someone or create a false identity” offered Ash.

“Impersonating could go wrong. One simple search and we will be caught red-handed” said Robbi.

“False identity it is.” Daisy turning to her laptop. She started to create fake identity cards for four of them.

"Robbie and I will be your security escorts" Ash said “while you and Daisy are some mafia leader’ protégées”

“How did the spectre end up with the Collector?”

“Well, this man sold it to him two years ago.”

Wanda looked at Daisy’s phone to see the stout man she had seen earlier in the memories. The name Eric Koenig was written under his photo. She was wondering where she had seen him before. Seeing a modern photo, she was easily able to recognise it. The man in the memory, the man in the I.D. looked exactly like the new Head of Communications in Rogers Innovative, Sam Koenig.

*****

Chapter 16

[dontcare77ghj]

Only Human

Sam x reader x Steve x Bucky

The Avengers had seen a lot of weird things. Aliens, Tony committing to a monogamous relationship, Gods and a lot more, but the weirdest thing they’d seen yet was Sam dating you, Bucky and Steve. 

It wasn’t weird because of how many were in the relationship it was because of the species difference between the three of you. In your relationship, Sam was the only human. He liked to say he was the only normal one but he really was the only human in your relationship. 

To be fair, Steve and Bucky had once been human but you had never been human. You were born several centuries ago and had been born a phoenix. When you were 564 you met Steve and Bucky. They had been turned into vampires about six centuries ago and the three of you were excited to meet more immortals.

For a hundred years the three of you travelled and lived together. The three of you knew everything about each other and couldn’t imagine being happier than you were with each other. 

That was until you met Howard Stark. He was the first person, other than each other, you’d admitted your true nature’s to. The four of you became close friends and stayed that way even after he met his wife and eventually had a son. You and the boys became the godparents to the young Stark and looked out for him, especially when Hydra murdered his parents. 

It was a few years after Tony became Iron Man and the four of joined Fury’s Super-Secret Boy Band, when you met your fourth. Sam Wilson had joined a couple years after the New York incident and a few months after meeting the four of you went on your first date. 

Two years later the four of you were still happily together. The only problem between the four of you was when it was made clear three of you weren’t human and freaked the one human out.

It had been a long week. You, Sam and Tony had all been forced into a weeklong mission and had only been allowed one call home three days in. It had been a grueling week and the three of you couldn’t wait to get back home. 

“You know what I’m in the need of right now?” Sam asked as the three of you sat on the jet. 

“A shower.” Tony said, not looking up from his tablet. Reaching over you smacked Tony on the arm. “Ow.” He complained, looking up and rubbing his arm. 

“Don’t be rude.” You said, raising an eyebrow at him as if daring him to say anything else. 

“Thank you, angel.” Sam said, leaning over and kissing you. “What I was going to say before Tony was so rude, was I could for a stiff drink."

“See that,” Tony started, snapping his fingers. “Is why you’re my favorite of your little foursome.” He added with a smirk. 

“Rude. I helped raise you Stark.” You grumbled, narrowing your eyes at him. 

“That’s because you’re ancient.” Tony said, earning himself another whack from you. “What’s with all this violence?”

“You’re a rude bastard.” Sam said simply as you moved over to Sam and sat on his lap. “Don’t you know you’re never supposed to bring up a ladies age? Besides, my girl is eternally gorgeous.” He added, resting his head in the crook of your neck. 

“You’re so sweet, Sammie. Tony maybe you should listen to Sam more, you might learn a thing or two on how to treat a lady.” You said, kissing Sam’s cheek. Tony opened his mouth to respond but didn’t get the chance as the automated voice announced you had arrived back at base. 

“Oh thank Thor.” You groaned, standing so Sam could. “I want to sleep for a century.” You said as Sam wrapped an arm around your waist. 

“Wait, can you actually do that?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at you. “Have you ever actually slept for a century?”

“No, I’ve never slept for a century, honey.” You said with a gentle smile. “Bucky slept for six months after his arm but the best I’ve done is a week."

“Everyone can black out for a week.” Tony said, coming up behind the two of you. “It’s not that hard.” You and Sam rolled your eyes at the man as you entered the elevator and made your way up to your floor. 

“Steve? Buck? Guess who’s back.” Sam said as you entered the floor. “Anybody home?” He asked, and dropping his bag by the door as you stripped of your boots. 

“We’re here.” Steve said, walking towards you two with a large grin. “Welcome home.” He greeted, pulling Sam into a hug, kissing him, and then repeating the actions with you. 

“It’s good to be home.” You murmured, relaxing in his grip. “Is that blood on your lips?” You asked after he kissed you. 

“A little.” He said, flushing slightly. “Me and Buck got hungry.” He told you both as he led the pair of you into the kitchen. 

“Are you telling me I just tasted blood?” Sam questioned, looking slightly disgusted. “I need to brush my teeth.” He groaned. 

“Why do you need to brush your teeth?” Bucky asked, turning away from the sink. Sam turned pale at the sight of your boyfriend and you scrunched your nose at him. 

“You’re nearly a thousand years old, Buck, how are you still as messy as a newborn?” You questioned, raising an eyebrow at the brunette. 

Bucky turned sheepish as you mentioned his feeding habits. It was true that Bucky was a messy feeder, he always had been, and it was true that his current appearance supported your statement. Blood drenched the lower half of Bucky’s face and the top of his shirt, his fingers also covered in the red substance. 

“Blood’s a messy substance.” He said, wiping his face with his sleeve. “Still tastes good.”

“Guys what’s rule about blood?” Sam groaned, turning his face away from Bucky. “No blood around the humans.” He said without waiting for an answer. 

“Sorry, Sam. I forgot how squeamish you are.” Bucky chuckled, turning away from him. 

“I’m not squeamish, it’s just you don’t normally see people covered in blood with fangs protruding from their mouths.” Sam said as you moved over to Bucky and kissed him. 

“This is nothing. We’ve fucked with the two of them covered in blood and me in ash.” You told the bird. “Now, Buck why don’t you go clean up and we’ll make some food?”

“Sounds good.” Bucky said, kissing you before moving to the bathroom. Sam sat at the island and turned to face the two of you. 

“You do know I’m not kissing either of you until you brush your teeth, right?”

You were a very forgetful person. Had been for 900 years. Steve and Bucky used to joke it was as if you burnt a tiny bit of your brain away when you died but they’d stopped when they saw how worried the thought made you. 

You forgot simple things like the day, the month, important events and other small things that many others could forget. But sometimes, sometimes you forgot very important things like burning days. 

Sometimes when you were stressed or were experiencing a lot of inner turmoil your shift would be late. When your shift was late you barely ever noticed. If you couldn’t remember the date, why would you notice your shift was late?

It had been a regular day when it happened. All your boys were busy and doing things out of the tower and you had woken up late that day. You were in the shower when it began. 

The pain was immense and it came on faster than you could comprehend. One minute you’re washing your hair the next your entire body was alight and you fell to the tiled floor, dead. 

Non-Reader POV

Steve and Sam had left early to go for a run. They'd spent hours running their regular course and it was only the 7th lap, well Sam's 7th anyway, they'd decided to head back to the tower. 

"I see I've finished just in time." Bucky said as he met the two in the elevator. He embraced the two in a way of greeting and then leaned against the wall. "Let me guess laps?" 

"Yeah. Remind me why I agree to run with a vampire?" Sam puffed, sitting on the floor.

"Because you love me." Steve said teasing the human man. "What have you been doing all morning?" Steve asked Bucky. 

"Training with Nat. I swear she might as well be a vampire, the woman wakes up at the crack of dawn." Bucky told the two. 

"I wonder if she'd think of that as a compliment or not." Sam mused as the elevator door opened. 

"Y/N's awake." Steve announced as they entered their floor. "The shower's running." He added. 

"I could go for a shower." Sam said with a grin and walked in the direction of the bathroom. Steve and Bucky shared a smirk and followed their boyfriend in the direction of their girlfriend. 

The door to the bathroom was open, steam trickling into the bedroom, and Sam led the three of them into the room. 

"Doll. We're back." Steve announced as they entered the tiled room. Sam pulled back the curtain and was momentarily confused to not see his girlfriend standing in front of him. 

It was only when Bucky let out a startled noise that Sam looked down and saw his girlfriend. Blood stained the floor, though he could see no wound, ash and charged skin clung to her. 

"Shit." Bucky exclaimed, reaching around Sam to turn the shower off. Kicking himself into action, Sam leaned down and grabbed Y/N's still from off the floor. 

Steve grabbed a towel and began to clean off the burnt skin and charred remainders. 

"Fuck! Is she dead? Where's the blood coming from?" Sam asked, trying to find a wound. 

"Sammie, breath." Bucky said sternly. "This happens every month. The bloods probably from a wound that happened when she fell that's already healed. You need to calm down, you know she dies every month."

"Yeah at the start of the month not near the end." Sam says before beginning to control his breathing. "I'm good. I'm cool." He said after a couple seconds. 

"Sam's right." Steve said, cleaning the woman's face of ash. "Y/N always burns at the start of the month." 

"Not always." Bucky disagreed. "When she's stressed it gets delayed." He reminded the blonde. Steve nodded at his words and then stood. 

"Alright then, let's bring her to the bedroom, get her dressed and wait for her to wake up." He said. Sam scooped the unconscious woman up and placed her on the bed. Bucky dressed Y/N in a pair of his boxers and one of Steve's shirts before laying down in bed with her. 

When Y/N awoke it was to Sam and Bucky arguing over something or other. When the three men noticed she was awake Sam immediately began lecturing her, to her amusement as well as Steve and Bucky's. 

"You three are going to make my hair grey." Sam complained, flopping on the bed. 

Reader POV

Ever since Tony was young, he'd found it amusing that the big, tough, vampire Steve could be weakened by a pencil. 

Of course he knew a stake would do a better job but when he was younger, all he had were pencils at his disposal and he thoroughly enjoyed stabbing lightly into Steve. 

The first time he'd ever done it, you and Bucky panicked until you realized it was none lethal and simply a suing to watch Steve complain about a child and his pencils. 

As you all aged, Tony could get his hands on real stakes but simply found more amusing to stick a pencil into Steve's hand. Over time you and Bucky didn't get panicked ta the sight and simply smiled at your partner and godson. 

When Sam entered your relationship, well he hadn't ever seen it before and was rightfully terrified at the sight. If it were any other person freaking out as he had, the three of you would've laughed your assets off, but it was Sam. 

Your Sam, who thought one of his partners was going to die. The three of you had to sit him down and thoroughly explain that it was just something Tony did when he was bored and that it wouldn't kill Steve. 

Over time, he'd calmed down at the sight but still panicked slightly when he saw it. 

The entirety of the team was sitting in the main common room. No one was really doing anything, mainly just doing trivial things to pass the time and no one was really paying attention to each other. Until, 

"Ow, Tony will you quit it?" Steve demanded. You lifted your head from Bucky's shoulder and gasped at sight of seven pencils stuck in Steve's arm. 

"Tony what the fuck?" You groaned, rolling your eyes at the Stark. 

"Why do you have seven pencils on you?" Bucky asked as if it were the most important thing in this scenario. 

"Jesus Christ, Tony. Get those out of him before it actually kills him." Sam gasped, eyes growing wide at the sight. 

"He's not dying." Tony said with a pout. "Besides I'm bored." 

"Stick a knife in a dummy then." Clint suggested, looking at Steve and Tony weirdly. 

"Or one in Steve. Don't want to accidentally kill the man." Natasha added with a small smile. 

"Anyway," Sam said, giving Natasha a look. "Take them out of his arm now." Sam said firmly, narrowing his at Tony. 

"Yes Sam." Tony muttered, pouting as he pulled pencils out of Steve's arm. "You're meaner than these three sometimes." 

"That's because I am sensible unlike these three. I swear you're going to give me a heart attack one day." Sam said, giving the three of you a look. 

You and Bucky shared a smirk as you both leaned over to kiss his cheeks. 

"You love us, Sammie." You said as Sam's cheeks darkened. 

"Yeah. Yeah I do." He admitted, throwing his arms around yours and Bucky's shoulders. Steve eventually moved closer and joined hands with Sam. 

Though Sam was the only human in your little quad, and the three of you were going to turn his hair grey or give him a heart attack, the four of you were happy together. It didn't matter the species difference.

Taglist

@piper-koko-barnes-rogers @skeletoresinthebasement @hopingforbarnes @agent-barnes40 @rvgrsbrns @smilexcaptainx

Show your support. Give it a like. Leave a comment. Share with your friends and reblog. Inbox/Message me any comments, ideas, pairings, if you would like to be added to a tag list or whatever you like.

Coming soon:

Natasha x reader x Sam x Steve x Bucky

Steve x reader x Thor

Pepper x reader x Tony

Natasha x reader x Peggy x Wanda

Bruce x reader x Thor

Bucky x reader x Steve x Peggy

Wanda x reader x Natasha

[medeafive]

Blood and Stone - 22

Masterpost

"Where'd your friend go?" Tony asks, grabbing the chips. "Turned around and he was gone."

 "I don't know, I'm not his babysitter," Natasha returns, nibbling on a carrot. "Can I ask you something?"

"You mean, whether it's bad when your boyfriend finds out you're pregnant and disappears without a word?" Tony specifies, licking his fingers. "Yeah, it is."

Natasha snorts. "Fuck off, that's not what happened. Who's Lara Croft?"

Tony snorts, dropping onto the couch. "Oh, great, so you just pretend to be asleep the whole time. Do you actually eat or is that also some magic trick?"

"Answer my question, you coward," she returns, picking up cucumber slices.

Tony sighs. "Well, that's not exactly up your alley but- it was one of the last video games that came out, couple of years ago. Nobody really cared, because of vampires and all, but I think it would have fared much better otherwise. She's an archaeologist, but the cool kind, looking for hidden treasures, fighting mummies and tomb raiders- actually, that was the name of the game. Yeah, and she's animated but- she was always wearing tank tops and shorts and all."

"Oh God," Natasha remarks with amusement. "That is horrible ."

"Was just a joke," Tony defends. "Yeah, and the lady from Resident Evil fights vampires, in similar garments. You get the picture."

"Have you ever seen me in shorts ?" Natasha questions. "That's ridiculous. So you were just hitting on me while I was asleep."

"Not that asleep, apparently," Tony points out wistfully. "Nah, just pointing out the archetype, extra tough sexy badass and all. And, well, looks really cool from a distance, not sure it's as cool when you get closer."

"You were totally attracted to me when I got here," Natasha recalls. "But then you tried to set me up with your best friend and- I don't know, I never took it seriously. Also, you were with Pepper and I'm really not a homewrecker."

"So vampires are cool but taken guys aren't?" Tony prompts. "Also, if you'd let yourself be set up, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"Yep, and I'd also be either dead or a vampire right now," Natasha returns. "Doesn't that sound great."

"I think you're well on your way to being dead but Bobbi seems to disagree, so what do I know." Tony rubs his forehead. "But- Barton ?"

Natasha snorts. "You're really blowing this way out of proportion. And don't give me that shit that he's older than me, you're all older than me except for Sharon, and I already got that from the vampire."

"The fuck does he think he can tell you," Tony remarks. "When he's basically a hundred years old."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Natasha returns, picking up another carrot. "I mean, he went pretty hard to our side. A traitor of all vampirekind or whatever."

"You just enjoy making people do radical stuff, don't you?" Tony grins. "Manipulating people, having that power. Don't think Lara Croft was like that."

"Yeah, maybe stop comparing me to pixel women in shorts," she counters. "Just trying not to get killed, thank you very much."

"Hey guys." Bobbi turns the corner, yawning. "How are you? Don't listen to Tony."

"What'd I do to you?" Tony complains.

Bobbi snorts, crossing her arms. "Is he telling you you can't be a hunter? Cause that's what he used to tell me."

"Not true," Tony objects. "I said you weren't ready to be a hunter. And then you went out anyway and promptly got hurt."

Bobbi shrugs. "Learning by doing. Honestly, Pepper would have started going out much earlier if you hadn't told her it's too dangerous."

Natasha follows the exchange with amusement, nibbling on her carrot. "It is dangerous!" Tony defends. "And I built her the suit, don't act like I wasn't supporting her."

"Y'all can't deal with loss, is what I'm saying," Bobbi returns. "You only built her the suit because she was about ready to break up with you. Different kind of loss."

Tony snorts. "You know what, I really didn't miss that argument."

"You guys seem fun," Natasha throws in. "I'm good, by the way."

"Yeah, I actually came down so we could do some prenatal prep," Bobbi replies. "Because you only got two weeks."

"What the fuck is that?" Natasha asks.

Bobbi grins, gliding her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants. "Pushing and breathing. Not much more. Certain muscles you need. It's pretty awkward, though, so let's better do it downstairs or somewhere else private."

"I thought you'd just do a C-section," Tony suggests.

"Not if I can avoid it," Bobbi replies. "Not sure we have the equipment for that. Risk of infection, risk of strong bleeding, I'd rather try the vaginal route if it's possible."

"...I'm just gonna keep that joke to myself," Tony suggests.

"Thanks," Bobbi replies. "Very generous of you."

  "Tony said you were doing lady stuff," Pepper remarks, putting her helmet down. "And we want in on that."

"What, you also want prenatal prep?" Bobbi asks, spinning in her chair like she was born in it. "How was patrol? Quiet night?"

"Quite the opposite," Sharon replies, hopping onto a table. "Saw three vampires. One got away. All fledglings, they must have come in from outside town."

"Three?" Natasha repeats with worry. "We haven't seen a single one in weeks ."

"Maybe that was your friend's doing," Pepper suggests, pulling off the shoulder plates. "You should ask him. Where is he, by the way?"

"I don't know, guess he left," Natasha admits. "He'll come back sometime."

She hates how vague that sounds, but she really doesn't know. "He ran into Steve, didn't he?" Sharon suggests. "That probably scared him."

Right. Completely harmless explanation. "Oh, but this is great," Pepper remarks, brushing through her hair. "I haven't met so many friends in a long time."

"Yeah, tell me everything!" Bobbi encourages, giggling. "How are things with Tony?"

"Pretty good," Pepper replies, also leaning against the table. "Really good actually. I still have to kick him once in a while but not as often. So I'm pretty happy."

"Kicking him sounds kind of fun, though," Sharon remarks. "Am I wrong?"

Pepper snorts, crossing her legs. "Sometimes. Mostly, it's annoying."

"Still sounds better than when I left," Bobbi insists, crossing her arms. "Honestly, I wouldn't have bet on you two making it. You know, Tony being Tony. Reason enough to dump him."

"He's really improved!" Pepper returns. "Anyway. What about your new guy?"

Bobbi sighs. "Eh, he's fine. Drives me nuts. In the good ways and the bad ways. But it doesn't have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be forever, so it's fine."

Sharon shrugs. "I don't know. Dating someone you hunt with sounds like a hassle."

"Oh yeah, why not date someone you hunt?" Bobbi interrupts. "Like a vampire?"

Sharon giggles. "Oh, come on! No offense, Natasha."

"No problem," Natasha replies, even though this whole situation freaks her out. Like, what is she supposed to say? She's sitting there, stone-faced, just listening and waiting-

"That has to be really weird, though," Pepper states. "Physically weird. Just their body temperature, and everything they smell… and the fangs!"

Bobbi chuckles. "Why not ask? Hey Nat, come on, we want to hear something."

Shit. "Oh, we won't tell," Sharon promises. "Ladies' room promise."

Natasha groans, rubbing her face. "Fine. The… what was it?"

"Body temperature, fangs, weird dick, anything," Bobbi repeats. "The juicier, the better."

Natasha snorts. "His dick's perfectly normal. Though- nah, I'm not sure I wanna tell you that."

Bobbi groans. "You motherfucking tease."

"That bad?" Sharon encourages, smiling way too nicely.

Urgh, fine, she's gonna die sooner rather than later anyway. "Not bad. Just, he always has two orgasms. One with just a little bit of stimulation and then he's still hard, you know, second orgasm a while later, everything normal. But it's always two."

"Oh my God, tell me more." Bobbi swirls in her chair, crunching up her face. "But he ejaculates both times?"

What an ugly word. "Yeah, but not very much. Anyway, I think that's all the vampire stuff."

"But he's cold, isn't he?" Pepper questions.

Natasha sighs, letting her head drop back against the pillow. "Sometimes. Just, when you touch him, he gets warmer? In the beginning, it took a while but now, he's basically always warm around me, even before I touch him. And softer, too, just more human, you know? And it worked on the other black cloak, too, not just on James. I don't know."

"The fuck," Bobbi remarks. "Just around you? No one else? That's creepy."

"I don't think anyone else really touched him," Sharon throws in. "So we don't know. Maybe it's psychological, you know, because he's only attracted to her."

"Yeah, we should test that," Bobbi suggests. "Just hold his hand for a while, see what happens."

Natasha snorts. "Well, ask him. When he comes back."

There's a knock on the door and it takes them all a moment to realize it's not the door to upstairs but the one in the back. Sharon hops off the table. "Is that the room with the ice block?" Bobbi asks. "Is that where you put him?"

"Steve," Sharon replies tensely. Pepper walks to the door. "Yes."

Pepper pulls the door open. It's indeed Steve, steadied against the wall. He doesn't look good but he never really does. "Hello," Pepper starts in her professional secretary voice. "I think Sam is still asleep but maybe we can help you?"

Steve blinks at them slowly. Sharon's knuckles are white against the edge of the table. "Oh, no, I really don't want to bother you, I don't need anything, just- do you mind if I join you?"

"Oh, sure thing." Bobbi gets up and pushes her chair towards him. "Here, sit down. No need to exhaust yourself."

Steve drops heavily into the chair. "Thank you. Uh, you're… you're not Sharon, are you?"

"Nope," Bobbi replies cheerfully, pointing to her right. "That's Sharon. That's Natasha, that's Pepper and I'm Bobbi. You're Steve."

Steve smiles as soon as he sees Sharon. "Oh, hey. I saw you- I don't know how long ago that was. Maybe a few days?"

Yeah, and he talked to Natasha yesterday but maybe he already forgot that. "Hey," Sharon blurts out. "I'm- Grandma is- I'm Peggy's granddaughter. She's my grandma."

Steve just blinks for a while. "I'm sorry, I'm still- oh, the- Peggy? Peggy Carter? From Britain?"

"Yes!" Sharon exclaims. "Sorry. Well, after the war, she got married and had my mom and- well, my mom had me and here we are, I guess."

Steve smiles again. "Oh, I see the- the resemblance now. Is she- How is she?"

Sharon giggles. "Oh, good. I mean, she's getting old but still holding on as always, you know her. I haven't seen her in a while, though, travel is very difficult."

"Oh, I absolutely remember that," Steve replies. "She was so determined and disciplined and smart, of course- oh, but she has to be very old now, the- what year is it again?"

"She's 78," Sharon says. "It's 1999. December 1999."

"Wow." Steve rubs his swollen red face. "That- I won't get used to that anytime soon."

Bobbi chuckles. "Uh, should we let y'all work that out alone or…?"

Steve turns. "Sorry, Ma'am. Are- You sound Southern."

"Georgia," Bobbi confirms. "But I'm not related to anyone. And I don't live here anymore, normally. Transferred to Florence, Italy."

"Oh, and I talked to you- was that yesterday?" Steve turns to her lying on the bed. "Was- It was Natasha, wasn't it?"

"Yep," Natasha replies. "Still very visibly pregnant, so I guess you won't confuse me."

Steve blushes, remembering. "Right. Is- is Bucky here?"

"No, he left," Natasha tells him. "Guess he needed some space, after running into you."

Steve groans. "Right, sorry. Does- wait, he would remember Peggy, too, wouldn't he?"

"James doesn't remember shit," Natasha returns. "Sorry. Not Peggy, not you, not anything before he turned into a vampire. Maybe it'll come back slowly but not right now."

"That's- unfortunate." Steve sighs. "That's probably why he- well, I guess he doesn't want to see me then."

"Natasha is a little harsh," Sharon admonishes. "I'm sure he'll remember eventually and it'll all work out."

"Yeah, after the vampire baby bullshit, nothing surprises me anymore," Bobbi remarks.

Steve blushes again. "Uh, so- what are you guys doing here? You're not from here, are you?"

"Oh, I'm Czech," Pepper replies. "Little village in Southern Bohemia, near the Austrian border. Came to Prague to get a job, ended up at this American company that was just getting started over here- with a really, let's say, eccentric boss- yes, and then the vampires. Let's say it really didn't go the way I planned."

"I'm Russian," Natasha adds. "Or I was."

"British American," Sharon states.

"But-" Steve coughs. "Pepper?"

"Oh, that's not my actual name," Pepper replies. "It's Jindřiška. But none of you can say that, so Tony called me Pepper and that stuck."

"And Tony is the-" Steve prompts.

"You saw him already, he was working on James' arm yesterday," Natasha remarks.

"He used to be my boss," Pepper explains. "He's sort of an engineer, an inventor. His company, the one he inherited from his father, used to produce weapons but he's moved it to energy production, reactors and the like, all of it renewable. Though it feels like he really worked on everything at some point, just like Bruce."

Steve rubs his temples. "Oh man. Who is Bruce again?"

"Our resident doctor," Bobbi replies. "He's brilliant, really. Fury recruited him. He used to study biochemistry somewhere in Sweden but when you break your arm, he'll fix that, too."

"Bobbi is a doctor, too," Pepper points out.

"Yeah, different kind, though." Bobbi shakes her head. "I got a medical degree, too, but I specialize in women's health. That's actually how I got here, because I volunteered in the early nineties when they didn't have enough experts in that around here, a lot of them had emigrated. Well, the thing is, babies tend to get born in the middle of the night, so I had to make spontaneous visits while the vampires are out in the streets. Clint started to accompany me, to convoy me so I could do my job without getting killed and… yeah, I wanted to be a hunter, too. So now I'm both."

"People really have a lot less babies now," Sharon remarks. "Not the world you want your child to grow up in."

Steve coughs, swallows. "Right. Uh, so… what did you do, before, Sharon?"

"Nothing," Sharon replies, smiling. "Just finished school. I've always been a hunter."

"Oh yeah," Natasha agrees. "Me too."

"Oh, but Natasha is probably the best tracker in the world," Sharon points out. "Really. She's been doing this longer than any of us."

How she wishes she hadn't. Maybe then she wouldn't be so tired from it. Steve looks confused once more. "What's a tracker?"

"That's a kind of hunter, someone who's very good at finding vampires," Sharon explains. "In the early days, they traveled, following specific vampires and hunting them down, but these days, there are just too bloody many. It's still useful, though, on patrols. I'm a tracker, too."

"Well, I think now we've got everyone," Pepper remarks. "Except for Clint, he's the one with the bow-"

"The- sorry for interrupting," Steve interjects. "With the bow ?"

Bobbi snorts. "Yeah, the bow. Gotta say, it's efficient because you only need to make the tip of the arrow out of silver, instead of the whole knife. But mostly, he just likes to be special or he'd use a gun. Oh, we used to date, if you didn't notice already."

"And Fury, of course," Pepper adds. "Fury is- well, Fury. You'll know when you see him. Rumor is he was a CIA agent stationed somewhere in the Eastern Bloc, and he just stayed around after. And this is not the first station he's run. But really, we don't know, he's not one to share."

"Could you- tell me about Sam, too?" Steve asks.

"His parents were from Angola," Bobbi tells him. "He came here very young. His dad was- was it agriculture? I don't know, he was some technical expert. They came here as refugees, from the civil war, and his father went through East Berlin to West Berlin to the US, trying to get a green card there. Of course, that took years, so Sam mostly grew up here. Yeah, and then he moved to the US, joined the Airforce, all that. Came back when vampires were starting to become a thing here."

"Oh yes, he said it- there are more here?" Steve states tentatively. "Vampires, I mean."

"Yeah, it started in Russia," Natasha remarks. "And you can thank your buddy for that."

Bobbi snaps around. "Wait, what?!"

"He told me," Natasha admits. "Schmidt sent him and he bit four people in Moscow, four in Saint Petersburg. Eight in total. There were others sent to other countries but those were the first ones."

"That motherfucker. " Bobbi snorts, crossing her arms. "I'm definitely not holding his hand anymore."

Steve blushes. "Uh, were you going to…?"

"Oh, we thought about doing an experiment," Sharon explains. "We were talking about that, actually, before- Well, vampires are usually cold, you know? But Natasha said her friend's not cold when she touches him, so… we just wanted to find out how that works."

Steve blushes even more, probably every time he's reminded his old buddy-new vampire knocked her up. "Oh. Didn't think about that."

"Only eight people?" Pepper repeats. "Really?"

"He thought that was enough," Natasha replies. "And boy it was."

"Wait, just so I get that right," Steve interjects. "Bucky caused a global vampire epidemic?"

Well, calling him Bucky really doesn't help. "Pretty much. He didn't know much about the others. I should mention there's some form of mind control involved, from a vampire to the vampire that bit them, though not in every case. Schmidt bit all of the black cloaks, so…"

"Mind control, too?" Bobbi snorts. "Oh, fuck that. That's bullshit."

All that cursing doesn't appear to be good for Steve, blushing and coughing. "But we don't really know how that works either, do we?" Sharon adds.

Natasha shakes her head. "Well, that's going to be an issue if Schmidt shows up."

"Uh, why would Schmidt- he's the Nazi vampire, right?" Steve asks. "Why would he show up? And what are black cloaks?"

Bobbi groans, rolling her head. "Oh man, we're going to be here for a long time, aren't we?"

  They don't get a lot further until Steve is so overwhelmed and tired he goes straight back to bed. Natasha eats a huge amount of pasta and then falls asleep quickly. She's always so hungry and so tired now, though it got better with the vampire blood. She wakes when someone sits down on her bed. It's dark. She blinks. Oh, right. The warm stone touches her shoulder. She yawns. "Oh, you're back."

He sighs. "Yeah. Sorry I ran. It wasn't about you."

"He was here," she remarks. "Earlier today. And man, you really have to explain that guy everything ."

He chuckles, rubbing his ear. "Yeah. I don't know, I'll figure it out. I mean, I'll have to, whether I want it or not."

"You'll figure it out," she agrees. "And you don't have to become best friends with him at all, just clear the air a little."

He shrugs. "Somehow, yeah. And… I'm sorry, I'm sure you didn't want that reaction from me, about the pregnancy. You must have hoped I would be happier about it."

She sighs. "I don't know. There's no right way to feel about this. I didn't expect you to cheer for something that was really bad for my health."

He takes her hand and rubs it. "You smell better, by the way. Less dead, more vampire. I- I can't smell the baby, I think."

"Maybe that's part of the vampire smell," she suggests. "Look, I thought about what you said, that you can't really do this, and- it's okay. I still want to have it. You're enough as you are. Just love me, and support me. That's all I need."

He smiles, golden streaks flashing in the dark. "Always. I will try to look forward to it, then."

She snorts, placing his hand on her rounded belly. "Oh, yes. I also look forward to when this is over."