questinwitchface

[questinwitchface]

Chapter 9

Brood

Rated Mature, multichap, SamBucky, Yelena Belova, Joaquín Torres, Chose not to use archive warnings

Mission Fic set after TFATWS (canon from CA:BNW and Thunderbolts doesn't apply), a little more Bucky-centric than I would've liked but I'm tired of futzing with it, so it'll have to do.

Summary: Sam and Joaquín are sent on a mission to stop an assassination, and they’re surprised to find that the assassin is a six-year-old girl. The woman who stops the assassin is a former Black Widow who informs them that she’s tracking the girl because she’s worried someone is trying to resurrect the Red Room to create more Widows. Sam takes Joaquín and the woman back home so they can come up with a plan to save the girl and deal with the potential resurrection of the Red Room, only to find out that the woman and Bucky have a history.

Snippet:

Sam is exhausted. Not just exhausted, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that comes with knowing that he’s about to deal with a horrible sort of mission involving children. He can’t get the little girl’s face out of his mind. The bright red hair done up in pigtail braids, the way she’d held the knife at the councilwoman’s throat. She couldn’t have been more than six, maybe seven years old. Sam pinches the bridge of his nose. He’d known child assassins existed in the world. He’d been close friends with Nat, after all. He’d seen children wearing bomb vests sent to blow up troops before. It’s not like Sam’s unaware of the awful things that exist in the world. It’s just that it had caught him off guard, that’s all. He wasn’t expecting to see it today. “You good?” Joaquín asks, sitting down next to him. “Shouldn’t you be in the cockpit?” Sam asks, looking up at him. Joaquín shrugs a shoulder. “It’s on autopilot,” he answers. The blonde woman that had actually stopped the assassination sits across from them, watching. She’s wearing a smart business suit, her long blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail that had only been a little mussed during the fight. She’s got a relaxed posture, a nonchalant expression, but her eyes are focused and intent as they watch, like Bucky’s would be. God, Sam wishes Bucky was here. Sam could use a hug right now. “I’m fine,” Sam tells Joaquín, turning back to look at him. “Just wasn’t expecting a kid.” “No one ever does,” the woman chimes in, her voice flat, a Russian accent obvious. “That’s why it works.”

Read the rest on AO3

[questinwitchface]

Chapter Two

Love, Bucky

SamBucky; Rated T; Multichapter WIP; Part 2 in a series.

Summary: A rewrite of my fic Dear Sam into Sam's point of view.

Snippet:

Sam has just finished his usual morning run and shower routine, and he’d come back into the kitchen to make breakfast and have a cup of coffee only to find Bucky there waiting for him. Bucky is leaning against the counter, still wearing his pajamas, sipping a cup of coffee, holding a leather-bound journal. He hands the journal to Sam in lieu of a greeting.

Sam frowns and opens it to the first page.

September 30, 2024

Dear Sam, This is a stupid exercise my therapist recommended. Apparently, I struggle with expressing my emotions verbally, so I’m supposed to try writing out my feelings. I hate this idea. I think it’s dumb. Sorry to drag you into it. Anyway, if the whole point is that I’m supposed to write shit that I don’t say out loud, fine. You drink straight from the bottle of orange juice when you come back from your run, and I think that’s gross. You think that I just don’t like orange juice, but I actually like it a lot. I just don’t want to drink from the bottle after you’ve put your mouth on it like that. There. I wrote about my feelings, so that should count, right? Thanks for reading this, I guess. Bucky

Sam looks up from the letter and meets Bucky’s eyes. “Man, what the hell?”

Link to Love, Bucky

Link to Dear Sam in case you haven't read it and want to start there.

[questinwitchface]

Interrupting my break from Tumblr just to say that I finally finished the draft of Sam's Delivery Service, and I managed to write a chapter of The Sequel to The Pirate Fic that I'd been stuck on for months, and I even did a little work on that rom-com fic. And I did it all yesterday, and when I looked at it today, it wasn't hot garbage but decent drafts!

Also checked out my WIP folder. I have 12 completed drafts in there (still need revision/editing) and 22 incomplete drafts, which is so manageable compared to where I was this time last year. I may even pare down the 22 incomplete ones, move a few to the "ideas I probably won't write" folder, but I'm holding off for now until after I feel a bit better about fandom and my writing. But yeah! Successes.

[questinwitchface]

Chapter Six

The Cute Cat Groomer

A Sam/Bucky/Joaquín fanfic! Rated E, multichapter, AU where Joaquín is a pet groomer, mostly fluff, some smut, a bit of angst

Joaquín pet groomer idea originally by @hornymotionalcookie (who gave me permission to use the idea)

Snippet:

Joaquín is having a great day. So far, he’s had all his appointments show up on time, and he’s actually on schedule to leave on time today for a change. It’s not like Joaquín has a problem staying late sometimes, but he’s been doing it every night for the last week, since Lindsay’s university courses had started up again and she’d been unloading some of her clients onto him. Joaquín maybe should bring it up to her, but the added money has been nice, and he does love making sure that everyone’s pets are happy, healthy, and cute as they can be, so he hasn’t yet. Still, when Lindsay pops her head into the grooming room and asks Joaquín if he can stay to help one more client, it takes a lot of willpower not to roll his eyes. “Why can’t you do it?” Joaquín asks. “I have that sociology class tonight, and I need to grab dinner before I go,” Lindsay answers, apologies in her warm brown eyes. “I’d tell them to come back tomorrow, but, well, there’s a cat with some gum stuck in its fur. I’d hate to send them home without helping.” Joaquín frowns. Yeah, he can’t leave a cat in that state. “Okay, yeah, I’ll stay late,” he says. Before she can even ask, he adds, “Yeah, I’ll handle closing. Go get something to eat.” Lindsay smiles brightly at him. “Thanks, J. You’re a lifesaver.” Joaquín finishes sweeping some fur into the trash can and then follows her back into the lobby, where he comes face-to-face with a grumpy-looking man holding a white, long-haired cat with a pretty nasty bit of matted fur between her shoulders. Joaquín is so focused on the poor cat that it takes him a minute to notice the man’s prosthetic arm, not that it’s super obvious. He’s wearing a jacket that covers it, but Joaquín can still see his hand, and that’s… That’s gold-laced vibranium. Joaquín blinks. The Winter Soldier is in the pet grooming shop he works at. Holy shit.

Read the rest on AO3

[questinwitchface]

I HAVE to tell you how much I absolutely love every single story I read by you! And it's always the same, I'm reading and thinking "THIS IS SO GOOD", and sure enough, you wrote it <3

Oh, thank you so much! This was a lovely message to receive. I'm sorry I took a minute to reply, I've had the worst weekend, but getting this ask was really uplifting and sweet. Thank you <3

[questinwitchface]

Chapter 8

Brood

Rated Mature, multichap, SamBucky, Yelena Belova, Joaquín Torres, Chose not to use archive warnings

Mission Fic set after TFATWS (canon from CA:BNW and Thunderbolts doesn't apply), a little more Bucky-centric than I would've liked but I'm tired of futzing with it, so it'll have to do.

Summary: Sam and Joaquín are sent on a mission to stop an assassination, and they’re surprised to find that the assassin is a six-year-old girl. The woman who stops the assassin is a former Black Widow who informs them that she’s tracking the girl because she’s worried someone is trying to resurrect the Red Room to create more Widows. Sam takes Joaquín and the woman back home so they can come up with a plan to save the girl and deal with the potential resurrection of the Red Room, only to find out that the woman and Bucky have a history.

Snippet:

Sam is exhausted. Not just exhausted, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that comes with knowing that he’s about to deal with a horrible sort of mission involving children. He can’t get the little girl’s face out of his mind. The bright red hair done up in pigtail braids, the way she’d held the knife at the councilwoman’s throat. She couldn’t have been more than six, maybe seven years old. Sam pinches the bridge of his nose. He’d known child assassins existed in the world. He’d been close friends with Nat, after all. He’d seen children wearing bomb vests sent to blow up troops before. It’s not like Sam’s unaware of the awful things that exist in the world. It’s just that it had caught him off guard, that’s all. He wasn’t expecting to see it today. “You good?” Joaquín asks, sitting down next to him. “Shouldn’t you be in the cockpit?” Sam asks, looking up at him. Joaquín shrugs a shoulder. “It’s on autopilot,” he answers. The blonde woman that had actually stopped the assassination sits across from them, watching. She’s wearing a smart business suit, her long blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail that had only been a little mussed during the fight. She’s got a relaxed posture, a nonchalant expression, but her eyes are focused and intent as they watch, like Bucky’s would be. God, Sam wishes Bucky was here. Sam could use a hug right now. “I’m fine,” Sam tells Joaquín, turning back to look at him. “Just wasn’t expecting a kid.” “No one ever does,” the woman chimes in, her voice flat, a Russian accent obvious. “That’s why it works.”

Read the rest on AO3

[questinwitchface]

Love, Bucky

SamBucky; Rated T; Multichapter WIP; Part 2 in a series.

Summary: A rewrite of my fic Dear Sam into Sam's point of view.

Snippet:

Sam has just finished his usual morning run and shower routine, and he’d come back into the kitchen to make breakfast and have a cup of coffee only to find Bucky there waiting for him. Bucky is leaning against the counter, still wearing his pajamas, sipping a cup of coffee, holding a leather-bound journal. He hands the journal to Sam in lieu of a greeting.

Sam frowns and opens it to the first page.

September 30, 2024

Dear Sam, This is a stupid exercise my therapist recommended. Apparently, I struggle with expressing my emotions verbally, so I’m supposed to try writing out my feelings. I hate this idea. I think it’s dumb. Sorry to drag you into it. Anyway, if the whole point is that I’m supposed to write shit that I don’t say out loud, fine. You drink straight from the bottle of orange juice when you come back from your run, and I think that’s gross. You think that I just don’t like orange juice, but I actually like it a lot. I just don’t want to drink from the bottle after you’ve put your mouth on it like that. There. I wrote about my feelings, so that should count, right? Thanks for reading this, I guess. Bucky

Sam looks up from the letter and meets Bucky’s eyes. “Man, what the hell?”

Link to Love, Bucky

Link to Dear Sam in case you haven't read it and want to start there.

[questinwitchface]

Chapter Five

The Cute Cat Groomer

A Sam/Bucky/Joaquín fanfic! Rated E, multichapter, AU where Joaquín is a pet groomer, mostly fluff, some smut, a bit of angst

Joaquín pet groomer idea originally by @hornymotionalcookie (who gave me permission to use the idea)

Snippet:

Joaquín is having a great day. So far, he’s had all his appointments show up on time, and he’s actually on schedule to leave on time today for a change. It’s not like Joaquín has a problem staying late sometimes, but he’s been doing it every night for the last week, since Lindsay’s university courses had started up again and she’d been unloading some of her clients onto him. Joaquín maybe should bring it up to her, but the added money has been nice, and he does love making sure that everyone’s pets are happy, healthy, and cute as they can be, so he hasn’t yet. Still, when Lindsay pops her head into the grooming room and asks Joaquín if he can stay to help one more client, it takes a lot of willpower not to roll his eyes. “Why can’t you do it?” Joaquín asks. “I have that sociology class tonight, and I need to grab dinner before I go,” Lindsay answers, apologies in her warm brown eyes. “I’d tell them to come back tomorrow, but, well, there’s a cat with some gum stuck in its fur. I’d hate to send them home without helping.” Joaquín frowns. Yeah, he can’t leave a cat in that state. “Okay, yeah, I’ll stay late,” he says. Before she can even ask, he adds, “Yeah, I’ll handle closing. Go get something to eat.” Lindsay smiles brightly at him. “Thanks, J. You’re a lifesaver.” Joaquín finishes sweeping some fur into the trash can and then follows her back into the lobby, where he comes face-to-face with a grumpy-looking man holding a white, long-haired cat with a pretty nasty bit of matted fur between her shoulders. Joaquín is so focused on the poor cat that it takes him a minute to notice the man’s prosthetic arm, not that it’s super obvious. He’s wearing a jacket that covers it, but Joaquín can still see his hand, and that’s… That’s gold-laced vibranium. Joaquín blinks. The Winter Soldier is in the pet grooming shop he works at. Holy shit.

Read the rest on AO3

[questinwitchface]

Opened Tumblr just to check my DMs but this was the first post that opened, and honestly I really like it, it made me smile. I really like how the cherry blossoms in the background are so much softer and almost more muted than the bold colors and lines on Sam in the foreground, gives it a hazy, dreamlike quality that I think is so neat, clearly makes Sam the focus. And yeah, maybe the proportions are a little wonky, but you did a good job with the details on the suit. It kinda makes me want to work on some fanart now, like it's making something in my heart go, "yeah, fanart is for fun and for love!" And I haven't had an art piece strike that chord with me in a while. Thank you.

So it took an hour to find the reference pic I wanted, another half hour to find the art supplies, and now I don't even feel like drawing anymore 🙄

[questinwitchface]

Chapter 7

Brood

Rated Mature, multichap, SamBucky, Yelena Belova, Joaquín Torres, Chose not to use archive warnings

Mission Fic set after TFATWS (canon from CA:BNW and Thunderbolts doesn't apply), a little more Bucky-centric than I would've liked but I'm tired of futzing with it, so it'll have to do.

Summary: Sam and Joaquín are sent on a mission to stop an assassination, and they’re surprised to find that the assassin is a six-year-old girl. The woman who stops the assassin is a former Black Widow who informs them that she’s tracking the girl because she’s worried someone is trying to resurrect the Red Room to create more Widows. Sam takes Joaquín and the woman back home so they can come up with a plan to save the girl and deal with the potential resurrection of the Red Room, only to find out that the woman and Bucky have a history.

Snippet:

Sam is exhausted. Not just exhausted, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that comes with knowing that he’s about to deal with a horrible sort of mission involving children. He can’t get the little girl’s face out of his mind. The bright red hair done up in pigtail braids, the way she’d held the knife at the councilwoman’s throat. She couldn’t have been more than six, maybe seven years old. Sam pinches the bridge of his nose. He’d known child assassins existed in the world. He’d been close friends with Nat, after all. He’d seen children wearing bomb vests sent to blow up troops before. It’s not like Sam’s unaware of the awful things that exist in the world. It’s just that it had caught him off guard, that’s all. He wasn’t expecting to see it today. “You good?” Joaquín asks, sitting down next to him. “Shouldn’t you be in the cockpit?” Sam asks, looking up at him. Joaquín shrugs a shoulder. “It’s on autopilot,” he answers. The blonde woman that had actually stopped the assassination sits across from them, watching. She’s wearing a smart business suit, her long blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail that had only been a little mussed during the fight. She’s got a relaxed posture, a nonchalant expression, but her eyes are focused and intent as they watch, like Bucky’s would be. God, Sam wishes Bucky was here. Sam could use a hug right now. “I’m fine,” Sam tells Joaquín, turning back to look at him. “Just wasn’t expecting a kid.” “No one ever does,” the woman chimes in, her voice flat, a Russian accent obvious. “That’s why it works.”

Read the rest on AO3

[questinwitchface]

You know what? I'm sick of all the bullshit. I'm gonna take a break from Tumblr for idk how long. I'll still respond to DMs, but I'm not gonna be looking at posts or sharing anything except maybe fic updates (except maybe not even that because idk if people even care about those kinds of posts). I'm sorry. Things are just too negative right now.

[questinwitchface]

Wow, what an awful fucking day. Coffee maker wasn't working properly this morning. Partner's mom did a thing, which means the next time I see her, we're gonna have to have this huge heart to heart chat where I'm gonna have to balance being empathetic and not upsetting her/my partner with maintaining my boundaries, and that's always a goddamn headache. Now there is a wasp in my craft room/writing room, so I can't write or craft or create anything today because all my stuff to do that is in that room, and my partner won't be home to deal with the wasp for another 8 hours (I can't deal with the wasp myself). Exacerbating all these issues, our AC is out, so I've been hot all day, and it's just now getting to the hottest hour. Fuck today, honestly.

[questinwitchface]

Chapter Four

The Cute Cat Groomer

A Sam/Bucky/Joaquín fanfic! Rated E, multichapter, AU where Joaquín is a pet groomer, mostly fluff, some smut, a bit of angst

Joaquín pet groomer idea originally by @hornymotionalcookie (who gave me permission to use the idea)

Snippet:

Joaquín is having a great day. So far, he’s had all his appointments show up on time, and he’s actually on schedule to leave on time today for a change. It’s not like Joaquín has a problem staying late sometimes, but he’s been doing it every night for the last week, since Lindsay’s university courses had started up again and she’d been unloading some of her clients onto him. Joaquín maybe should bring it up to her, but the added money has been nice, and he does love making sure that everyone’s pets are happy, healthy, and cute as they can be, so he hasn’t yet. Still, when Lindsay pops her head into the grooming room and asks Joaquín if he can stay to help one more client, it takes a lot of willpower not to roll his eyes. “Why can’t you do it?” Joaquín asks. “I have that sociology class tonight, and I need to grab dinner before I go,” Lindsay answers, apologies in her warm brown eyes. “I’d tell them to come back tomorrow, but, well, there’s a cat with some gum stuck in its fur. I’d hate to send them home without helping.” Joaquín frowns. Yeah, he can’t leave a cat in that state. “Okay, yeah, I’ll stay late,” he says. Before she can even ask, he adds, “Yeah, I’ll handle closing. Go get something to eat.” Lindsay smiles brightly at him. “Thanks, J. You’re a lifesaver.” Joaquín finishes sweeping some fur into the trash can and then follows her back into the lobby, where he comes face-to-face with a grumpy-looking man holding a white, long-haired cat with a pretty nasty bit of matted fur between her shoulders. Joaquín is so focused on the poor cat that it takes him a minute to notice the man’s prosthetic arm, not that it’s super obvious. He’s wearing a jacket that covers it, but Joaquín can still see his hand, and that’s… That’s gold-laced vibranium. Joaquín blinks. The Winter Soldier is in the pet grooming shop he works at. Holy shit.

Read the rest on AO3

[questinwitchface]

SamBucky Online Dating AU: Chapter 2/4

Chapter Summary: Sam and Bucky clear the air.

Fic Synopsis: Sam Wilson, divorced single father, decides he is ready to join the online dating pool. With the help of his ex and his son, he creates a dating profile. Sam's friend's friend, Bucky Barnes, sees the profile and wonders if it really is Sam. Sam's a good-looking guy, so maybe someone is using his pictures to catfish some poor bastard. Bucky insists he should reach out to ask this guy if he is the real Sam Wilson. Bickering and banter ensues. And maybe a little flirting.

Preview:

[questinwitchface]

You know what's been nice these past few weeks? Finishing one SamBucky fic, posting a new SamBucky fic, and while looking at my inbox on AO3, seeing that Dear Readers have recently commented on my older SamBucky fics:

The Boys of Summer

The Science of Things

The Real Thing

The Rainbow Shield

Spicy SamBucky

It does mean a lot to me whether you've just found my old stuff, or you're reading my new stuff. Comments bring me so much joy.

[questinwitchface]

Sebastian Stan has now buzzed all his hair off, and people are being mean about it. Couldn't be me. I hope he's happy with how he looks, and I hope he's enjoying it.

[questinwitchface]

RIP

new look