#intro post incoming hopefully! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Epilogue: His Forever

Intro: Part of the journey is the end…

Warnings: “Language!” Smut (NSFW, 18+) Descriptions of childbirth, slight angst and drama... Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So here it is, the Epilogue to SSB. I’m tearing up as I post this, my babies sure have come a LONG way since that first meeting in that little boxing gym. I’m all kinds of emotional and I can’t thank you all enough for reading, re-blogging, commenting, and for loving Katie as much as I do.

And to @angrybirdcr…you are AMAZING. Coming on this ride with me, doing all these wonderful edits, I simply love you!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 61

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

May 2024

There were various ways in which Katie was used to being woken in the mornings. Sometimes it was by a kiss from Steve along with a fresh coffee when he returned from a run. On others, she woke up because she was just too damned hot due to Steve being tangled around her like a koala, years of sleeping together hadn’t changed him in that respect. He was needy. Very needy. Some mornings it was down to a cheeky four year old crawling under the covers from the foot of the bed, settling in between his parents for a morning snuggle, Lucky often padding behind him. And then there were the times she was woken in a way which was most certainly not child friendly, in any way, shape or form.

Which was the way she found herself waking that sunny Tuesday morning, whilst the first light broke outside their Brooklyn home. She was barely aware of a pair of soft lips gently kissing her neck forming an exquisite contrast to the delectable scratching of a beard against her skin, a strong yet ever so gentle hand trailing across her now huge baby bump and up her side and curve of her hip in a way that made her shudder in anticipation.

Unable to stop herself, she made a sleepy noise in her throat and the owner of said lips and beard smirked against the crook of her shoulder as a hand slid between her legs and caressed the inside of her thigh. Still half asleep, she let out a soft sigh, moving her legs slightly, spreading them wider. She blinked and rolled her head to glance over her shoulder to be met with a pair of bright, blue eyes that were shining with mischief.

“Good Morning.” Steve’s voice was thick with sleep and an unmistakable deep sliver of desire, his short hair tousled slightly where he’d been led on it.

“Yeah, it looks that way.” She grinned biting her lip, as his hand moved back up over her stomach. “What happened to sleeping in?” “It’s gone nine, Doll.” he murmured, his lips gently sucking on the spot behind her ear. “You’ve been asleep for nearly twelve hours.” “Not my fault.” Katie closed her eyes and rolled her head to the side as his teeth nipped at her skin. “At least I can sleep this time round.”

Steve let out a chuckle as his hand continued his journey upwards underneath the shirt she was wearing. Much to his relief (for the sake of both their sanity) Katie had found this pregnancy a lot easier than the last one, something she continually insisted was down to her carrying a girl and not an awkward mini-Steve.

She still had her cravings. The food this time being strawberries (in any shape be it fresh, dried, flavoured ice cream, flavoured milk) and sex (which Steve was more than happy to help out with) but all in all the sickness had dissipated by twenty weeks, she managed to sleep better and she felt better, he could tell. She wasn’t half as cranky or emotional as she had been last time and had actually enjoyed being pregnant, confessing to Steve that she was actually going to miss it when their little girl arrived, and it had shown. She was positively glowing.

The day they’d found out they were expecting a daughter, Steve’s entire face had lit up with a smile as large as his heart as he’d choked up that his secret wish had come true, a little princess that would hopefully look just like her momma, with her famous sass and tenacity that he loved beyond belief. And the fact that his wife was there, nurturing and growing his baby once more, seeing the changes to her body again, had made him constantly horny on the low.

And this morning was no exception.

“Not going running?” Katie asked as his lips continued their assault on her neck.

“Its my day off.” He muttered, as if that explained it, whilst his arm pulled her back further into his chest and she could feel his hardness pressing into her back. Katie deliberately pushed back into him, causing him to hiss through his teeth and his hand found her tender breast and gave a soft squeeze, his finger barely brushing over the nipple but it was enough to send a hotwire straight to her groan, causing her to moan loudly.

“Shhh!” He grinned, using the hand of his right arm that was currently situated underneath her neck to gently tip her head round towards him, capturing her lips in a deep kiss. “God I love you.” He muttered against her lips, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I love you too.” She sighed, as his hand slid back down her body and worked into her sleep shorts. She gave a hiss, senses heightened as Steve hooked a hand round her thigh slightly, placing it over his to keep her legs open.

“Sweetheart, you’re fucking drenched.” He groaned, breath hot on her lips and she gave a soft whimper.

“Don’t tease me Stevie, please.” She murmured, pressing back further against his crotch. “Need you.”

And when she begged like that, how could he refuse?

He ground back up against her once before he gently eased the bottom half of her clothing down, shoving his own sleep pants down.

“We’ve got to be quiet.” Katie reminded him, then contradicted herself, letting out a groan when he shifted gently, keeping her leg over his and slowly pushed into her, his hand grasping on her hip. Katie’s head rolled back further as he began to move gently, his teeth grazed the side of her neck gently chiding,

“Hush, Baby.”

Katie whimpered, but did as instructed, turning her face into the pillow, digging the tips of her nails into his arms which were wrapped around her, keeping her close to him as he continued his slow, deep movements, finding a rhythm that was perfect for the lazy morning. He continued to spread sloppy kisses down the back of her neck, and she once more rolled her head to capture his mouth, her breath coming in ragged pants as she neared her release. Steve read the signals and picked up the pace slightly, his hand dropping to her clit and gently stroking.

“Fuck.” She hissed from between her teeth, turning her face to press again into the pillows in an attempt to stifle her sinful moans. Steve buried his face into her neck, quelling his own noises of satisfaction, as he rutted up and forward into her again, his fingers deftly working her sensitive bud as he did so. Katie was powerless to do anything but squeal she felt her relief coming, silently screaming as the lights went off before her eyes and she let out a soft keen of delight into the plush bedding that surrounded her face as she tightened and pulsed around him, pushing him over the edge right behind her. Steve came with a low moan that he stifled by biting down gently on her shoulder, his chest heaving as the world span around him.

They lay there in silence for a moment, the only sound was that of their heavy breathing as Steve ran his hand up and down the curve of his wife’s hip, before it curled around her bump, her own hands settling on his forearm as she looked over her shoulder. Steve lifted his head with a lazy smirk gently pressing their lips together again, more than content to stay right where they were and possibly fall back to sleep.

But it seems someone else had other plans.

Steve’s head snapped up when his super hearing picked up the sound of a door opening across the landing. “Incoming.” He muttered before they shared a smile and he pulled out of her, both of them giving another soft sigh as he hastily pulled up his pants, Katie managing to find her sleep shorts that had been discarded somewhere under the covers. And just in time too, as the door opened a crack and a small blonde head peeked in. Jamie grinned upon seeing his parents awake and quickly made a beeline for the bed, diving onto the bottom and crawling up into the middle.

“Morning, Sweetie.” Katie beamed as Steve moved the covers so the little boy could settle underneath them.

“Morning Momma, morning Daddy.” He grinned, giving them both a kiss in turn. A thud on the bottom of the bed told Steve that Lucky had joined the party and sure enough, when he looked down he saw the elderly dog was led with his head on Katie’s feet where they peaked the blanket up.

“Did you sleep well?” Katie asked, smoothing back Jamie’s sleep mussed hair as he sat up in the middle of his parents.

“I had a dream I was on motorbike.” He grinned and Steve chuckled as the boy turned to his father. “Can I ride yours?” Steve looked at Katie who rolled her eyes. He had let Jamie sit on it in the garage a few days prior and since then he had been obsessed with the damned thing.

“Maybe later.” He smiled. “But first, I don’t know about you but I’m pretty hungry.”

“I want pancakes.” Jamie demanded clapping his hands together.

“What d’ya say?” Steve responded gently correcting his manners.

Jamie stilled, staring at Steve with his big blue eyes, a smile on his face. “Please.”

Then they both turned pleading faces towards Katie and she laughed at the ridiculous resemblance between them. “Alright,” she sighed, “We can have pancakes. Again.”

Jamie cheered. “Emmy will want pancakes too!” He chirped, climbing over his father, drawing a loud huff from Steve as his knee dug him right in the stomach, before the stocky little boy slid off the side of the bed. Katie grinned as he ran off calling for his sister.

“I’ll go start breakfast.” Steve smiled. “I’m assuming you’ll want Strawberries with yours?”

She nodded eagerly. “Oh and some chocolate chips.” “Any strawberries in your orange juice or you happy to have that straight, today?” Steve raised an eyebrow at her, remembering her sudden request yesterday that he blended the fruit into her juice. “Our little princess wants what she wants, Stevie.” She smirked and he laughed, giving her a peck on the lips before he swung his legs off the side of the bed, standing and grabbing a shirt off the back of the chair by the dresser.

“Nice ass.” Katie complimented cheekily.

He threw a smirk over his shoulder as he turned walking backwards towards the door holding his arms out to the side, giving the usual response “It’s all yours Baby Momma” He told her, turning back round heading out of the door.

Katie giggled and looked at Lucky who was now led on his back, all four legs splayed, in a most undignified position.

“You comfy, pal?” She grinned at the dog as his head cocked to one side and his tail began to wag as much as it could due to the position he was in. She rubbed his belly before she heaved herself out of bed and headed into the en-suite for a quick shower. Her back was aching slightly, most likely due to the position she’d just been pleasantly fucked in, but it was nothing she couldn’t cope with. She smiled to herself, her hand rubbing her bump, knowing that their baby would be with them any day now. And, despite the fact she was petrified about giving birth again, she couldn’t wait to meet their little miracle snap baby. And neither could Steve.

Once she was dried, Katie pulled on a pair of leggings, a vest top and one of Steve’s flannel button downs before she made her way down to the kitchen, the chatter of her family’s voices hitting her ear as she walked into the room ready for her breakfast.

“Daddy says we can go see Uncle Buck as I’m not going to Day Care today!” Jamie told her as soon as she made her way to the table. “He’s at his department.” “Apartment, dude.” Emmy corrected.

“Yeah that!” He nodded. “Uncle Sammy will be there too.”

“He messaged before to say he was back from, well, wherever he’s been for the past two weeks. I said we’d pop by later on.” Steve said as Katie looked at him. “Thought we could walk round if you’re feeling up to it?”

Katie nodded, the apartment Bucky had bought was only a few blocks away. He’d only moved in a few months ago as the paperwork had taken a while to complete and then there had been the rather heated discussion Katie had held with Secretary Ross in order to get both Sam and Bucky some form of compensation, not to mention Bucky’s Army severance pay that was well overdue. Katie had gone to town on the man, thoroughly enjoying the fact she embarrassed him in front of a fair few military leaders accusing him of shirking his responsibilities towards two Veterans, and then the new President had stepped in, probably to stop her right hooking him again. As a result, the two men had been given a fairly decent lump sum each, with Katie had doubled using monies from the Stark Relief Fund. Bucky had bought a nice apartment in Brooklyn, whilst Sam had opted to head further into Manhattan after spending a couple of months at home with his folks. Either way, it made both Katie and Steve chuckle as the two men spent that much time at each other’s respective places they might as well have moved in with one another.

“You wanna come, Em?” Katie asked as Steve set a large plate of pancakes down in the middle of the table

“I got homework.” she pulled a face “I’ll probably do a bit then go to Brooke’s. Am I okay to stay the night? We’ll be studying, not messing around I promise.” “If it’s okay with Jennifer it’s fine with us, Sweetheart.” Steve said, placing a dish of strawberries down in front of Katie before he settled into the spare seat as his wife placed a few pancakes on a plate and some bacon for Jamie. “And as for studying, give yourself a night off. You’ve been flat at it since you broke up last week.”

She smiled at him as he gave her a wink before they all tucked into their breakfast. They ate, talking about anything and everything, before Emily retreated upstairs to her room to start her work. Katie and Steve settled in the living room for an hour or two before they dressed and set off on the short walk to Bucky’s apartment.

“Hey buddy!” Bucky grinned as Jamie threw himself at his Uncle, wrapping his arms around his legs.

“I missed you Uncle Buck!” Jamie giggled as Bucky swung him up into his arms, moving backwards to let Katie and Steve into the apartment. Katie undid her lightweight jacket and Steve took it from her, as usual, before he shed his own and placed them on the hooks by the door. “You guys walk here?”

Katie nodded. “It’s a nice day, pretty warm out.”

“Yeah, I’ve been colder.” Bucky quipped, making her grin. He turned to Jamie. “You wanna chocolate milk, pal?”

“Yup!” Jamie grinned, popping the P causing Steve to snort as they all made their way through into the kitchen. Katie noticed there were a few more photos dotted around the place than last time she had been. She’d done the same for Bucky as she had for Steve years ago and dug a few photos out of archives and various places, making him a frame up which consisted of shots of his family, him and Steve, the Howlies… He’d hung it on the wall and now around it were a few pictures of more recent times, including some of him and the kids. She smiled gently as she saw the copy of the scan photo they had given him pinned up on the fridge.

It wasn’t long before Sam joined them much to Jamie’s delight and soon the apartment was filled with chattering and laughter, which in turn filled Steve’s chest with a warmth he couldn’t explain, having his best friend in such a domestic setting.

They ate lunch, as of course Jamie was hungry despite the mountain of pancakes he had eaten, and then Bucky keyed up the Nintendo, passing a controller to Jamie with a grin.

“How’s the job going Steve?” Sam asked, passing Steve a beer as he sank back onto the couch, the sound of Mario Karts filled the room form the speakers of the TV. Steve watched Jamie for a moment, before he turned to Sam smiling.

“Good, yeah.” he leaned back, taking a drink of his beer. “It’s still early days yet but…no I’m enjoying it”

And he was. Whilst he had back in time, so to speak, Steve had trained as an art teacher but he had no paper work or anything to back this up formally. So, with Katie’s help, he had pitched an idea to the Pratt Institute who had gleefully accepted him as a part time lecturer on their History Programme, providing first hand experiences of being in the War and the Depression. Alongside this, he was working to re-gain the qualifications he needed to teach BFA Drawing. It wasn’t full time, he worked Wednesday through Friday at the moment, intending to pick it up when he was qualified but that was still up for debate. They didn’t need the money, it was more a case of Steve needing to do something and he had no desire to join the various military organisations the Government kept trying to tempt him with. Plus, he still hosted a support group twice a week and that wasn’t something he wanted to give up any time soon. Bringing everyone back had, as predicted, posed a whole different set of problems so SIDE had continued to fund groups to help in any way they could.

“You on maternity leave yet?” Bucky asked, not looking at Katie, his eyes glued to the screen “Because, no offence, but you’re huge.” “Thanks.” She glared at the back of his head as he shrugged. “I officially finished last Friday. The Company is in good caretaker hands and Pepper will be overseeing it all so, yeah, that’s it!”

“Just need her here now.” Steve grinned, his hand resting on the back of the sofa behind Katie.

“You need a name first.” Sam raised an eyebrow.

“They got one.” Jamie looked at Sam, taking his attention off the screen “It’s…” “Woah!” Steve cut him off and shook his head, “A secret, remember?”

Jamie clamped his little hands over his mouth “Whoops!”

“Whisper it to me kid.” Sam grinned, leaning down towards Jamie who shook his head furiously.

“That’s naughty, Uncle Sammy.” He looked at him, his little brow furrowed.

“Yeah stop trying to teach my kid bad habits.” Steve shot him a look. “He gets enough off his sister.”

At that point a triumphant cry came from Bucky who’s Luigi Kart had sailed over the line in front of Jamie’s Mario one.

“You cheated.” Jamie looked at him, his eyes narrowed with an expression that made him momentarily look like his mother.

“How did I cheat?” Bucky scoffed.

“I wasn’t watching.” Jamie continued to glare at him. “That’s your own fault.” Bucky smirked. “Rule number one kid, never take your eye off your opponent.” “Okay, move over Jay.” Sam shook his head, dropping onto the floor by the little boy’s side as he handed him the controller. “I’m gonna kick his ass.”

**** “But I don’t wanna!” Jamie pouted, as Steve held out his coat when it was time to leave. “I wanna stay here…” “It’s not up for discussion.” Steve replied sternly. “Put your jacket on, now.” “Steve.” Bucky smiled, holding his hand out. “I don’t mind, I can drop him back tomorrow if he wants to stay.”

“Boys night in.” Sam nodded sagely and Jamie’s eyes lit up as he looked at Sam then back to Steve. “Yeah, please daddy. There’s some of my stuff in the spare room from my last sleep over.” Jamie pleaded.

Steve sighed, and looked at his son who was watching him, hope bright in his eyes.

“Honey?” He asked, looking to his wife who merely popped her shoulder in response.

“He’s not in Nursery this week so his routine is already out of the window, he can stay for me, but you’ll have to feed him at some point.” She smiled, looking at Bucky. “Preferably before midnight or he’ll turn into a gremlin.”

The reference was lost on Bucky, but not Sam who laughed.

“Pizza?” Bucky asked and Jamie gave a cheer.

“Pizza is my fave. And Mac and Cheese.” “Looks like he’s all yours then.” Steve shrugged, putting the jacket back on the hook and retrieving Katie’s instead. “Don’t let him stay up too late or we’ll be dealing with the fall out tomorrow.” Bucky saluted Steve who rolled his eyes before he looked at Jamie. “You behave or Uncle Bucky and Sam will call me to come pick you up.” Jamie saluted his dad in an identical way to Bucky, making Katie grin. Together, man and wife set off back into the setting sun, Steve’s arm curling round Katie’s shoulders. As they were alone for the evening, Emmy having messaged to say she was indeed going to Brooke’s, they decided to take the opportunity for a meal out and headed to a little Italian Bistro Steve had discovered on his run one morning. Katie wasn’t all that hungry after a large lunch but she managed a decent portion of her penne pasta, Steve demolishing her left overs as well as his own meal. They then made their way over to a small wine bar across the street, Steve grabbing them both a drink as they settled in one of the booths by the back, simply enjoying their time together, and left shortly before eleven, their pace easy.

They’d made it to the end of their road when Katie stopped, rubbing at her back as she gave a little hiss of pain.

“You okay?” Steve’s brow furrowed in concern and she smiled, shaking her head.

“Yeah, my back’s been playing up all day. I’ll be fine in a bit.”

The continued their walk, at a slower pace, until just as they reached their gate, Katie felt a sharp twinge across her abdomen. She blew out a breath as she rubbed her distended belly through her jacket and then the realisation washed over her. The growing back pain, uncomfortable feeling she’d had all day…just like it had been when she had started labour with Jamie.

Steve was watching her as she looked at him, straightening up.

“I think I’ve started.” She said gently.

“Really?” Steve asked, closing the distance between them, hands falling to her hips.

“I think so, I mean it feels the same as last time.”

Steve’s face was the same mix of excitement and nervousness it had been when she’d gone into labour with Jamie just over four years ago, and he placed a kiss on her forehead as he pressed his hand to the sensor on the gate.

“Let’s get you in and settled.” He smiled.

Once she was inside, Katie sat on the couch, suddenly very uncomfortable. Steve went into the kitchen to find the heat pack, but he hadn’t even had chance to open the cupboard when a loud yell made him turn and run back into the lounge.

Katie was bent over rubbing at her stomach her face scrunched up in pain.

“Honey?” Steve dropped to his knees in front of her.

She breathed through it and looked at him, nodding. “I’m okay.”

“Do we need to go in already?” He frowned. Katie shook her head, smiling. “It’s gonna be faster but not that fast.”

“You want me to run you a bath?” She nodded.

“Alright, come on.” In one easy movement she was in his strong, secure arms as he effortlessly carried her up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later she lay in the bath, the warm water providing a little comfort until she felt another contraction. Katie counted, and this one lasted for a good sixty seconds, causing her to swallow with worry. She couldn’t possibly be in full labour though, it was far too fast. Taking a deep breath, she lay still for a further ten minutes then another hit her and this time she was unable to stop the scream leaving her mouth as she bent her head forward then back against the rim of the bath.

Almost instantaneously, she heard heavy steps bounding up the stairs and the door to the bathroom opened.

“Sweetheart?” “Steve,” she looked at him, panic on her face, “That’s three in less than thirty minutes. I think we need to go.” “Alright, come on.” He nodded, walking across the room before he stopped dead as he glanced down into the bath, his eyes widening as he swallowed slightly.

“What…” Katie looked down and spotted the blood in the water, spreading like ribbons between her legs.

And then she started to panic.

“Oh God, Steve, there’s something wrong!” “Honey, look at me.” Steve knelt by the bath, hand on her face, trying to appear calm when he was anything but. “Let’s get you out and I’ll call Dr Kellet okay?”

“Okay.” Steve gently hooked his arms under her shoulders and easily lifted her out of the tub, wrapping her in a towel robe, just before another contraction hit her and she gripped at the sink for support, gritting her teeth, screaming in pain as he rubbed her back.

“This is too painful, it’s wrong.” She sobbed as Steve stood right by her side, his arm curved over her hips as he pulled his phone out of his pocket with his spare hand.

He scrolled through and found the number for Katie’s Ob-Gyn that had been programmed into his phone ready. Katie had insisted she wanted the woman was there for the birth, having been her doctor for years.

“Dr Kellet?” He cleared his throat. “It’s Steve Rogers…sorry to bother you, so late.” “It’s not a problem Mr Rogers.” She greeted him, “I’m assuming Mrs Rogers has gone into labour?”

But before Steve had even had a chance to explain what was going on, Katie gripped his arm.

“No,no, no!” She cried, her voice almost a plea of disbelief. “Steve, I need to push…”

His eyes widened.

“Ok I heard that.” Dr Kellet spoke calmly in his ear “Make her as comfortable as possible, I’ll be with you as soon as I can, I’m only round the corner, lucky for you I’ve been out on another call.”

“Should I call an ambulance?” Steve gulped.

“I’ll do it.” The woman assured him. “Just as a standby, chances are that baby’s going to arrive before we can get her to the birthing centre though. You concentrate on your wife. I’ll see you shortly.” “Thank you.” He whispered as he put the phone down and turned to his wife who was now crying.

“Steve I don’t want my baby here.” She sobbed.

“Hey,” he soothed, his hands on her face. “Dr Kellet is on her way.”

“I need to go to the centre.” “Sweetheart, if we take you, chances are you’re gonna have her on the way.”

“But, something might go wrong and…”

“Look, it’s gonna be fine.” He assured her, not quite sure where his confidence was coming from as frankly he was anything but. However, he knew the more he panicked, the more she would so he had no alternative but to put a brave face on. “There’s an ambulance coming too, just in case we need it once she’s here.”

Katie refused to move from her spot in the bathroom, despite Steve’s best attempts. And the following seven minutes and thirty-four seconds that it took Dr Kellet to arrive were the longest of Steve’s life. When the buzzer to the gate finally sounded, he bounded down the stairs, helped the woman with her kit bag, and hastily led her straight up to the bathroom, leaving the gate and door open for the paramedics when she informed him they were approximately ten minutes behind her.

Katie was now screaming in pain as the Doctor knelt beside her, where she was still hovering over the sink.

“Mrs Rogers,” she told her calmly as she snapped on a pair of gloves. “I’m just going to take a look okay?” Katie nodded as Steve’s arm curled around her shoulder. After a few seconds the woman stood up.

“Fully dilated and engaged.” She looked at Katie “This baby is on its way.”

“No I need to be at the centre!” Katie began to cry. “Mrs Rogers, trust me that is not an option.” The Doctor was firm but fair as she turned to Steve “Where’s your bedroom?”

“Straight across the hall, last door to your left.” Steve swallowed, his hand rubbing at Katie’s back as she screamed again.

“We need to get her led down before baby gets distressed.” The Doctor instructed, moving out of the room and picking up her kit bag.

“Steve,” Katie turned to him as the Doctor hurried into their room, “Stevie, I’m scared.”

He didn’t need her to tell him that, he could see the fear in her eyes and it killed him. Not least because he was petrified himself. “I know, Honey.” He gave her a small smile, pressing a kiss to her head. “But Dr Kellet is here, it’ll be okay. Now, come on, let’s get you settled.”

He carried her into the bedroom where Dr Kellet had unpacked most of her equipment and was throwing a plastic sheet over their bed.

“I know this isn’t what you planned” She spoke to Katie gently as she screamed in pain again, Steve gently placing her on the bed.

“Why is it all so fast?” Katie gasped out. “I don’t…”

“You’re experiencing something called Precipitous labour.” The Doctor explained as Steve knelt on the floor besides her, taking her hand in his, the fingers of the other one brushing her hair off her face. “It’s rare but not completely unheard of. Just means things happen extremely quickly, that’s all.” Katie really didn’t care what it was called. All she knew was that the pain was excruciating. Worse than with Jamie, and she had no relief either. And she was done with trying to be brave.

“It hurts.” She sobbed, laying her head against the pillow, turning to face Steve who dropped a kiss to her forehead before her entire body tensed up as Dr Kellet knelt on the bed. “Oh God, I need to push this time, I really do.”

“Then go with it.” The doctor instructed and Steve kissed the back of his wife’s hand.

“I got you, I promise.” He looked at her, his eyes locking onto hers which were wide with fear. “You can do this, Sweetheart.” So she did, screaming as her tears freely flowed down her cheeks in a mix of agony and fear. She had neve felt pain like it, but all she could think about now was that their girl needed to arrive, safely, and to do that she had to fight through her own discomfort for her.

Three huge pushes later a piercing scream hit their ears and Katie collapsed back, and Steve felt pure relief flood over him as their tiny daughter was positioned on his wife’s chest, soft skin against hers through the top of her towel robe screaming as she nuzzled into her mother.

“Steve,” Katie managed to gasp, looking at him as he lay his head against hers, looking down at their baby girl, tears pouring down his face as he got a proper glance at his daughter for the first time.

“Shit, Katie, she’s just like you.” He stuttered, his large and shaking hand gently moving the top of Katie’s robe to gently run a finger down his baby girl’s cheek. She was smaller than Jamie had been, despite the fact he had been earlier, with a smattering of dark hair. Her eyes cracked open, a sliver of light baby blue peered up at them which caused Steve’s heart to swell even more, as their baby snuggled further into Katie’s chest and Katie dropped a tender kiss to her head.

“Hey, Princess.” Steve whispered, as he too pressed his lips to his daughter’s soft head, before he gave a little splutter of a chuckle. “You gave us a bit of a scare there!”

He looked at Katie, his eyes shining as he sniffed. “I’m so proud of you” He whispered softly, pressing his lips to hers, his voice cracking with emotion. “So fucking proud, Sweetheart. Look what you did.”

Katie gave a little emotional laugh, the pair of them lost in the moment, before a loud shout from the Paramedics who had arrived cut across the room. Steve looked up and Dr Kellet held her hand up, instructing him to stay where she was before she headed down to greet them. A minute or so later, they walked into the room, giving Steve and Katie a small nod and a smile as Dr Kellet began talking them through what had happened, neither parent really paying attention.

Much to Katie’s chagrin, she released their daughter to Dr Kellet to be checked over whilst her own vitals were taken by the paramedics. Their precious baby was cleaned up and wrapped in a soft pink blanket that Steve pulled from the packed hospital bag and then, as the Paramedics moved away, Steve finally got a hold of his daughter for the first time, cradling her to his chest, looking down at her as her tiny fist raised by her face, her little mouth opening and closing slightly as she lay safely in her father’s arms.

Katie watched him, smiling as he was sporting the same adoring look on his face that he got every time he looked at Jamie. He glanced up and beamed at her, before Dr Kellet cleared her throat.

“Does she have a name yet?” She asked gently, looking over at them from where she was tapping something on the tablet she had in her hand.

Steve and Katie smiled at each other. Oh, did she have a name, worthy of the Princess she was.

“I think the new baby should be called Nala.” Jamie nodded firmly, his mind made up.

“Let me guess, after the lion?” Steve looked at him, the boy’s Disney Film of choice at the moment was The Lion King. Jamie nodded.

“We’re not calling her Nala.” Katie shook her head, “Although there is another Disney character that has a name I like.” Steve looked at her “Really?”

“Yeah. Remember that night in Scotland when we took a midnight walk to see the Northern Lights?” Steve smiled, he remembered that night very well. And he knew instantly what name she was referring to. In fact, given the circumstances in which their baby had come back, he couldn’t think of anything more appropriate.

“Aurora.” Steve smiled softly, looking at the Doctor “Aurora Sarah Natasha Rogers.”

“Rori.” Katie looked at him, and he smiled again, before he turned his attention back down to their baby.

“The Goddess of Dawn.” Dr Kellet nodded, approvingly as she noted the name down. “Fitting.”

Which was exactly why they had chosen it. Aurora had come back to them, like daybreak always returned, no matter how long the night. It was the perfect name for their perfect little girl.

Steve smiled and spotted that Aurora was getting fidgety, exactly as Jamie had done, burying her face into his chest, rooting, so he passed her to Katie. Just like she had with Jamie, although this time she knew what she was doing she positioned her to her breast and the baby began to nurse as Steve settled on the bed next to her, watching as Aurora’s cheeks worked hungrily.

“Well the good news is both your vitals are strong so I think that we can say you’re okay to stay home.” The female paramedic spoke as she looked at Dr Kellet how nodded before she turned to Katie.

“But you need to rest, Mrs Rogers. I didn’t want to worry you both before but Precipitous labour is extremely rare. In my twenty years of practicing I’ve only ever seen it four times now. You did amazingly well.”

“You’re bound to feel drained and extremely sore so rest up.” The Paramedic continued “The first signs of any problems, call us straight away.”

“I’ll see you out.” Steve smiled at them all. “You be okay here for a moment?” He looked at Katie.

She nodded, her eyes focussed completely on their daughter, and he kissed her head again before he slid off the bed, leaving Katie alone with her baby for the first time.

She felt drained, but also an overwhelming sense of happiness that it was over, and their baby was there safe and healthy. As she studied her baby some more, she saw that familiar Stark nose which was nudged against her breast as Rori fed, and she was hit by a sudden thought. Katie’s head turned sharply to the digital clock that was on the nightstand, and when realised it was, in fact, after midnight a wave of emotion washed over her and the tears slid freely down her face.

**** Outside Steve shook hands with both the Paramedics who gave him their congratulations, both stating it was an honour to meet him, before he tossed his hand at the ambulance as it drove off, and turned, helping the Dr Kellet load the bags into her car.

“Mr Rogers, it is imperative you keep an eye on your wife.” She looked at him as she closed the trunk to her BMW SUV. “That all happened so fast, her body won’t have had time to release the normal pain relieving endorphins that come with the natural cycles of labour.” Steve swallowed, a surge of affection and pride swilling round his chest before it dissipated into worry.

“But she’s okay? You said they both are, right?”

“Medically she’s fine, the baby is fine but that will have been extremely traumatic for your wife, and as painful as anything I can imagine.” Dr Kellet fished her keys out of her pocket. “She needs to rest. The Paediatrician will be along in the morning, I’ll sort all that out. In the meantime, any issues, no matter what time, hit 9-1-1 and give me a call. But for now, enjoy her and congratulations.” She shook his hand and he thanked her again before he hurried back inside. Once the door shut he leaned against it and let out a deep sigh. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how that had felt for Katie, it had been bad enough for him but, wow. Just when he thought she couldn’t possibly amaze him anymore…

He wiped his hand over his clammy brow, brushed the tear from his cheek that he hadn’t even realise he’d shed and took another deep breath and bounded back up the stairs to his wife and baby girl.

“Hey.” He smiled, before he frowned as he realised she was crying. He crossed the room and climbed onto the bed, reaching out to wipe the tears from her face. “What’s wrong, Doll?” “She was born after midnight.”

“Yeah, twenty three minutes past.” Steve looked at her, and then the realisation of what that meant hit Steve like a sledge hammer.

“It’s the 29th.” He whispered.

“Yeah, she has the same birthday as Tony.” Katie sniffed, her face breaking into a little smile.

“So she does.” Steve’s voice was choked with emotion, his eyes misting over. “And I’m sure he’s up there now mumbling something about her stealing his thunder.”

They sat in silence, Katie leaning her head on his shoulder as her sniffles and silent sobs subsided, Steve lost in his own thoughts about his Brother-in-law for a second. This was the first birthday, so to speak, that Tony wouldn’t be here to celebrate. And whilst Steve had known it was going to be an emotional day, they hadn’t banked on it being quite like this.

It was certainly bittersweet, but what a way to remember him.

Steve’s hand reached out, smoothing down the blanket Aurora was wrapped in. “She’s beautiful.” He whispered, kissing Katie’s head the pair of them simply watching their baby as she gave a milky little yawn, turning her head away from Katie’s breast.

“Has another girl stolen your heart Rogers?” She teased, looking at him as she gently rearranged the baby over her shoulder. “Your new princess?”

“Yes.” He deadpanned, and Katie chuckled as she gently rubbed at their baby’s back, before Steve tilted her face round to kiss him softly. “But you’ll always be my Queen.”

**** Of course, later on that morning, once Jamie and Emmy heard their sister had arrived they demanded to come home immediately. So Bucky and Sam did the honours, collecting Emmy from Brooke’s before bringing them both back to the house.

Jamie barrelled up the stairs where he was met by Steve at the top, his dad stopping him from bursting straight in the room to see his mom.

“You gotta be quiet and gentle okay?” Steve crouched down so he could look him in the eyes. “Momma’s had a hard time so she’s a little tired.”

Jamie nodded and Steve stood up, placing his hands on his son’s shoulders from behind as he steered him to the doorway, looking at Katie who smiled at them from where she was led on the bed, Aurora in her arms having just been fed again. Jamie walked into the room and climbed up onto the bed as Emmy stopped by Steve in the doorway.

“Are they both okay?” Emmy asked quietly and Steve pulled her in for a hug and chuckled.

“All fine, go ahead, go meet your sister.”

“She’s all pink.” Jamie peered down at the baby, wrinkling his nose.

“So were you.” Katie chuckled, kissing his head before she smiled up at her daughter.

“Mom, she’s beautiful.” Emmy whispered, her eyes swimming with tears. “Can I hold her?”

“Sure.” Katie smiled, and gently Emmy took her baby sister in her arms, holding her safely as she smiled down at her little face.

Hey Rori!” Emmy beamed, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

As Steve watched his family from the doorway, a warmth swimming in his chest, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned, suddenly finding himself in a huge back-slapping, rib crushing embrace from Bucky, before Sam stepped forward, to do the same.

“Congratulations, Punk.” Bucky smiled at him and Steve beamed, taking a deep breath.

“Come on, you can say hi to your goddaughter, guys.” Steve wiped his eyes as Bucky hastily did the same, before the three men stepped into the room.

Bucky leaned over to give Katie a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations.” He smiled as he stepped back, his hand gently cupping her face as she smiled back at him, before he was jostled out of the way by Sam who bend to give her a huge hug.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked, pressing a kiss to Katie’s head.

“A little sore and tired but I’m good.” She beamed, her eyes straying to Bucky who was now peering down at Aurora.

“Wow, she’s gorgeous.” Bucky beamed, before he looked at Steve. “You sure she’s yours?”

Steve narrowed his eyes as Sam gave a huge guffaw of laughter, Katie shaking her head as she chuckled.

“You wanna hold, Uncle Buck?” Emmy asked and Bucky hesitated a little, and Katie didn’t miss the way his metal hand fisted nervously.

“Buck,” She spoke and he turned to face her, swallowing and she nodded. “It’ll be fine.”

Tentatively, Bucky moved and nodded, as Emmy placed Aurora in his arms, a little gasp escaping his mouth as he held her securely, beaming down at her face. He glanced up at Steve who smiled back at him, before Bucky’s attention turned completely back to the tiny human he held.

Eventually, Sam got a hold too, commenting on how like Katie she looked already, before Jamie let out an exasperated sigh from where he sat cuddled up to his mom.

“Can I hold her now?” He demanded impatiently, as he sat up, his arms folded over his chest in a move that made him look even more ridiculously like his father.

“Course you can, buddy.” Steve smiled, moving towards the bed. He propped a few pillows behind Jamie so he was sat up against the head board before he scooted in, and placed his left arm round his son. Sam gently placed Aurora into Jamie’s arms and she lay there, her head supported in the crook of Steve’s elbow as he helped his son hold her.

Steve glanced up and shared a look with his wife as she smiled at him and he gave a swallow as he looked round he room before turning his attention to his boy who was now holding his baby sister, grinning down at the newest addition to their family.

To Steve, it was almost unbelievable, and overwhelming even, when he thought back to how this had all stared in a small, run down gym in Brooklyn. Where Katie Stark had walked into Steve Rogers’ life, across the warn linoleum floor and never left. No matter what the world had thrown at them, they had overcome every goddamned obstacle and Steve loved her now more than he had ever believed possible.

She was his wife, the love of his life, his baby momma, the person he had sacrificed fifteen years alone for.

The woman he would die for in a heartbeat.

His home, his world, his forever.

******* If you’d like to keep in touch with the Rogers’ family, their adventures continue in Stark Spangled Forever

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #katie stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

86 notes · View notes

zmayadw · 4 years ago

Text

Hello to all Duskwood lovers! Same as a lot of you here, i got pretty hooked on Duskwood ,and Jake, ofcourse :) After reading few fanfics, i started one myself. It’s the first time I’ve done it, and i got my courage up to share it with you all. I am aware there are quite a lot of them already, so hopefully one more wont be too much :) I’ll post just a part, maybe two of it. if anyone will be interested in more, then yay! If not, oh well, no hard feelings. I’ll just continue with it for my own pleasure (for what i started it in the first place!) And im quite new on Tumblr, so if i did something wrong, sorry in advance.

I apologize for a long intro, wishing you all a great weekend! :)

Oh, and English is not my first language, so dont hold a grudge for any mistakes, as im sure there will be some!

CALL OF THE RAVEN

(It contains swearing, blood, death)

Part 1

A year passed. One year since Hannah was back, one year since I met some wonderfull new friends. And him...

I still remember the first time i saw him, even if it was over a videocall: those beautifull dark blue-grey eyes, full of hope and love, his dark black hair ruffled from all the sleeples nights, and from running his hands through it with frustration.

„Jake, can i ask you for a favore?“ I typed in my phone at one of our latest conversations. „Ofcourse“ he replied, not hesitating a bit, even tho he knew the things I asked him lately wer more and more on the personal basis. „I would really like to see you.“ There was a silence from his side. „Just one video call, just this once?“ still nothing. „ Please, Jake. This is killing me! I just want to see your face, talk to you for once, without you hiding yourself.“ Still no replay. „I know you are scared, hell im scared too, you have no idea how much, but im in agony, Jake, im acheing here! I dont know what will happen, and if we'll ever see eacother in person, so just this once, please, let me see you, the real you!“ Still silence. „Please..“ I pleaded, tears swelling up in my eyes. Few minutes passed,and I though 'fuck, why did you have to preasure it Maya, you just fucked everything up now'. I was just about to give up and go to sleep, when my phone rang - 'Incoming videocall: Jake. My heart banged like crazy,and I almost dropped my phone. My hands wer shaking so badly, I barely managed to accept the call. And there he was, looking right at me. „Hello, Maya.“ he said, but I just stared at him, unsure if I was dreaming or was this really happening. „Maya? You allright?“ he asked, with so much care, his voice rang to my ears like the most beautifull melody, but still, all I did was stare. He looked so tired, with all those sleeples nights taking its toll on him. His hair was ruffled, and sticking in all directions, but I tought of it as cute. And those eyes, , looking at me, like they wer looking right into my soul. He was everything I imagined, even better then what I imagined. „Maya, please, say something.“ he pleaded, and I snapped myself back to reality. „I'm sorry...I just.. didnt really expect this, you kinda cought me off guard.“ I managed to say finaly, blinking those tears away. „Uhm, well, you did ask for it. Should I hang up?“ he asked, confusion showing on his face. I quickly replied, with a smile „No,no, dont you dare! You know how long i waited for this??“ He was perfct. Even beaten with worry and sleep deprivation, he was perfect. „Well, hello Jake, nice to finaly see you!“ He smiled back, oh that beautiful smile „Hello Maya, nice to see you, too!“

„Promise me, Maya, you wont go to Duskwood!“ his words rang in my head till this day. „I Promise, Jake.“ I said, and I meant it at that point. But things have changed, ofcourse, and impulsive as I am, I was in my car and on my way to Duskwood in a hearthbeat. It seemed as the only choice I had if we wanted to find Hannah, and I didnt hesitate at all. I asked Lily for help, and even if it was her sister in question, she was reluctant about it. „I dont want to lie to everybody any more, or to him, Maya. We made some good relationship, and to hide this information from him..I just dont know.“ „Please, Lily, I really dont see any other choice for me here. I have to do this, I have a chance to find Hannah! Please,you owe me!“ She knew what I was refering to - that video she posted, accusing Jake and me of everything did so much trouble, especially for Jake. I was so pissed at her at the time, so when she learned the thruth about Jake being Hannahs and hers half-brother, she felt awful. She told me then she owe me a big one, and I gladly took her by her word. „Fine, i'll help you, but I dont feel good about it at all, let that be clear!“ she protested on the phone, as I was already driving halfway towards Duskwood. A small grin of victory appeared on my face, as I explained to her what my plan was. We finished the call, and i turned the phone off. I had no idea if Jake was still monitoring my chats and calls, or something more, and I didnt want to take any chances. If he did, I hoped my call with Lily wont raise any susspison, so he wont feel the need to 'evesdrop'. I didnt feel good breaking my promise to him, and running off without a word, but I really thought 'hey, what could go wrong'. And, oh boy, was I wrong and things really did go wrong.

I almost died that night. Going into that mine alone wasn't such a good idea, after all. And all I could think at that moment was ah, shit, Jake would be pissed at me right now!'. I could hear his voice in my head, as the blood was running down my head, throbing from the blow I recived. But not before i saw with my own eyes that Hannah was still alive. I was so sure that it was done, I found her, I did it! I was so close to breaking her out, and I saw releife on her face when she saw me. But that releife was quickly replaced by the face full of terror, and before I knew it, all went dark for me.

„You promise me!“ the words chimmed in my head, as I slowely came to conscious. It took me a moment to become comepletly aware of everything that was going on arround me. I tried to stand, but the pain that burst through my body quickly drew me back to the floor. My head wanted to explode,my breathing heavy and short. My stomach couldnt take it any more, so whatever I had in it came pouring out.

I managed to get myself in sitting position, leaning my back on the cold stone wall of the mine. I saw Hannah, looking at me with worry and fear in her eyes. And then I heard a voice „Did you really think that you were smarter than me?“ I turned my head, and there he stood, sinister grin on his face - Richy.

Our dear friend Richy, always positive, always caring to others, always willing to help. But Richy that was standing just a few steps from me, was not the same Richy we all knew.

When all the evidence started pointing at him being the MWAF, I didn’t want to belive at first. „No, it cant be..not him!“ „Maya, the evidence is right in front of you.“ Jake would say. „Dont tell me your judgement is getting clouded by your feelings again, by now you should know that evidence dont lie. They didnt get us wrong so far.“ He would always be so rational, and I have to admit, my feelings did get me a bit too sensitive with our search a few times. I guess that was also why we wer so good in collaborating. My head pulsed again, as I looked at him, wincing in pain. His grin widened, and he came crouching next to me. Reflexly I pulled back as much as possible, wich just made the pain unberable again, and my stomach lurched one more time. I dont know how much time passed, because I fainted.

When I came to it again, Ritchy was sitting on some rock, moving the knife from one hand to the other. I quickly glanced towards Hannah, and was glad that she was still alive. She didnt look badly hurt, considering all, few bruises and dirt on her face as far as I could see. She sat on the floor, with hands bind in shackles a few feet from me. Ritchy looked at me „Ah, good, you're still with us!“ „Yeah, bad weed grows tall.“ I said, and he grinned „ I remember.“ Ritchy slowely came towards me again, and repeated his question from before „So, you really tought you wer smarter that me, Maya? That you could just waltz in here and leave without the qonsequencess?“ „Well, dont know about the waltzing part, I never was good at it. I might need some help with walking out of here, but I doubt you'd lend a helping hand“. Even now when I was sure I was gonna die, I still couldnt hold my mouth shut. Ritchy laughed, his laugh ringed all over, and at that poin a memory came to my mind: „You are the only one who can still make ma laugh.“ Jake words again. Shit, like i wasnt feeling stupid enough already, doing exactly what he told me not to, risking my own life. „I am so sorry, Jake.“ My words now in my head, like he could hear me somehow. My heart filled with sorrow, thinking how I never will meet any of them. And, ofcourse, Jake. I would never talk to him again, gaze into those curious eyes, touch his hair, take his hand in mine. Never will I tell him all that I wanted, but was so affraid that maybe he doesnt feel the same. „ You promised me!“ again those words, this time piercing at my heart like a knife, and tears came running down my cheeks. „I am sorry.“ i whispered under my breath. I wanted to be brave, I didnt want to give Ritchy even more satisfaction over this, but it was all too much for me. I didnt care if he sees my tears, I didnt care for anything anymore. „What was that you said?“ he asked, and I replied, my head still bend down „Just finish it already.“ „Sorry, didnt heare you there“ he said, sinister grin back on his face. I dont know where I managed the strenght for it, but my head shot up, and I yelled with everything I had in me, looking him straingh in the eyes, pouring all my emotions in it „Just finish it already, you freak!“ He jumped backwards when as yelled, but didnt look too shocked by it. He smirked, grapping the knife so tightly,his knuckles turned white as snow, looking at me with frenzy in his eyes, „With pleasure.“ I closed my eyes.

What happened next is still a bit fuzzy to me. I remember Hannah screaming, as Ritchy dived towards me with the knife. And the three loud bangs, that pierced my ears and made my head spin again. There was a 'thud', and I slowely opened my eyes, to see Ritchy sprawled on the floor next to me, blood coming from his mouth, eyes open wide in bevilderment. „ It wasnt.. suppose to end..like this..“ he mummled, more blood pouring out. And then silence. Someone said my name. I looked up from Ritchys, two familiar faces looming over me: it was Thomas and Dan. I looked at them in shock, eyes filling with tears. „ Is it over?“ i asked shakely, Dan answering „Yes.“ Thomas ran over to Hannah, another person following him. „Is it really over?“ I asked again,breathing heavy, glancing back where Ritchy lay. Dan answered again „Yes, Maya, it's really over.“ I lost all controll then, shaking and crying , balwing like a little kid, mummling something under my breath, wich made Dan very worried. „Thomas!“ he shouted „Take Hannah and run out, tell the rest of the cops and medics if they arrived to hurry, I will stay with her.“ Thomas and Hannah looked at Dan with worry all over their faces, but he yelled at them again to hurry, and turned back to me. He tried to hug me, and when I screamed from pain, it got him terrified. „Hang in there Maya, help is on the way!“ „ I hope so.“ I said, voice cracking, darkness taking over me. „Maya, stay with me!“ Dan was scraming, but I couldnt fight it anymore. My eyes became so heavy, I just let them close, and with my final breath I whispered his name...Jake.

#duskwood #jake&mc #fanfic #first try

61 notes · View notes

pilferingapples · 5 years ago

Text

@everyonewasabird

mentioned you on a post

“@akallabeth-joie replied to your post : Quick...”

@pilferingapples I'd love to hear any theories you have of how to read Bossuet! He baffles me.

I Have Many Theories! Which you are welcome to sort and discard as you please, of course; please assume a “ my opinion” tag about most of what follows, excepting obviously where I’m citing direct canon:P

He’s a character I sort of had to unpack and study a lot to get and now he’s one of my very favorites :D So I’m gonna have to break this down into multiple posts!

First, just reading the obvious character-as-character stuff, no Symbolism or Mirroring Other Characters:

We’re given two big key pieces of info about Bossuet right off the bat: he’s dealing with constant bad circumstances, and he deals with that via humor, and especially irony and sarcasm. We are told this very directly! “ Some misfortune was constantly happening to him; hence his joviality.” (FMA, 3.4.1, you know this:P)

Which is to say that the more Bossuet is joking, the more lightly he’s talking, the worse things probably are, in a material sense. He doesn’t joke around because he’s missing how serious things are, but because he knows. He uses humor as a way to keep not just himself but those around him up and emotionally surviving. We see him using this approach with Grantaire, we see him using it with the fighters at the barricade, we even see him and Courfeyrac boosting each other along with jokes in their very last interaction ever. And it works! He’s good at it! There’s a reason Enjolras thinks of Legle’s sarcasm as his great strength!

I think we see this in his first big scene, the Funeral Oration. I’ve seen people laugh a lot at how wrong Bossuet is about Marius, who is definitely not the cheerful idler painted by his suppositions here.

But that’s assuming Bossuet--the sarcastic, ironical one-- is being entirely straightforward about his own perceptions, and about his own estimate of Marius.

When I look at what’s really going on in that speech, I really doubt that. Because Legle is, all in one go:

- warning Marius that their rotten professor has it in for him;

-reminding Marius that there are real material consequences to getting caught out, which I suspect he already knows Marius can’t afford

- absolutely amazingly, managing to so completely comedify the situation that even Marius “life debt” Pontmercy doesn’t feel any lingering sense of obligation. Seriously, aside from the initial moment of embarrassment, Marius never seems to even think of the incident again, and we know Marius absolutely obsesses over social debts. Legle does him this huge favor, at a cost to himself, and spins a story that suggests it was nothing to do with Marius personally , it’s just a wacky happenstance,it’s fine-- and he convinces Marius, Marius, that it actually is fine. That’s not an accident, or a careless estimation of the situation; that’s incredibly well-tuned defusing of a situation.

- In all this, Bossuet is also gathering information, without managing to get Marius’ hackles up again. “ let me pay you a visit of gratitude, where do you live?” He finds out right away that Marius has no home and no expectation of income; I don’t think that’s an accident at all. And, again, we know Marius is fiercely proud and afraid of ever showing any weak points, even years later, even to Courfeyrac-- but here, at his lowest, most wounded point, he just tells Legle right up that he’s stuck without a clue? Not an accident. Marius is getting Helped by someone with full-on Intent, and he doesn’t even know it.

- And finally, through the whole long speech, Legle’s detaining Marius until Courfeyrac-- a reliable friend with more material resources than himself, one who Bossuet surely knows is due to arrive-- shows up.

Imagine how Marius “ a creditor owns your soul” Pontmercy would have reacted to Legle coming up and saying “ hey, I know you’re a serious student, so I took the fall for you when you missed class. You’re usually always there; what happened , are you doing ok?” Would he have been in any mood to admit he was living in a cab, with nowhere to go, when he already felt in debt? Would he possibly have been able to accept Courfeyrac’s help?

Legle knows Marius missed class; he knows from the first sight of the carriage that Marius doesn’t seem to know where to go; he knows from the way Marius first reacts to being hailed that this guy is having a Not Good Very Bad Time, even if he doesn’t know exactly in what way. I doubt very much that he’s really been thinking Marius must be a wacky slacker, or come up with all that about mistresses; I doubt he was thinking much of it at all, besides a general helpful impulse towards another student (Bossuet does genuinely seem to have Helping as a first impulse, too--but that’s a Gayeties topic, and that’s for Later). But he knows very well how much easier a bit of comedy can make a rough situation, and he always uses that way of helping along with whatever other effort or material aid he may be giving.

There’s a reason this is his Intro Scene, and a reason it’s so long; this is who he is and what he does and how he does it. And it’s important to understand those things, because he’s not really that minor a character!

...good grief I’m 1000 words in and I’ve barely started. Uh. Other Post To Follow, hopefully today?? but this is. A Start. :P

#everyonewasabird #talking to people through replies what #Bossuet talk #long post #sorry #I can do All The Words or None of the Words #is a tag I have for a reason

46 notes · View notes

delciastudies · 5 years ago

Text

[17.07.20] ✧

Hi everyone! I noticed I had a new following in the past week, so I wanted to give some updates/about me:

Name: delcia

Pronouns: she/her/hers

(L)GBTQ

Age: 22

School: recent grad from University of Santa Barbara with a BA in anthropology and minor in linguistics; incoming student at Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies for an MA in anthropology & sociology!!

Career goals: professor, potentially career with United Nations

Hobbies: writing, photography, piano, music, theater

A lot of what I post on my studyblr is personal experience and advice. Lately, being home in quarantine, I’ve only been gardening and waiting for my visa documents to be processed! I also spent most of my evenings trying to find housing in Geneva, so now that I’ve got that settled I have so much free time on my hands!! I’ve been traveling (v cautiously) with some new friends I’ve made, so that’s how this past month has been. Hopefully I’ll upload pictures of my garden soon uwu.

That’s a basic intro on me! If you’d like to find out more, here are some of my handles/hyperlinks:

Insta: @delciajule

VSCO

MyPortfolio

Or checkout more links in my description or about me page. I love meeting fellow tumblrs, so send me a message and say hi. 🙂♥️

#studyblr #vsco #study ref #delciastudies #uni #university #intro post

12 notes · View notes

medistudies · 5 years ago

Text

Hello everyone! This is my official intro post for my studyblr (just so i dont forget to do it later)! I’ve had a studyblr in the past but my personal life got too chaotic to keep up with it, however I’m glad to say that I’m getting back into my education! p.s. this is a side blog! main is surgicalassist

About Me🍄

I’m 20 years old ♊️

Can call me Molly or Mercury! She/They pronouns pls

Enby lesbian

From the midwest US, Ohio

Incoming freshman (hopefully); This will be my second college

Current major is Allied Health Sciences, specializing in pre-med

Aspiring for a medical career in Emergency, Critical Care, Hospice, or OB/GYN Surgery

Owner of ball pythons, rats, mice, and an overly grumpy hedgie

d y s c a l c u l i a

Interests🐌

Crafts! Recently been learning crochet, but I also paint, draw, and do collages!

I’ve been interested in learning Italian as well as ASL!

Taxidermy and curiosities!

Really big fan of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure & Grey’s Anatomy

Video Games! MInecraft, Far Cry 5, Kingdom Hearts, Skyrim, etc

Kinda want to get into photography! I enjoy old film cameras!

Goals🌼

Consistently use DBT for day to day situations

including keeping a mood/habit tracker

Pay off previous college debt (not covered by gov)/Receive transcripts

Develop healthy study habits that work well with current mental conditions

Keep up on cleaning

Try to do at least one (1) free online course a month + notes when not in college

Decide a minor!

Start volunteering

Make more friends/Maintain current friendships

What to Expect🐏

Medical Imagery with appropriate warnings

Nature Imagery

Mental health reminders

My Notes! These will not be consistent until I’m accepted into a program

Will include notes from whenever I do self-education i.e. coursera, khan academy, duolingo, etc as well as therapy!

Art/Volunteer projects i.e. crochet projects for Project Linus

Informational & Motivational Posts

I like way too many studyblrs to tag anyone so I apologize for my indecisiveness! I look forward to rejoining the study and medical community and everything it has to offer! Definitely feel free to reblog or like this so I can check out your blog! I’m looking to follow plenty of studyblrs & medblrs at the moment! I’ll use #medistudies to track my notes and anything yall want me to see!

#studyblr #studyblr intro #studyblr introduction #studyblr intro post #I've never been good at being concise lmao #but hello everyone! i missed this side of tumblr v badly!!#medistudies

9 notes · View notes

dudeofx · 5 years ago

Text

Proposition 5

A good business is built by resolving a demand or problem in the community. I think I found a good business. The specific problems that proposition 5 addresses are the following:

1. Changes that disrupt the economy bring along job dislocation. We have experienced this already with covid19 and we are anticipating more in the advent of AI and automation. When people get hit with unemployment they need outlets. In times of hardship people need support but most importantly they will need to communicate. People will want to communicate with people in similar situation. People will want to communicate with people that can get them out of their situation.

2. Marketing needs to be more constructive in communicating with the community. On the internet there is an unspoken war between people and advertising. There are issues with privacy, hacking, scams and abuse of trust. Using things like sock puppets, fictitious dialog, AI bots are all destructive to communication platforms because they diminish public trust. Its a negative feedback loop. The more effort a marketing agent is in using abusive tactics the more resistance he is going to receive in the future. Now say this agent manages to succeed. That will encourage other people to copy and do the same thing, increasing the problem exponentially. Spam destroys the trust in email. Robocalls destroy the trust in telephone. Its not a joking matter. Its a disease.

3. Large centralized platforms like Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. imbalance power away from individuals and small business. If power doesn’t concern you, it should. More so then income. The opposite of being powerful is being helpless. Is helplessness something you are comfortable with? At the surface we hear about data and privacy abuse from Facebook. We hear about Apple restraining choice. We hear about Google being intrusive in users daily lives and their suppressive behavior towards competition. Those are just the headlines, there is more going on underneath. There something called the “Chickenization of America” .

The above are the three problems that proposition 5 will attempt to address. My best description of the business is as follows.

- To address the 1st issue Proposition 5 in part is an employment agency. In this case it has two customers. People looking for jobs and potential employers.

- To address all three issues Proposition 5 is a communications platform. It will make use of the internet and therefore its a social network.

- Proposition 5 will not stop at servicing just the unemployed. It will also provide communications between small businesses. Businesses usually communicate their services thru advertising. To address the 2nd issue, Proposition 5 will take control of ad quality. The business model will be different. Advertisers will allowed to publish their ads for free. But all ads must be delivered constructively to the public to ensure no abuse of trust. Ads will have to be certified to meet a certain standards. Advertisers only have to cover the costs of certification. In a sense Proposition 5 will be a marketing agency. A kind of not-profit marketing agency.

- To address the third issue. Proposition 5 will structured as a franchise. The community/social network will be mostly local to a physical location. Proposition 5 will follow the way Linux is distributed. There will be a core development group making the software. Proposition 5 will then handout franchises to use and deploy the software at a specific location. Franchising is just to be able to maintain a specific level of standard. Also to assist and guide owners to successfully maintain their community. Competition and open source contributions will be encouraged. People will be allowed to take/license the software and deploy their community outside of the franchising.

- Proposition 5 is a communications platform around a specific physical location. That means the following behavior will be encouraged. People to use the platform to organize meetings. People seek/meet other people, in other words a dating platform.

- I have noticed that mingling with people is not just about conversation. Sometimes people need to be involved in activities. That means that proposition 5 will involve things like multiplayer games and video lounges where people can just chill in part and occasionally chat.

-----

Note: This post might be revised (edited). The hard-part here-in-after is to turn this into an actually business plan. Which hopefully [you the reader] can help.

The name Proposition 5 was inspired by the TV show Babylon 5 which shares the purpose. You can also look at the intro to “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets“ or “Deep Space 9″ to understand the kind of ambiance I am looking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6oTziHKM_c

#business #business idea #business plan #proposition5

2 notes · View notes

gotatext · 5 years ago

Text

hllo ! i’m nora ( she / her, 24, gmt ) crawling back to this rp once more like the dirty sewer slug i am !! i just can’t get enough, baybeyyy ! u may remember me frm such roles as alma putnam, rory bergstrom, bridget matusiak or greta o’driscoll 2 name jst a few.... sure there were more over these long years, bt the show must go on.... this is mimi, she’s dogmatic, tenacious n single-minded 2 the point of recklessness, she doesn’t like handouts n she’s funding her degree through her onlyfans account n moaning abt shit on tiktok. we love 2 see it !! slam that like button n i’ll creep into ur DMs like the slippery worm i am OR u can discord me at that bitch carole baskin#8664. a humble pinterest.

『ALEXA DEMIE ❙ CIS-FEMALE 』 ⟿ looks like MIMI MARTÍNEZ is here for HER SOPHOMORE year as an ARCHITECTURE AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY student. SHE is 22 years old & known to be STRONG-WILLED, GOAL-ORIENTED, ARROGANT & EASILY BORED. They’re living in MORIS, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ nora. 24. gmt. she/her.

this is p embarassing but i actually originally wrote mimi for a discord rp based around love island asgjag dont laugh at me but it was so chaotic n someone deleted it w-out telling any of us so i lost her bio.... all her threads....e verythin.... it was mad. but anyway we startin from scratch w this intro so bare with

mimi is a really extra character so when trying to flesh her out i thot of the most extra thing i could do n made a colour coded mindmap with watercolour paints detailing her values, aesthetics and early life. shoot me

background: she grew up in a trailer home in boulder city, abt half an hour from vegas. her mom had worked in a vegas casino for most of her 20s but relocated to boulder city for a slower pace of life / lower crime rate when she started having kids. mimi has 2 older brothers n she’s the youngest. has that invulnerable younger sibling complex n basically thinks nothing can touch her. very confident in her own intelligence and her ability to get shit done

has mexican ancestry on her mom’s side. doesn’t know her dad. was raised with spanish catholic principals n found it all very stained glass windows and extra n that’s why she was kinda drawn to the decadence of vegas and all these massively high key aesthetics, like dia de les muertos was her fave thing growin up just bcos the pure feel of the festival and painting a sugar skull on her face n being able to party on the streets in a flower crown where everyone was kinda anonymous but together in this celebration

in boulder city her mom worked as a carer as there’s a lot of retirees there. mimi really resented the slow pace of life, longed for some fucking energy n life. she was a cheerleader in school but outside of school there wsn’t much to do except practise stunts and go on bike rides. occasionally they’d get dressed up and catch a bus to henderson, the next biggest city for them to get tht sweet night life

her teenage years consisted mostly of hanging around the renovated motel blocks used as housing projects n tanning by the pool. very florida project if you’ve seen that. she reminds me a lot of the mum in that. also she started working as an avon rep going door-to-door when she was 16 bcos she wanted to have her own income. like as young as 14 she’d decided she was smart enough to go to college but she didn’t have the money n her family didn’t really see it as a worthwhile thing, her mom was very like the mom from matilda “you chose books.... i chose looks!” which i think is where a lot of mimi’s more shallow / appearance-driven traits come from

wasn’t really ‘cool’ until high school. before that she was a bit of a lisa simpson type. won a spelling bee when she was 9. was in the mathletes squad in middle school. when she went from middle school to high school she started cheer and tried to reinvent herself basically. always been very concerned with social mobility and keen to socially climb, like when she enters a new situation she’ll find out who the alphas are and quickly try n befriend them

when she turned 18 she moved out and went to vegas despite her mom hating the idea bcos it was everything she’d tried to get her kids away from. she worked in the clubs there for several years as a shot girl, a table dancer, n eventually she started workin behind the bar in a strip club. in the club it ws really hard to resist becoming a dancer bcos of the sheer amount they made in tips. no one really pressured her into it she just eventually decided tht it was way more logical to do it while she was young n fit and had the stamina and ppl were willing to pay to see her body so she started taking pole fitness lessons. she also started working as a cam girl around this time

working in vegas strip clubs is basically whats paid for uni. like she didn’t go at 18 like most of her friends did bcos she didn’t have the money and she didn’t want to feel indebted to a college like she had to compete for her place and not put a toe out of line bcos she was on a scholarship. she was determined to pay her own way and it took 4 years of working really hard and saving n even tho she was working in vegas she basically never went out bcos every penny she had needed to go on uni n thts how we get to radcliffe baybeeyy

part 2 - interior / values / personality

values: the aesthetic !! literally loves the aesthetic so much. everything she owns is super embellished, she’s a pop socket gal, her dell laptop is covered in glitzy stickers, she always has acrylics n probs makes nail art videos on tiktok. really tuned into tiny details like painting a little hello kitty above her eye which translates into her degree when she’s doing small-scale mockups of town plans n stuff... she jst puts so much detail into them. ppl often get surprised when she tells them she does architecture but it makes so much sense bcos she grew up in a trailer park n was always thinking about ways the space could be more efficiently used, like she loves re-conceptualising neighbourhoods, definitely spent hours on sims as a kid. she also grew up near hoover dam n so loads of school trips they just took them there n she was like.... this is tight but it could be cooler.... where’s the passion....

massively into photography, has such a neat instagram feed like everything just compliments the tones in the next post like mMMM. idk if any of u know any architecture students but this is literally the one constant i can find…. like they all have super good instagrams feeds. is that bitch that will take 40 fake candids of u in a row at different angles to get u the perfect profile picture cos she understands the importance of marketing urself and having an online #brand

has wire rimmed glasses that she doesn’t need to see BUT they r like a magnifying glass for when she’s working with really small materials to do a mock up of an urban plan, and also just sometimes wears them for the aesthetic bc she’s such a pinterest bitch

assassination nation is such a big mood. literally the aesthetics of that and lily colson’s whole brand of feminism and nudity not being inherently sexual but at the same time wanting to profit off that bcos why the fuck shouldnt she use a corrupt system to her advantage is incredibly mimi

literally a human personification of a bratz doll both in attitude and fashion sense

somehow simultaneously gansey in the raven cycle AND elle woods in legally blonde? the two genders

values cont bc i started rambling: her independence and freedom. being the best at any given task she sets her mind to accomplish because she is unable to accept failure. social mobility. sexual liberation. interested in the psychology of sub-cultures and how ppl form groups and interact w each other and cult identities which is why she minors in anthropology. pro-choice. pro-weed legalisation. pro-sex worker rights. very activist.

aesthetics tht remind me of her: von dutch. a strappy cami top that says ‘please do not do coke in the bathroom’. low-waisted jeans that show off her belly button piercing. acrylic nails tapping against a heavily embellished second-hand dell laptop. heart shaped sunglasses in every colour. translucent stripper heels with barbie doll heads and plastic spiders in the heel. spraying champagne you cant afford all over the walls. narcotics in a heart shaped locket. an amazon wishlist full of lingerie linked on your tinder profile. sex tapes recorded on VCR. a religious devotion to waxing clinics. necking shots like you were born to do it.

she’s an enfj type which makes her pretty charismatic and confidence, like she has a fierce kind of energy to her, but she’s also super unwilling to accept criticism, dogmatic and can only really see her own way of thinking, quite ruthless when it comes 2 other ppls emotions despite having a poor control of her own and being prone to turbulence / throwin a bitch fit in the craft lab. easily bored. competitive. self-assured to the point of arrogance. forceful. adaptable. usually more rational than emotional but occasionally loses the ability to make rational decisions when blinded by a need for perfectionism.

very goal-oriented. money motivates her. money and clothes. she wants to look bomb while earning big bucks. when she gets her mind set on a project it literally consumes her she will forget to eat and sleep? i don’t know her. like when a final design project is due for architecture she’ll be up all night doing adderall and speed to keep her awake working on the placement of a single tree for ages cos its gotta be perfect

loves chaos. will spill your secrets and pretend it was an accident. will always be that gif of kim kardashian sipping her tea while drama unfolds around her. lives for the drama like that gifset of bratz when she comes running and gets her phone out to record a fight.

im makin her sound like a really bad person but hopefully she’ll be somewhat likeable she can be very charismatic and endearing and she’s naturally quite funny. also now she’s finally in college and doesn’t have to worry so much about money she actually allows herself to party n bcos she denied herself of it for so long she kinda makes up for it by going p wild like will be the girl climbing on to stage to crowd surf at gigs or doing a summersault off the bar and being escorted out by bouncers, thats the energy were looking at, pure dionysian hedonistic impulse

really gd at talking her way out of shit like parking fines. so good at being an ‘im baby’ girl and often dumbs herself down to figures of authority to appear less like a threatening ball-breaker and more like a confused fiat 500 girl who didn’t know red meant stop she thought it meant slow down

listens almost exclusively to female artists. has fergalicious on repeat when she does squats infront of the mirror n just the biggest fergie stan. also lana del rey’s whole vibe is massive mimi energy

ok ya thats all i have for now..... hopefully this is somewhat coherent and not just garbage.

#radintro #plot w me bitches #im fun n love quarantine sadness

18 notes · View notes