#aka he looks like he's in his late twenties not his second century of life

[woodsywarbler]

[writing-with-olive]

The Stonewall Riots of 1969

1) Current State of Being (it was not good, fam, not good)

To set the scene, we’re in the late sixties. We’ve won the second World War, and suddenly everyone’s dealing with the fact that the patriotic frenzy America has been whipped into isn’t really having the same purpose it used to. Thing is, everyone’s still really heated along the basic lines of DEATH TO COMMUNISM AND ALSO COMMUNISTS. During the war, this was helpful. It created a sense of unity. But once the war was over, attention turned inward.

At this time, there was also research that queer people were "sex perverts" and a government report even came out saying

"The lack of emotional stability which is found in most sex perverts and the weakness of their moral fiber, makes them susceptible to the blandishments of the foreign espionage agent [...] the pervert is easy prey to the blackmailer.

This same report also cited a case of a gay man "who's homosexuality was used by the Russians [who were communist] to recruit him as a double agent before world war 1." Basically, the overall gist was that gay people were believed to either be communists now, or they would become communists because their brains were weaker.

Alrighty, but why were they easy prey? First, when it came to communism, they were just as susceptible as anyone else, but after steep laws against queer people were passed, blackmail became pretty real.

So... yeah, let's talk about a couple laws that were in place in the late sixties, shall we?

For the crime of sleeping with a consenting partner in the privacy of your own home you could face anything from:

A light fine

Five, ten or twenty years in prison

A life sentence

Electrical shock therapy

Castration

In addition, to target trans people, police had also dug out a law from the nineteenth century that was originally passed to supress angry tenant farmers who would don disguises and demonstrate against their landlords (law found in subsection 4 of section 240.35 of the New York Penal Code). The law stated that individuals could not wear more than three items of clothing that did not match their assigned gender at birth.If an officer thought you were breaking this law, they could arrest you and take you to a bathroom or similarly private location and have an officer who matched your presented gender either do a strip search or pat you down there to see if things matched.

Things got especially bad when New York realized they’d have to “clean up the place” in preperation for hosting the World Fair. In part, this meant a heavy crackdown on the gay community, and by extention, gay bars.

2) The Genovese Crime Family and Stonewall

At around this time, the Mob was starting to notice that gay bars were an excelent source of profit - since the prohibition era (1920-1933), limited access bars and speakeasies had popped up everywhere and since the gay community already couldn’t be themselves on the streets, they retreated to these more sheltered locations.

Three mafia members decided to open a gay bar because ohhh boy could you rake in some serious profit. Combined, the three of them put up $3500 to “renovate” the Stonewall Inn (which had gone through itterations of being a straight nightclub, straight bar, and gay restaurant in a sort of irregular cycle). 

Renovations included building a stage to dance on, painting the walls black, and getting a jukebox. No running water, no fire exit, just the bare minimum. It certainly wasn’t legal.

When they opened (as a bottle club to get around pesky liquor laws), the bouncer would look through a little slat in the door and if you had a codeword or looked sufficiently gay, he’d let you in. You then had to sign up to be a part of the club (about a dollar) and write your name down on a sheet of paper. Of course, no one wrote down their real names. 

The liquor in question was stolen, to begin with, and then heavily watered down with... questionably clean water, and then sold at about three times the original price in half-cleaned glasses (glasses were dunked in a bucket and then reused). Since none of the patrons really had high expectations anyway, they went with it. Needless to say, however, Stonewall was not a particularly nice place to be.

With all the money the trio raked in, a cut had to go to the Mafia man who controlled the district, and another cut went to paying of the notoriously corrupt 6th Precinct, to avoid getting the whole place shut down. 

Because they were payed off, the police would only conduct their mandated raids early in the night before things got going, and on weekdays - this was when there weren’t a ton of people there, and it was easy to make it look like nothing was amiss.

3) The Raid (this is where shit gets real)

First of all, the thing is - no one knows why it happened. It just.... did.

On June 28th, 1969, at about 2am, the night was in full swing. The bar was crammed full of people dancing and drinking. The air was stuffy as usual and quite dark. 

Then the bright flourescent lights come on - the signal that there was a raid and to seperate and to look less gay. The police came through, and called that they were making arrests. Everyone needed to line up against the wall and have their ID’s ready. Of course this was an issue, because just about everyone was legally not supposed to be at stonewall. 

As the police began taking people outside, a crowd was going - raids at this time were... unusual to say the least. Some of the queens went into the back of the police cars without much of a fight - obviously they were terrified, but it didn’t look like there was much they could do.

One of them, however, and no one knows who for sure, was having none of this. Though Marsha Johnson and Sylvia Rivera have both been suggested as the starter of the riot, both have denied it, saying it was someone else. Storme DeLarverie, however, has both accepted and denied it was her. In an interview where she confirmed herself as the starter, she described her reaction, saying:

“The cop said ‘Move f****t’, thinking that I was a gay guy. I said, ‘I will not! And, don’t you dare touch me.’ With that, the cop shoved me and I instinctively punched him right in the face. He bled! He was then dropping to the ground - not me!”

She then turned to the crowd and yelled “why don’t you all do something?”

This was when things transformed. Objects started to fly. It was like someone had just punched a hole through the dam holding back the collective anger of the queer community.

A lot of the queer street kids, homeless, desperate, and with nothing to lose, were at the forefront of the fight, throwing anything from stones to pennies to bottles. Here’s the thing: no one really liked Stonewall - it wasn’t particularly nice or inviting or anything like that, but it was THEIRS and they were going to fight like hell for it.

Those being pulled out of the Inn started fighting back too - throwing what they could, kicking, punching, pushing back against the police. Marsha Johnson, a woman some have referred to as “basically a lesbian superhero” even climbed a telephone pole and threw an unidentified heavy object at a police car, shattering the window. 

It was chaos and the crowd was still building. The flying objects didn’t stop, and it wasn’t like anyone had great aim - they were just as likely to hit a fellow protester - but there was a sense of comraderie and it made the police nervous. They were calling for reinforcements, but none were coming.

Finally, one of the police chiefs decided they had to retreat into Stonewall. They grabbed a few people as hostages and dissapeared inside, and barricaded the door. The inside of the Stonewall Inn was a wreck. The jukebox had been smashed. Same with the stage, the bathroom mirrors, and the cash register. Broken furniture was strewn on the floor.

Outside, the rioters had yanked a parking meter out of the ground and were trying to bash their way through the door, using it like a battering ram. Each thud made the officers even more nervous, and the captain, realizing things could turn from bad to horrific and deadly commanded his officers not to shoot unless he shot first. He went up to each one, commanding them individually by name, saying that if they shot without his direct sayso, they would be spend the rest of their police careers with only the worst possible jobs. To their credit, no one shot.

Outside, reinforcements finally arrived, armed in full riot gear - helmets, plastic shields, those club/baton things. They came forward in a full on phalanx. Then it started getting really ugly. People ended up lying on the sidewalk with blood coming from their heads or injured in other ways. The crowd started falling back, step by step. Finally, many of them ran.

But not to flee. Instead, they went all the way around the block and came up behind the reinforcement officers. Surprised that there was a new attack coming from behind, it was the police that began to loose the ground, and were forced to retreat back, back, back.

It was into the late, late hours of the night when the riots finally died down to nothing, the last of the crowd finally dispersed, exhausted.

4) The Next Day (aka a giant middle finger to the cops)

The shattered glass sparkled in the morning light the next day - a tribute to what had gone down the night before. 

That night, the crowds around stonewall were huge. And it wasn’t just the queer community - the anti-war protesters and Black Panthers had joined in, standing against the even larger ranks of officers. The night before was a tipping point, but if momentum was to keep going, there needed to be sustained effort.

Inside, the Inn was back to normal. The Mafia had repaired the stage, gotten a new cash register, and even replaced the jukebox. It was if the efforts of the police had never even happened. Throughout the night, the queer community went in and out as though everything were totally normal - as if the police didn’t matter.

The riots were even worse than the night before, but the police couldn’t gain any ground.

Despite what was happening and the triumphs of the queer community, the press was a little less enthusiastic, aiming to diminish what had happened, taking the viewpoint of the police, or claiming the riots happened because of a celebrity’s death, and not the decades upon decades of oppression.

5) The Impact (how we got to today)

A year later, a lot of the Stonewall participants gathered to commemorate the movement. There were now several activism groups that had grown since the riots, but there needed a way to keep it growing - keep the flame from dying out.

One woman proposed that they have a march like the Civil Rights movement and Anti-war protesters were having. As soon as the question filled the space, there was unanimous consensus. Yes - they were to march.

It was terrifying. One member remembered fearing that only ten or so people would show up - that it was only going to make them into a laughingstock and nothing more. Indeed, many people had shown up with popcorn to “watch the f*gs” - it was seen almost as a show or performance. 

But the moment was anything but. When the member looked back, in apprehension, what he saw wasn’t ten or the anticipated couple hundred people. No more than two thousand people had joined the parade. And not just the queer community - straight New Yorkers were there too. It was a moment of solidarity, and a demand for justice.

Every year since, there have been pride marches around the country, memorium to the community, and to the fight we’ve been fighting for a very long time, and to the patrons of Stonewall Inn who finally decided enough was enough.

6) Sources (because apparently trusting an unsourced tumblr posts is seen as an academic no-no)

(all in MLA because I just copy/pasted them from my research notes and also MLA feels official and all that)

Yardley, William. "Stormy DeLarverie, Early Leader in the Gay Rights Movement, Dies at 93." The New York Times, 29 May 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/storme-delarverie-early-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-dies-at-93.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

Brown, Dalvin. "Marsha P. Johnson: Transgender Hero of Stonewall Riots Finally Gets Her Due." USA Today, 27 Mar. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/03/27/black-history-marsha-johnson-and-stonewall-riots/2353538002/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

Burey, Jodi-Ann. "'It Wasn't No Damn Riot': Celebrating Stonewall Uprising Activist Storme DeLarverie." The Riveter, Feb. 2017, theriveter.co/voice/it-wasnt-no-damn-riot-celebrating-stonewall-uprising-activist-storme-delarverie/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. 2nd ed., New York, St. Martin's Griffin, 2010.

Duberman, Martin B. Stonewall. New York, Plume, 1993.

Edsall, Nicholas C. Toward Stonewall: Homosexuality and Society in the Modern Western World. Charlottesville [Va.], U of Virginia P, 2003.

Kristi K. "Something like a Super Lesbian: Storme DeLarverie (In Memoriam)." The K Word, edited by Kristi K, 28 May 2014, thekword.com/2014/05/28/something-like-a-super-lesbian-storme-delarverie-in-memoriam/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

---. "Something like a Super Lesbian: Storme DeLarverie (In Memoriam)." The K Word, edited by Kristi K, 28 May 2014, thekword.com/2014/05/28/something-like-a-super-lesbian-storme-delarverie-in-memoriam/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

"The Stonewall You Know Is a Myth. And That's O.K. | NYT Celebrating Pride." YouTube, uploaded by The New York Times, 31 May 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7jnzOMxb14. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

(not in mla sorry) - PBS’s Stonewall Uprising (documentary)

++++

tagging: @veryunoriginal and @doggo038 because yall seemed pretty interested. Also my usual taglist: @candlemouse @bookdragonfanish @book-limerence​

If you want to be added/removed from any of my taglists, let me know! taglists found pinned to the top of my blog :D

[desnayy]

I'm still working on the au, but I may as well throw you guys what I have so far. Sorry for the formatting, it's 2am and I'm posting on mobile. Also, some ages have been fudged and changed because my au, I do what I want.

Pretty much canon divergent from the original Soul Eater plot. Treaty with Witches where the only Witch souls allowed to be taken are those who are actively harming people, peaceful Witches can live and do work anywhere, including DWMA. Also, fuck canon, Witches can be any gender. Kishins are pretty much the same as in the series. Minecraft non-boss hostile mobs exist as monsters summoned by Kishins and evil Witches. DWMA as a school has up to traditionally college aged students/classes, and has a few elementary age students/classes, mostly Weapons learning control. This version of DWMA is near a forest, rather than in Nevada. The ages for the Witches are mostly how they physically appear, as Witches can live very long and age very slow. Though Fundy, Quackity, Antfrost, and Gem are all the listed ages.

--Gods--

Ridgedog: God of Riches and Pleasure. Surprisingly the least liked of the gods despite his domains.

Kristin: Goddess of Death, aka Lady Death. Principle of DWMA. Is in God form for a majority of the time until she leaves DWMA, where she takes a human form. Recently created Ranboo as a successor, should things go wrong in the future.

XD: Major God of Chaos and Destruction, sealed after the creation of the first Kishin, Dream.

Drista: Minor Goddess of Chaos and Pranks, about 2 centuries old.

Foolish: God of the Oceans and Life. Usually appears to be in his early twenties. Recently decided to try life as a mortal, so deaged himself to be adopted and raised as a human. Can’t change his emerald green eyes and sharp teeth.

KirinDave: God of Storms and Forests. Most elusive of all the gods. Don't mess with the forest :).

Xisumavoid: God of Animals and Change, second oldest god.

Bdubs: God of Time and Sleep.

Technoblade: God of Blood and War, creator of the werebeasts. Likes potatoes, a lot. Sleeps, a lot.

GeminiTay “Gem”: Mid twenties. Deer witch. Has antlers and deer legs like a satyr. Has plant based magic. Lives in the forest around Death City.

--Witches--

Philza: Crow witch, granted immortality by Kristin. Vice principle of DWMA. Good friends with Technoblade. Has adopted two sons in addition to helping raise Ranboo and helped raise an old friend’s son as well.

Puffy: Late 30s. Sheep witch. Adoptive mother to Dream, Foolish, and Michelle. Has rainbow colored hair, sheep horns, and light green sheep eyes. Works as a counselor/therapist in Death City.

Fundy: Late teens. Fox witch. Has fox ears and tail. Mostly just pulls pranks on students of DWMA and other Death City residents. For some reason, Wilbur calls him son. Used to have a crush on Dream.

Quackity: Early twenties. Duck witch. Has duck wings. Karl and Sapnap’s boyfriend, lives in a Death City apartment with them. Has a scar on his face that goes over his left eye, rendering him blind in that eye. Tends to join Fundy in pulling pranks.

Antfrost: Early twenties. Cat witch. Has cat ears and tail, as well as being able to transform into a cat. Stays with Bad and Skeppy. Part of DWMA’s security team. Gets infected with Black Blood.

Grian: Mid twenties. Parrot witch. Has parrot wings. Yet another mischief maker, though he tends to go solo on his own pranks. Has a whole flock of parrots. Mumbo's meister.

--Meisters--

Karl Jacobs: Looks to be early twenties. Sapnap’s meister as well as boyfriend, along with Quackity. Sort of just, showed up one day, with no memories other than his name. Has multicolored purple and green eyes. Stays in an apartment with Sapnap and Quackity. Very good at writing stories, although they are unsettlingly close to actual historical events.

Punz: Early twenties. Purpled's older sibling (he/they). Can temporarily match Soul Wavelengths with anyone, can't use Soul Resonance. Infected by Black Blood.

Purpled: 15-16. Punz's younger brother. Became Tommy's meister when Tommy was rescued from Dream. Stays in the dorms, even though Punz has an apartment.

Sam: Late 30s. Ponk's meister and husband. George's adoptive father. Combat teacher at DWMA, also head of the school's security. 7'4 for some reason. Almost got infected with Black Blood through Ponk, but managed to not get affected. 

Bad: Late 30s, assumingly. Skeppy's meister and husband. Sapnap's adoptive father. History teacher at DWMA, also part of the school's security. 9'6 because he isn't human. Infected with Black Blood.

Niki Nihachu: 17-18. Jack's meister. Sweet but deadly. Stays in an apartment with Jack. Dyed pink hair.

Dream: The first Kishin with a literal cult following. Physically in his early twenties, is actually about a thousand years old. Barely escaped being sealed with major injuries, went into hiding for a long while. Can shift minor parts of his appearance as well as his physical age. Resurfaces several years before the story pretending to be an orphan, adopted by Puffy. Posing as a meister.

Ranboo: Created by Kristin to take over the role of "God of Death" someday. 15-16. Hair is half black and half white due to being an immature Death God. Is also heterochromatic, with his right eye being green and his left eye being red. Has memory problems and blacking out episodes from an unknown source Dream. Used to occasionally wield Wilbur, until circumstances involving Dream caused Tommy to no longer be able to resonate with Tubbo, which causes Ranboo to become Tubbo’s meister later on. 6'6.

Rendog: Late twenties. Werewolf, has ears and tail even when not transformed. Martyn's meister. Also not that straight.

--Weapons--

Ponk: Late 30s. Giant garden shears weapon. Sam's partner and spouse (uses any pronouns). George's other adoptive father. Second combat teacher at DWMA. Infected with Black Blood.

Skeppy: Late 30s. Scimitar weapon with a blue blade. Bad's partner and husband. Sapnap's other adoptive father. Natural bright blue hair. Infected with Black Blood through Bad.

Jack Manifold: 17-18. Rocket launcher weapon. Niki's partner. Right eye is blue and left eye is red. Wears 3D glasses. Stays in an apartment with Niki.

Schlatt: Late 30s. A bladed shepherd's crook weapon. North American Death Scythe, Lady Death’s personal weapon since 12 years before the story. For some reason, has ram horns. Secretly working with the Cult of Dream. Adopted Tubbo at the insistence of Phil, cares for Tubbo distantly, but not enough to not betray everyone later on.

Jordan Sparklez: Deceased. A trident weapon. Formerly the North American Death Scythe and Lady Death’s personal weapon. Tubbo’s biological father. Was considered too much of a threat to be alive, so was lured out on a solo mission and then vanished.

George: Early twenties. A greatsword weapon. Dream’s partner. Adoptive son of Sam and Ponk. Colorblind. Stays behind at first when Dream’s secret is discovered and he is forced to leave, but eventually leaves to join him.

Sapnap: Early twenties. Flamethrower weapon. Karl’s partner and boyfriend, along with Quackity. Adoptive son of Bad and Skeppy. Prone to arson. Stays in an apartment with Karl and Quackity. Used to be close friends with Dream, feels betrayed when Dream leaves. Likes pandas.

Tubbo: Adopted by Schlatt after the disappearance of his father when he was three. Half trident weapon. 15-16, is a few months older than the rest of the minors. Used to be Tommy's meister until the incident involving Dream, is now partnered with Ranboo. Natural brunet but dyes his hair blonde. Shortest of the minors. Feral. Grigori soul.

Tommy: Adopted by Phil as an infant after being found in the ruins of a town attacked by a Witch. A chakram weapon. 15-16. Formally wielded by Tubbo until the incident involving Dream, is now partnered with Purpled. Very loud. Limited knowledge in how to self wield.

Wilbur: Adopted by Phil as a toddler. An axe weapon, usually self wielded. Can temporarily match wavelengths with anyone. Early twenties. Knows how to braid hair. Natural brown hair with a white streak in his bangs. Wears glasses because his vision is shit. Theater kid to the extreme. Grigori soul.

Martyn Littlewood: Late twenties. A great axe weapon. Not as straight as he might seem. Ren's partner.

Mumbo Jumbo: Mid twenties. A rifle that shoots lasers. Sometimes wears suits, sometimes dresses like a dad on a tropical vacation, no inbetween. Has a nice mustache. Grian's partner.

[itsclydebitches]

Discredit Pt. 2: More Recommended Reviews For A.Z. Fell’s

Alright, folks. Some notes first: 

1. You all rock. I’m sending out 20k+ virtual hugs for all the notes I NEVER expected to get on this nonsense. 

2. This is probably the final section, just because I’m not sure I can adequately follow up part one and it might be foolish to attempt it here. Let alone twice. But for now, here we go. 

3. Kudos to the anon who reminded me of Aziraphale’s cash-only policy <3 

4. Nicole Y’s review is based off an actual comment I read years ago, but heaven only knows where online it was. I’ve got the memory of a goldfish. 

5. Trigger warning for the use of a queer slur in this. It’s the same review as above, number 5 if you want to avoid it. 

6. There’s a text-only version of just the reviews at the end, after all the images. I’ll upload that to my Sparse Clutter collection on AO3 in a bit. 

Bonus 7. People thinking this is a real shop deserve all the good things in this world. 

That’s all I’ve got. Hope you enjoy! 👍

****************************************************************************

I’m a simple guy who likes simple jokes. If there’s a whoopee cushion I plant it. I will call you up to ask if your refrigerator is running and then tell you to go catch it. (Actually that one died out so thoroughly it’s actually capable of a comeback now!). Yes, I’m a dad and yes, I have a t-shirt that says Dad Jokes? I Think You Mean Rad Jokes! which I wear un-ironically every Saturday. All of which is just to say that my wife was well prepared for my stupidity when I walked into Fell’s.

I? I was not.

You see the bibles when you walk in? The ones to the left? Let them be. Don’t even look at them. Definitely don’t pick out the fanciest one you can find and absolutely don’t walk up to the owner with it held in your pudgy little fingers, grinning like a loon, cheerfully asking whether this should be in the fiction section. Just don’t. Mark my words you’ll regret it. Though your wife won’t. She’ll get a great old laugh out of it all.

In conclusion: it’s quite possible that mama did raise a fool and he just got his ass verbally whooped by a guy in a bowtie.  

***

Shout-out to Mr. Fell for being the only decent bloke in this city. I’ve popped in and out of his store for years—including before I started transitioning. So he knew my dead name, dead look, whole shebang and I was definitely nervous to play the ‘You know me, but this is what’s changed and are you gonna throw a fit about it?’ game.

You know what he said? “Oh, Rose! What a lovely choice. Crowley dear, why aren’t you growing any roses? Some white ones would look splendid next to my Henredon chair.”

That’s it. He just went straight into dragging his partner for not giving him roses. So hey, Mom? Next time you’re snooping through my social media why don’t you explain to all these nice people why the 50+yo book seller accepts me in ways you won’t. Don’t go telling me age is an excuse or that you’re ‘Stuck in your ways.’ I’ve watched Fell dress in the same damn clothes since I was ten!!

Yeah. Sorry. Rant over. Fell’s a gem. That’s my take. Rose out.

***

Anyone else in the shop when that guy started yelling about buying pornography? And then got escorted into the back room for some ‘private conversation’? Well done, Mr. Fell! Didn’t know you had it in you.

***

Alright alright alright alright I am TOTALLY calm about this.

Went into A.Z. Fell’s last Thursday. Not because I knew anything about the place. Just because I’ve been hitting up every bookshop within a twenty-mile radius, asking if they’re hosting any book signings. Long story short I self-published my novel Blight last month—which you can get for a mere £5 here but I swear this isn’t a promotional thing I’m just BROKE—and have been looking for networking opportunities, tips, stuff like that. So the owner listened politely as I explained all this. Then said he didn’t do anything of that sort, which didn’t surprise me given the shop’s vibe.

But then? Then??? He offered to let me do a signing there??????

As said. Totally calm about this. This man either plans to kidnap me or is actually giving me my first shot at an audience outside my blog. AKA totally worth the risk.

Tuesday the 9th. 7:00pm. Just in case anyone’s interested ;)

***

holy sweet baby jesus i was tripping balls last week you tryin’ to tell me that kING KONG SIZED FANGED FUCK SNAKE IS REAL

***

Witnessed the most perfect exchange the other day:

Grumpy Dude With No Manners: “You. Boy. Where’s the man I spoke with over the phone?”

Mr. Fell’s Partner Who Knows Damn Well Only Two of Them Work There But Clearly Doesn’t Like This Guy’s Tone: “Did this man give you his name?”

Grumpy Dude: “Might have. Don’t remember. Sounded like a fairy though.”

Me: “....”

My girlfriend: “....”

This Poor Sweet Startled Kid On Our Left: “?!?!?!?”

Fell’s Partner In The Drollest Voice I’ve Ever Heard: “None of us have wings. Out!”

***

This shop gets full stars simply because every time I walk in they’re playing Queen.

I mean, I’ve walked in once, but once is enough when you’ve got Crazy Little Thing Called Love blasting full volume.

***

Okay, I’m still kind of shaken up but I needed to write this out somewhere and this seemed as good a place as any.

I spilled my latte on a book. Just tripped on thin air, popped the lid, and chucked a venti’s worth of coffee all over a very expensive looking text. I didn’t mean to, obviously, but it happened and I just started bawling on the spot. Full on sobs because this semester has been absolute hell, I ruined this guy’s antique, there’s no way I can pay for it, I can’t even sneak away because I’m drawing the whole store’s attention...just all the things all at once. I really was straight up panicking and was seconds away from pulling out my inhaler. I couldn’t breathe.

And then Mr. Fell showed up.

Jesus it’s embarrassing to admit but I think I hit him once or twice. On the arms I mean, because he was trying to touch me and I figured, I don’t know, it was a restraint or something. He was going to call the police and hold me until they got there. But then he managed to start rubbing my back and I lost it like I hadn’t already been bawling my eyes out in this shop. Ever cry into a perfect stranger’s chest? I have! But if Mr. Fell seemed to mind he definitely didn’t show it. Just kept holding me while I probably ruined his shirt and then took me into the back and made me a new coffee in this cute little angel mug. He let me stay there while I called my sister and waited for her to arrive.

She’s a good twenty minutes outside of Soho, so we talked for a while. It’s not like Mr. Fell could fix my shit roommate or bio classes, but I guess just talking about it all really helped. I was a lot calmer by the time my sis arrived and Mr. Fell insisted I come back any time I wanted—for browsing or more coffee.

Of course, sis offered to pay for the book herself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look so surprised in my life. “Certainly not!” he said. “Contrary to popular belief, no one should pay for their mistakes. It’s what makes you all so wonderfully human.”

So yeah. Thanks, Mr. Fell.

***

This little shop must have started a book club for kids! Lately I’ve seen the same group of children hanging out at Fell’s. Three boys and a girl. They’re a bit rambunctious at times, but who isn’t at that age? So wonderful seeing literature passed down to the next generation. Even if some of it is rather questionable looking...

***

It’s an honest crime that more of you aren’t talking about what a wonderful bookstore this is.

I’m a book lover at heart and Fell’s always makes me feel like I’m coming home. I just arrived somewhere safe and familiar after a particularly harrowing day. I’ve slipped under the covers of my bed after dinner and a bubble bath. It’s something like that, but with an element of surprise too. One of the reasons why I adore private and used shops over chain stores is that little touch of chaos. You walk in and sure, there are general sections to browse, but everything is just a little bit disorganized from people leafing through books and then putting them back somewhere else. There’s no real record keeping, you’ve just gotta head to one particular corner and hope for the best. It’s not the sort of place you go to if you want something specific because the chances of them having it are slim—that’s just how the universe works—and even if they did no employee knows where it is anymore.

But if you wander the shelves for a while, crouch down low to get a look at everything on the bottom shelf, pay attention to the books that don’t have easy to read titles or any summaries to speak of... you just might find something you didn’t know you were looking for. That’s Fell’s: the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of the unknown.

*** A lot of people might assume that these stories are embellished or outright made up, but as a bookseller myself going on twenty years I believe every single one of them.

That being said, I accidentally moved a rug and found chalk sigils that look like they belong in a cult. Make of that what you will.

***

There’s a special place in hell for 21st century shop owners that only take cash. Who carries cash anymore? Not me! I haven’t bothered with that nonsense in years! You can get a card reader for 15 pounds on Amazon. Or you know what? Be stingy and pay 7 for the little attachment on your phone. This place is nuts if it thinks it’s going to survive much longer on a cash-only policy, especially with some books that look like they’re worth hundreds or thousands of pounds! Yeah, yeah, just let me pull out this giant wad of bills for you. I’ll carry them around a crime-laden city because there’s no ATM near you either.

I mean jesus, you’d think this guy didn’t want to sell anything.

***

I walked in. There was a man screaming at a fern while another threatened him with an umbrella. I walked out.

5 stars do recommend.

***

I once walked in on the same (?) guy yelling at a book for daring to fall on the owner’s head. I think that’s just a Thing over there.

***

Like a lot of people here I didn’t actually go to Fell’s for any books (flat tire, Angel Recovery taking forever) and ended up staying three hours (not because of Angel). No, I wandered towards the back and found this ancient CRT set propped on a table of books, the kind that my Dad used to watch Twilight Zone on. This lanky guy had a marathon of Gilmore Girls going... though how he was managing that with a broken antenna and no DVR, I really don’t know. But yeah. He told me to pull up a chair and I did. Guy gave me popcorn.

I wish I’d paid a little more attention to his name. Charlie? Curley? I really can’t remember, but thanks for the enjoyable afternoon, man.

***

I BOUGHT A BOOK HERE

Not sure how though. Just kinda happened. First edition of Just William. Frankly I didn’t even want the thing, but the owner basically shoved me out the door with it when I took two seconds to look at the spine. Odd that he was so willing to part with this one.

Update: ... hold up. I didn’t buy a book because I never actually paid the guy. ‘Basically shoved me out the door’ was literal. Do I go back??

***

This page has really gone feral the last couple of months so I’m just gonna bite the bullet and say it:

Anyone notice that Fell’s snake and Fell’s partner are never in the same room together?

***

I really don’t like the implications of this…

***

This is precisely why the Internet has turned into a cesspool. You all should be ashamed of some of the stuff you’re writing here. Can’t two men just be friends anymore? Two real life men? These guys aren’t some characters for you to ‘ship’ or whatever. Quit making outrageous assumptions about their sexualities and use this website for what it’s actually for: reviewing the bookshop. Honestly I’m so sick of this sort of this shit.

***

Dude. They run a queer-focused shop together with a flat on the second floor. Fell calls the guy ‘Dear’ and he’s always calling him ‘Angel.’ People have literally seen them kissing. If you want I can give you the number of my physician. He might be able to help you pull your head out of your ass.

***

What the hell is your problem? I’m literally just reminding people to stop making assumptions. It’s gross and insulting. These guys check their Yelp page. You really think they’re gonna be okay with this stuff?

Also: I’m not the five-year-old relying on insults, so.

***

Making an account purely to set the record straight: I’m the hot twink in question and I married that angel. Peace

[leoswritingcorner]

Urban Fantasy OC: Darius (aka the dumbass in the plague doctor) outfit Info Dump

Born sometime around the 3rd century AD in Mesopotamia

Orphaned at a young age, but was taken in by an alchemist, and became an apprentice

Darius became very skilled not only in alchemy but healing remedies as well. He enjoyed helping people who were sick or hurting and finding ways to assist them

One day, he accidentally (no really) creates the elixir of life, and suddenly he’s immortal but doesn’t realize it till Years later

He was married, but sadly lost his wife and children in a horrible natural disaster that should’ve killed him too, but didn’t.

Darius actually has a few encounters that really should’ve Offed him but dudes like “wow crazy lmao” still Unaware

He starts catching a clue when his second wife grows older and they are expecting grandchildren and he still appears in his late twenties. By then Darius is like “Oooooooooh hmm yeah ok, I think I know why”

Bounces cause his family starts growing Super suspicious, and everyone around in town as well. Darius sees the painting on the wall, and knows powerful ppl may come for him and at some point, he doesn’t want the wrong people to have this chance and also?? He just plain forgot what he did to make the elixir lmao

Travels the world, picks up learning medicine, and seeing what tactics work and what doesn’t

Never stays in one place for too long, he needs to keep his secret

When the plague occurs, Darius works as a plague dr

Keeps the look/vibe cause it helps conceal him and hides him much better

Enrolled in Oxford for fun and to learn more modern medicine around the late 1800’s. Then travels to America and enrolls in Harvard for fun and modern medicine in the 1900’s

Finally he moves and ‘settles’ in Chicago though he keeps up his world tour

Has an alchemy/medicine pharmacy shop called ‘rx alchimia’

Still rocks the plague doctor get up cause it’s just a VIBE. Also has various scars and burns from all the accidents and dangerous encounters he’s been through and is ✨self-conscious✨

He can Fight. Another thing he learned throughout the years. Can kick ass with his cane

carries this energy

not easily surprised or phased by much. very easy going, and “aaay lmaooo” kind of guy

randomly appears with advice or a special item needed, and then suddenly disappears

here for a good time and a long time he guesses

[scythian-andromache]

homeward bound

a The Old Guard fic Relationship: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova Rating: T (referenced canon-typical violence) Summary: Nicolò di Genova came from Genova before Italy even existed, but it's been a long time since Nicky went home. (AKA: the immortals have a complicated relationship with memory and nostalgia, but sometimes home is intangible.)

also on [AO3]

***

Places, they hold memories in them. Make them tangible again, like a smell that transports you back to your childhood classroom, or a song that sends shivers up your spine and makes you feel just as you did when you first heard it in a café twenty years ago. Places are vessels for the past, even as physical landscapes shape the future. They hold the imprints of the things that happened there, for better or worse; places have power.

*

"Joe, Nicky, I need you to meet this contact." Andy's voice is crisp and collected as she details the next mission, passing Joe a scrap of paper with an address. "They have a dossier we need, and we can't leave an electronic trail. In person only, this time."

Even with Copley covering their asses, erasing any digital footprint he finds, Andy's been extra careful of late, making sure there's no chance that anyone learns who they are again, and honestly, Nicky appreciates it. He doesn't need anyone else experimenting on Joe. It's not the first time they've been captured and it probably won't be the last, but being used as lab rats has left a certain bitter pang of fear in the back of Nicky's brain.

"Nile will go with me," Andy continues, unaware of the little detour his brain took him on. "We'll rendezvous in three days, at the safe house outside of Marseille." She pauses. "You get out clean, you hear me? I'd better see both your ugly mugs in front of me on Thursday."  

"Yes, boss," says Joe, and Nicky manages a small smile, because this is one of the little ways Andy says I love you.

"Right, let's move out."

It's only a matter of grabbing their go-bags, really, but Nicky takes a moment to pull Nile aside and give her a quick hug.

"You take care of yourself, cucciola," he whispers. "Look out for Andy, but look out for yourself too, capisci?"

Nile hugs him fiercely, tightly, and then lets go quickly, straightening back into the stiff military stance that seems to be her fallback in situations like these when she's tamping down her emotions. "See you in three days, and not a second later."

He nods, and then they're going their separate ways, Andy and Nile screeching away in Andy's beat up Citroën.

"You want to do the honors, Habibi?" Joe asks, sliding into the driver's seat and passing the little scrap of neatly folded paper that contains their mission to Nicky.

Of course, Joe immediately complicates Nicky's efforts by reaching out to lace their fingers together over the gear shift, distracting him so that he fumbles with the paper. Nicky laughs, his task all the more difficult now with just one hand, and Joe lifts their twined hands to give Nicky's a kiss. Nicky shakes his head fondly at Joe's antics—he starts every road trip this way—and finally looks down to read who they're headed to meet.

The corners of Nicky's vision blur a little, and he feels himself go lightheaded. He squeezes Joe's hand tightly—too tightly—as he stares uncomprehendingly at what's inked there. Even though there is a name and the street number of a residence off of a piazza, all he can see is the last line, written in Copley's tight script: Genoa, Italy.

"Yusuf," he breathes. "Yusuf, look."

*

Genova, once upon a time, was home. Long before "Italy" existed, long before he became an immortal, the bustling streets of the merchant city were as familiar to Nicky as the freckle on his wrist or the soft way his mother smiled at her children when they did something clever. There was the market, where people shouted over each other about wares and prices, and the fountain where, at age nine, he'd tested his balance walking the lip of it and failed miserably, falling and scraping his knee, and the little twisting alley behind his home where, at thirteen on a dare, he'd chastely kissed Francesca, the baker's daughter, and hated it. He knew to always walk on the left side of the street that passed along his house, because the right side had loose cobblestones that were liable to trip you, and he knew that on Fridays, the shipbuilders took to the taverns, filling them with spirited—if drunken—singing. He fit there, and life was uncomplicated, or at least as uncomplicated as life ever gets.

*

Nicky hasn't been to Genova in more than nine hundred years.

They're immortals with adequate resources and his name is literally di Genova, so it might seem strange. Such a tangible connection to a location, one that was so close to his heart, and he hasn't gone in centuries, not even when he and Joe lived in Venitzia during the Renaissance, and not when they went to Firenze for the weekend a few years ago.

Because sometimes you can't go back.

He tried, once, in the early years after he first became immortal. He thought it might be a balm, a comfort. Something familiar to ease the profound sense of loss that had opened a cavern in his chest. A touchstone to who he'd been before the world turned upside down.

Instead, it felt like walking through a ghost town. It felt like existing within a refracted re-creation of his memories. Everything so hauntingly familiar, and yet slightly out of place. The city had grown, re-bricked, a new plaza where there should have been a house, and rows of shops and residences that hadn't existed before. The market went on cheerfully in the same spot, but the vendors were new, the wares organized differently. He'd walked past his childhood home to find the street busier, the stucco faded and cracked.

On his walk through the city, he'd sworn he saw his sister at the market, her face staring back at him, and then the woman had cursed him out for looking at her too long, and he'd realized the pitch of her voice was wrong, the curve of her eyebrow not quite right. Maybe, possibly, the old woman she was with when she left the market—hair greying and hunched figure and deep wrinkles around her dark eyes—had been his sister, or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Maybe she'd already been dead a generation. Maybe Nicky didn't actually remember her face, already so faded in his memory, and was so desperate to remember that he'd opened himself up to the power of suggestion.

It was only after the incident in the market that he realized: time had been grinding away at this once-familiar place, leaving no comfort to be had.

Nicky left the next morning, and never tried to return to Genova again.

*

It wasn't that he'd avoided it specifically; there'd just never been a reason to go before, and even though they'd visited Joe's hometown once, he'd never pushed to see Nicky's, sensing his reluctance.

After all, Genova isn't the only place Nicky or Joe have a difficult relationship with; perhaps it's the most salient, but they're immortal, and places tend to carry tangible reminders of the lives they've led, and the people they'll never get back.

Memories weigh down other cities too. Constantinople—er, Istanbul now, Nicky supposes—is another one, the streets somehow both foreign and nostalgic after the ten years they lived there. Echoes of friends' laughs ring out in quiet corners of the city, and the fragrant odor of spices—the bite of cumin and the wafting caress of mint—in the grand bazaar smells like hot nights drinking coffee with excitable scholars, passionately discussing philosophy until all hours, when their eyelids got leaden but their hearts were full. And strolling along the picturesque canals in Bruges never fails to turn up pangs of the indescribable loss of Quỳnh, and the memory of a broken Andy, sobbing that she'd lost her. (It's the only time Nicky can remember seeing Andy cry in the thousand years since they'd met.)

It happens with every place they've ever lived to some degree, wholly unavoidable, but Genova holds a strange and intimate attachment—something intrinsic—that these other places do not have.

It's true that sometimes you can never go back, but it's also true that you cannot escape your past entirely, either.

And now they have a mission there.

*

They pull into Genova in the late afternoon, as the golden hour rays are illuminating the city. (There's really nothing quite like the Italian sun, especially as it sets the port and the seaside on fire.) It's more colorful than he remembers, except for the water: that's as vibrant as it's always been.

They're making contact with their source in the morning, which means that tonight is mostly about laying low and not getting killed, two things that they should frankly be better at than they are.

Joe finds them an unremarkable pensione on a quiet side street, and books them a room for the night, paid in cash and using aliases. Untraceable.

Their route to finding a place to eat takes them past a view of the ocean and Nicky has to pause. Everything else has changed, but the ocean hasn't, not really. It's from a slightly different angle, but the same view he grew up with, familiar in a reflexive way, like muscle memory, something he'd forgotten he knew.

Over dinner, they talk about the mission, and speculate about how Nile and Andy are doing ("I bet you Andy's already done something stupid and Nile's had to take a bullet for her," Joe says, and Nicky replies, "Do you think I'm stupid? I know Andy too well; there's no way I'm taking that bet.") and revisit their long-standing debate about whether exiling Booker when his betrayal was borne of loneliness and isolation is really the right move.

The beautiful thing about being with someone so very long is that they know you, inside and out. Joe doesn't need to ask about how Nicky's dealing with being back in Genova, because he can see it written out across his face, detailed in the tension in his shoulders. (They'd talked a little bit about it in the car, and will probably talk about it some more later, but for now Joe won't press, and Nicky loves him all the more for it.)

On the way back to the pensione they take a different route, and stumble across a little plaza that Nicky recognizes. He squeezes Joe's hand and they continue, but if he looks hard enough, he fancies he can see the shade of his younger self scampering across the cobblestones.

How foolish, really.

*

In the deepest depths of the night, Nicky, restless, slips out of bed, sneaks out of the pensione.

The city has been painted over, rebuilt a dozen different times and pieced together like a patchwork quilt, but underneath it all are the bones of the city Nicky once knew. His feet carry him through the warren of streets, and he finds himself, suddenly, standing in front of his childhood home.

He stares at the building where he was born. Where he begrudgingly learned his first shaky letters. Where he sliced open his palm, trying to whittle a bit of wood like his older brother. Where he and his sister Catalina, closest in age of all of them, swapped whispered secrets and fantastical stories of their own creation. Where he dreamed of changing the world with the misguided vision of an insulated youth. Where he ate, slept, and laughed for the first fourteen years of his very long life.

It's a drop in the bucket, now, and looking at it this time doesn't produce the same emotions as it did so long ago. Instead, he just feels an emptiness, a sense of detachment. It is someone else's home now. It has not been his in any meaningful way for a long time, a transfer of ownership occurring with every brick that was replaced, every layer of paint splattered on. A blessing and a curse in equal measure, he supposes, to feel this way.

He's been there a few minutes—reality almost lost to him as he tries to remember exactly how his mother used to quirk her eyebrows at them and finds he can't—when he suddenly realizes that he's not alone, a thousand years of dangerous situations training him to notice and believe the prickling feeling on the back of his neck.

But when he turns, he just sees Joe, hands in his pockets, watching him intently. His face is thrown half in relief by a nearby streetlamp, and he blinks for a moment, marveling at how beautiful his Yusuf is, how entirely dear.

Joe doesn't ask what Nicky is doing here, or why he's not getting the sleep they need before the drop tomorrow. He simply joins him, and they stand there in quiet contemplation for a few moments, just being together in front of this unspectacular building.

Finally, "Is this where Nicolotto grew up?"

Nicky finds himself nodding. "It was not much back then, either. Less, even."

Joe studies the place again in the flickering light of the streetlamps.

"It should be a museum," he declares, and Nicky scoffs.

"Every house in Italy could be in a museum if you think having old bones warrants a spot there."

"Ah, but not every house was your house," says Joe.

"The person who came from here was no good," mutters Nicky. For all the shiny, fleeting memories of childhood, he wasn't: he was prejudiced, closed minded, convinced of his own superiority, taught to hate instead of love. It took dying several times—several dozen—to figure that out.

"None of that, ya Habib albi. That person needed to live," says Joe, fiercely, "needed to die, needed to be, so that I could meet you." Nicky ducks his head, but Joe's only just beginning, and he continues emphatically, "His existence is a miracle I praise every day, because every moment in time had to happen exactly as it did so that I would meet you, so that we might exist together. If this is the house where you grew up, I praise the blocks that made it stand, so that you might sleep each night within it; I praise the stones on the ground that absorbed your footfalls; I praise the herbs that grew on the windowsill and sweetened the air of each breath you drew in. This place, flawed though it may be, brought me you."

Yusuf's poeticism is nothing new, but it still sneaks up on him every time. "Elegant bastard," Nicky curses, several tears tracking down his cheeks, and reaches out, cups Joe's face tenderly and pulls him in for a desperate kiss.

A millennia and his lips are still tingling, a millennia and Joe's kiss is still tender, life-affirming, a question and an answer and a beautiful, delicate promise all at once.

Even when they break apart, they remain in each other's space, foreheads pressed together, breath mingling, hands resting on cheeks.

It's not as though they've been apart for any vast stretch of time recently, but Nicky still takes a moment to relish in Joe's presence, ground himself in the warmth of Joe's skin under his fingertips. It's on a deep inhale as he clears his mind that the idea comes to him, and he flicks his eyes open to meet Joe's.

"Yallah ya hayati."

"Ila al-funduq?"

"Not yet," Nicky says. He links his arm through Joe's. "I want to show you something else, first."

Nicky lets his feet guide them, and together they walk the remnants of the neighborhood of Nicky's youth, as he tells Joe about the merchant who lived in that house, and the shop on this street that sometimes gave the neighborhood children sweets when the owner was in a good mood. He allows himself to reminisce, finally stops holding back the wave of wistfulness and sadness and displacement and fondness—complicated and messy—as he narrates these long gone trivial bits of his childhood to Joe. The eastern sky is smudged with a little pink by the time the arrive back at the pensione for a few quick hours of sleep.  

*

It is easier the next morning, a weight off his chest, the itchy eyes that come with a lack of sleep a small price to pay. When they go to collect the dossier, they trod part of a route he thinks that he used to take to go to the butcher's shop for his mother.

"I got into a fight in that alley," he says aloud, as the memory springs to life for the first time in centuries, triggered by the curve of the stone at the corner of the building.

"My Nicolò?" asks Joe dramatically, pretending to be shocked. "In a fight?"

"It wasn't much of one," says Nicky, the ghost of a smile on his face. He can't remember what the fight was about, anymore, or the name of the boy he got in a scuffle with. Dario? Dante? It doesn't come to him. Just the kiss of pain that came with his split lip and bruised cheekbone.

"Of course it wasn't," says Joe. "You had not yet met me."

Nicky snorts, but Joe isn't wrong. To this day, and even counting the many missions Andy has sent them on, some of his most intense fights were against Joe, before they realized they were far better suited as lovers than enemies.

"I have a secret," he says in a low voice, and when Joe turns to look at him, he continues, "I do not even think I won."

Joe's laugh rings out along the cobblestone street.  

*

Genova, once upon a time, was home, but that was a long time ago. Places are vessels for memory and nostalgia, reminders of the people we have known and the people we have been. Places have power, but something you learn with time is that, powerful as they may be, home is not always a place.  

As they pull out of the city with the dossier tucked in his bag, Joe at the wheel and hands laced together over the gear shift, Nicky feels something within himself quiet. Genova still means something to him and probably always will, but it is softer now, more approachable, a collection of memories he is reconciling with and not a cavernous hole to be avoided. He is content with filing it away as home, once instead of the dour no longer home he's thought of it as for so long.

After all, it is Yusuf, dear Yusuf, who is home, who has been for nearly a millennia now. His eyes are vessels for memory—their brightest, happiest moments, and also the tragedy and hardships they have faced together—and his soft smile carries its own nostalgia, even as it is his beacon of hope. Home is a patchwork of days and nights and soft whispers traded between them, a constellation of moments traced across his skin, the invisible story of their love etched within their souls.

Nicky lifts up their intertwined fingers and kisses Joe's hand, and when Joe glances over at him, he smiles softly, a thousand beautiful memories refracted in Joe's eyes. Home, indeed.

***

[tony-starkrogers]

The Massive SteveTony Rec List

Welcome to my Fairly Comprehensive, Ridiculously Long SteveTony Fic Recs, aka my collection of pretty much nearly everything I’ve read and loved so far over the years. This fandom is lucky enough to have some truly brilliant and dedicated authors, and I’m always discovering new fics to love, so I thought I’d share some of them with you! Fics will be sorted alphabetically tbh just because I suck at sorting stuff? Some of my personal forever-faves will be marked with ♡. This is by no means all of the fics this fandom has to offer, but if you’re new to the fandom, this should give you a good place to start, and if you’ve been a SteveTony shipper for a while, hopefully you’ll find something new! And if you do have a favorite fic that’s not on the list, please add it to the comments or rec it to me (because who doesn’t need more fics)!

Here’s just a few GREAT resources to check out if you’re looking for Even More fic recs:

@sabrecmcstonyficrecs - I mean, sabre is basically THE fandom resource? Any and all fic you’re looking for you’ll likely find here. ||| @findingstony - if you’re looking for a particular fic and don’t remember where you found it, look here first! ||| @cap-ironman - the place to go, especially for brand new fics! the fandom lives here ||| @nasaficsrecs - many good fic recs ||| @ishipallthings many wonderful rec lists ||| @sineala - the place to go if you are at all interested in 616 SteveTony or really anything in the 616 comics universe

I have lots of fics bookmarked on ao3: my bookmarks! You can also check out my other fic rec lists, and my general fic rec tag. Also while you’re at it maybe check out some of my fics?

And here are the recs! (under the cut.) Have fun reading and be sure to show your authors some love with kudos and comments!!!

♡ 1796 Broadway by rainproof, teaberryblue - M | 460,220 words

Captain America respectfully requests that all complaints be addressed to him in writing. On paper, the nice old-fashioned way, because the computer screen hurts his eyes.

Put your phone down, Tony.

absence makes the heart by fantalaimon - G | 4,835 words

“One night,” Tony says, and just flies himself bodily into one of the canary yellow beekeepers like a red and gold battering ram. “I ask for one measly night. One single goddamn night with my boyfriend—”

“Oh, is the boyfriend label on now?” Clint asks over the comms.

A Higher Form of War by sabrecmc - M | 292,114 words

Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

A New Way For Us by ann2who - M | 24,435 words

They fight Thanos—and they’re losing. And before Tony knows what’s happening, he’s standing with Doctor Strange in front of the Eye of Agamotto and gets send back in time. Can he find a way to fix things this time around, or are they doomed to fall apart all over again?

♡ A Partial Dictionary Of The 21st Century By Captain Steve Rogers, US Army by copperbadge - E | 13,888 words

Steve is adapting well to the new millennium, and he has the dictionary to prove it.

age is an irrational number by valtyr - E | 8,749 words

Steve and Tony grow old together.

♡ All Roads Lead To by theappleppielifestyle - G | 13,155 words

After Obadiah's betrayal, Tony hides in the depths of the Midwest to become a mechanic.

The Avengers come into his life anyway.

All These Things I've Said by Amuly - M | 5,840 words

When Tony starts talking in a language Steve can't understand--the language of science--Steve figures he'll retaliate with a little foreign language knowledge of his own. Only once he starts speaking French around Tony, Steve finds that sometimes it's easier to say what he really wants to say to Tony in a language he can't understand.

Good thing Tony doesn't know French.

And The Void Would Be Calling. by jadedoll - E | 17,721 words

Tony could be suffering from amnesia, a hitch-hiker from a parallel dimension, a ghost or maybe a time-traveller. He's sure he could work out the answer if Steve would just stop pretending he was Tony's boyfriend.

♡ As Sharp As Any Thorn by RurouniHime - E | 47,027 words

It’s four days to Christmas, there’s a city in shambles, and the nation is in mourning because of the actions of a single man.

♡ Be No Stranger (All Your Saints and Soldiers Remix) by jibrailis - T | 5,973 words

That's the twenty-first century love song, baby. Glitz and glamour and every one of us is a liar.

Bizarre Love Triangle by panickyintheuk - T | 1,929 words

Once the idea was in his head, he’d started picking up on all kinds of things, like the way Stark talked about Iron Man with such affection, and seemed to share so many of his mannerisms, and was constantly working on ways of improving the suit. It was obvious.

Blank Slate - A Tony Stark Mystery by navaan - T | 25,381 words

He doesn’t remember who he is or who his friends are, but he knows he’s in a Nazi prison and needs to get away. He doesn’t remember anything about Captain America either, but the man seems to be the kind of guy you trust.And apparently they share more history than meets the eye at first glance.

♡ But Loving Him Is Red by theappleppielifestyle - Not Rated | 25,524 words

"It is- it is not just destined, Steve Rogers. It will reach through the decades, through entire universes if it has to. It will scour the galaxies without rest until the two of you are standing next to each other. Migardians- Migardians call them soulmates, I believe."

♡ Captain America, Undone by laireshi - M | 2,818 words

Steve thinks he can seduce Tony before Tony seduces him. He's very, very wrong.

♡ Captain !@#$*%& America by Wordsplat - T | 8,093 words

The first time Tony hears Steve swear, he's pretty sure it's a dream. The second time is a lot harder to dismiss, considering it's the middle of the afternoon and they're both clearly awake. After that, what else can Tony do but use science to get to the bottom of it?

Catching Lightning in a Bottle by sabrecmc - M | 120,650 words

College student Tony meets janitor Steve at MIT and they fall blissfully in love, until Howard happens and things fall apart. One divorce paperwork snafu courtesy of the ever-helpful Jarvis, and ten years later, Tony has to get re-divorced from Steve.

This does not go as he imagines.

♡ Cherry Ride by copperbadge - E | 12,318 words

A SHIELD agent named Roger Stevens told Tony that his nickname was "Cap". Tony didn't connect the dots until it was much, much too late.

♡ Counterpart by sara_holmes - M | 217,400 words

coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another.

Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right?

(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)

Dangerous Kitchen Tools by ladyshadowdrake - E | 18,330 words

Engineering prodigy, billionaire, and heir to the Stark Industries empire, Tony Stark turned the business world on its head by opening a restuarant and burying himself in the kitchen. Years later, he covers an informal evening cooking class for his friend and fellow molecular gastronomist, Bruce Banner, where he meets famously camera-shy comic artist Steve Rogers.

♡ Dazed and Confused by tsukinofaerii - M | 4,160 words

Captain America has a great many duties that need careful attention. He has to... uh... That thing where... Wow, Tony's pants are awfully tight, aren't they?

Dear Tony, by sirona - T | 5,925 words

Once the dust after what no one is referring to as "The Break-up" has settled, Steve starts writing and doesn't seem to know how to stop.

"death by coffee" and other search queries by goodmorningbeloved - T | 2,841 words

In which Steve's feelings are hopelessly obvious through his Google searches. JARVIS decides to step in.

Deep in the Heart of Me by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar) - E | 255,926 words

There were days when the realization that he was someone’s father made Steve's head hurt, but mostly he was grateful that he could trust his instincts, because apparently Peter was what had been missing from his life. Yes, he still had lingering, unresolved issues from his time in the Army, and sure, he had what Bucky annoyingly referred to as a criminally untapped ass, and no life outside of work and Peter, but Steve was okay with how his life had turned out because of trusting his instincts.

Unfortunately, those same instincts had straight up betrayed him by going absolutely haywire upon being exposed to Tony Stark.

Do It Over by Sineala - T | 1,999 words

The last words your soulmate says to you are written on your skin, and you won't know who they are until they die. The thing is, Steve and Tony die a lot.

♡ don't know why it took me so long to see by goodmorningbeloved - M | 11,209 words

“Oh, watch this,” Natasha says, propping her chin against her knuckles and turning a sweet gaze on him. “Tony, what’s it like dating a superhero?”Tony bristles in irritation. “We’re not dating,” he snaps. “Captain America probably thinks he can get into anyone’s pants just ‘cause he’s got a mask, costume, and reputation, but not me, buddy. That shield? Gotta be overcompensating for something.” He adds, a bit petulantly, “Oh, and all that blue? Definitely more Steve’s color than his.”-

In which Tony is a genius in all matters except recognizing his boyfriend past a mask.

♡ Emanata (The Comics Will Break Your Heart Remix) by teaberryblue - T | 29,720 words

Steve Rogers has the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a comic artist when eccentric billionaire, superhero patron, and obsessive comic enthusiast Tony Stark offers him a job drawing Iron Man.

But Tony Stark has no idea that Steve Rogers is really Captain America, the newest member of the Avengers.

And Iron Man has no idea that Captain America is really Steve Rogers, up-and-coming comic book artist.

And Steve doesn't know what to do about the fact that he's falling head over heels for them both.

♡ Engaging the Enemy by tsukinofaerii - T | 22,823 words

Iron Man is one of the more persistent villains that the Ultimates face, with a special fondness for one Captain America. As Steve starts to findout more and more about him, the lines between hero and villain begin to blur. Sometimes, you don't have to be on the right side of the law to be in the right.

even if the brain has forgotten, perhaps the teeth remember (or the fingers) by theappleppielifestyle - G | 8,906 words

Tony gets temporary amnesia.

Some things are clearer without his preconceptions dragging him down.

♡ Even My Phone Misses Your Call by rainbowninja167 - E | 10,869 words

Steve makes it all the way to Ohio before conceding that the post-Chitauri road trip might’ve been a mistake.

Or, ten times Steve has to call Tony to come pick him up.

Even Tony Can't Resist Puppy Love by Wordsplat - T | 7,766 words

In which there is a dinner bet, a com line confession, and, as usual, Loki's magical hijinks make Tony's life unnecessarily difficult.

Fairy Godmother by Amuly - T | 5,186 words

Auntie Peggy has been telling Tony stories about Captain America his whole life. Only problem is, the real thing just about measures up to the stories. Which means, of course, that Aunt Peg has to go to work, because an Aunt's work is never done.

Favorable Winds by RurouniHime - T | 2,056 words

Steve’s voice comes from behind, a sigh and a thump as his own pack hits the floor. “Sam. Meet Tony Stark.”

Follow in Your Footsteps by Sineala - T | 6,788 words

When Tony is twelve, his soulmate's name appears on his wrist. Unfortunately, it's hard to find out anything at all about Steve Rogers.

It turns out there's a reason for that.

Formerly by laireshi - T | 13,620 words

A week ago, he touched Steve at night. A week ago, he kissed him. A week ago, Steve kissed him back.

(A week ago Steve was dead, and Tony deleted his brain.)

The Foodieverse (series) by copperbadge, scifigrl47 - works G-T | 130,326 words in series

It's an AU where everyone works in the food industry. That makes total sense and is definitely not wildly irrational on any axis.

♡ Get Some Now by Sineala - T | 10,376 words

Avengers Mansion has a mysterious feline infestation. Meanwhile, Steve just can't figure out how to ask Tony out on a date. And the thirteen teleporting cats sure aren't helping matters any.

♡ Going on a Ride (series) by theappleppielifestyle - Not Rated | 14,306 words in series

"You want to take me for a ride on your motorcycle," Tony repeats, slow so he can process it as he’s saying it, "because you think my glasses are cute."

Hashtag Finally by Wordsplat - T | 15,208 words

Tony doesn't ever actually ask the Avengers to move into his house, steal his wifi, eat all his food, and become the best family he's ever known. They do it anyway.

How To Be a Truly Terrible Wingman by Wordsplat - M | 11,721 words

Prompt: "We were both playing wingman for our friends who have now decided to go home together, and after five minutes of conversation we fucking hate each other. Let’s bang it out."

♡ How To Excel At Supervillainy (and lose your heart to America) by Zekkass - E | 13,531 words

And that's how Tony's supervillainy hobby got way way way complicated.

♡ How to Lose a Super Soldier in One Easy Step by and_backagain, jibrailis - E | 18,248 words

Rogers jerks backwards, shock registering on his face, and Tony thinks, welcome back to the land of the living, Cap, looks like you're sticking around.

Or, a Pushing Daisies AU.

♡ I (created from fantasies) exist solely for you by Mizzy - T | 62,917 words

Six years ago, without the Avengers Initiative there to save the day, scientist Dr. Eric Selvig sacrificed himself to save the world, the almighty demi-god Thor was lost to a terrible storm, and vigilante Iron Man – spotted with a nuclear weapon trying to take advantage of the situation – was forever labelled an enemy of SHIELD.

This is a comic book office AU, where Steve is defrosted a year too late, Thor has forgotten who he is, and no one knows Tony is Iron Man. Also includes: office pranks, inappropriate post-it notes, and superheroes who like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain

Indecent Proposal by gyzym, Siria - T | 2,592 words

On the plus side, marriage is bound to be easier than proposing.

i stole the keys to this guy by kellifer_fic - M | 6,007 words

Where it was Nick Fury's idea, but he didn't mean it like that

♡ In Which Tony Stark Builds Himself Some Friends (But His Family Was Assigned by Nick Fury) (series) by scifigrl47 - works rated T-M | 343,010 words

Steve takes things like personal responsibility and respect seriously. Tony's got people he pays to take care of that kind of thing, and anyway, he's pretty sure that he's going to die of some exotic disease in his workshop, because Dummy's still a little spotty about what is 'clean' enough to put on an open wound. The rest of the Avengers are in this for personal gain, except for Clint, he just enjoys being a dick.

And some things shouldn't be a chore.

♡ i will never stop losing my breath (every time i see you looking back at me) by theappleppielifestyle - G | 3,222 words

In all fairness, Tony is on autopilot when this happens. He’s had a long, hard day, and it’s possible he hasn’t slept in several long, hard days. He’s already half-asleep on the couch and he’s relaxed and happy, which is a rarity on its’ own, and he’s comfortable enough to let his guard down and get his body to do all the work without switching his brain on.

That should’ve been enough of a warning sign, but apparently not: Tony stretches, says goodnight to his teammates and gets varied responses back, and then he kisses Steve.

He only realizes what he’s done after he’s started to lean back, opening his eyes to see Steve’s blown wide, staring at Tony with his lips gone slack and a tiny furrow between his eyebrows.

if they be worthy by theappleppielifestyle - Not Rated | 824 words

Everyone's staring, and Tony isn't awake enough to do anything but gape dumbly at the hammer in his hand."Huh," he says."Seconded," Steve says through his toast. "Tasha, go tell Coulson another one of us can pick it up."

♡ Last Train Home by erde - T | 10,983 words

Steve writes letters to Tony that he never sends. By the time he hands them to their rightful owner, Tony has had a brush with death, has retired as a superhero, and now has a small town workshop of his very own. But it's okay, Steve has gone into retirement too.

Like Gene Kelly in the Movies by lyra_wing - M | 11,449 words

Everything Tony Stark does is a dance. And it's super confusing for Steve.

Like Sunlight by sara_holmes - M | 8,309 words

Steve is used to the way it feels by now; a strange but gentle tugging connection under his sternum, warm tingles in his skin whenever they touch. That is, until Tony gets himself kidnapped. Then it kinda feels more like someone is trying to wrench his heart out through his ribcage.

Looking for Heaven by foxxcub - E | 31,950 words

When young Lord Anthony Stark learns Steven Rogers has enlisted in the army, he thinks he's seen the last of his tiny, headstrong, haughty stable boy. But four years later, Lord Stark gets an unexpected visit from Steve, whose mother has fallen gravely ill and into financial ruin. Even more unexpected, Steve agrees to a shocking proposal: they will marry, giving Steve the necessary funds to save his mother, and Tony the much-needed reprieve from harassing would-be suitors. It is a business arrangement, nothing more. But as time goes on and circumstances arise, Tony begins to learn that keeping his heart away from his husband is easier said than done.

♡ Love in a Time of Amnesia by Amuly - T | 6,241 words

Carol might have lost all her memories of her friends, but there's at least one thing she can know with absolute certainty: Steve and Tony are a couple. And if the rest of the Avengers insist on saying they're not, well: Carol will just have to put her amnesia to use, for the greater good.

♡ L☆VE by copperbadge - M | 3,773 words

Steve's favorite shirt is at the center of a debate about masculinity, sexuality, and whether or not he did in fact steal it like a thief in the night from Tony.

♡ Meet Your Heroes by Wordsplat - M | 4,130 words

Tony gets rescued by a highly concerned, very handsy Captain America. This is confusing for a number of reasons.

Momentary Paws (or, DO NOT WANT) by velithya - T | 16,834 words

WTF KITTEN

♡ Mr. July by jibrailis - E | 10,065 words

Tony is the only one who can defend Steve's virtue. Tony hates his life.

♡ Neanderthals In Tights (Also Known As a Football Game) by Wordsplat - T | 3,228 words

In which Tony supports Steve at his first big football game, with guest appearances by an exasperated Pepper and an embarrassed Bruce, because yeah, okay, maybe Tony's not really one hundred percent clear on the rules of this game. Why, exactly, are a bunch of neanderthals tackling his boyfriend again?

one hundred percent skill, fifty percent luck by kellifer_fic - T | 7,418 words

Where there is a poker game, a v-card and general misunderstandings

Orbiter Dictum by schmevil - T | 7,357 words

Steve is at the sink, washing the few dishes that pizza for two generates, when he realizes that Tony is in love with him.

Our Weight In Gold by ann2who - E | 33,607 words

It was every cliché he’d ever heard about. Every sappy thing they wrote down in the magazines, every single thing he had always hated about the myth. It was as though he had experienced life without sight, and was suddenly bombarded by a storm of color. It was all-consuming, and rushing through his veins like molten lava, like his whole existence was suddenly filled with sunlight. A door opened, and a myriad of emotions stormed through his body: confusion, disbelief, loneliness, and so much fierce determination that it almost knocked Tony off his feet. And he understood then, understood that these emotions weren’t his. They were Rogers’.

This is a story about fate, self-doubt, choice and eventually—love.

Over Sea, Under Stars by vorkosigan - T | 36,651 words

Tony gets the phone, but he never uses it and he never intends to. Or, he doesn’t until Steve starts texting him, asking strange questions about medication and mental health, which is when Tony gets worried.

♡ Phil Coulson's Case Files of the Toasterverse - works rated mostly G-T, | 287,890 words in series

Short stories from the Toasterverse

Place Your Bets by RurouniHime - M | 35,999 words

Steve Rogers may or may not have just picked up a prostitute. This may or may not be Tony Stark’s fault.

♡ Pulse, Beat, and Measure (series) by Sineala - E | 134,095 words in series

Two men. Two worlds. Life during wartime.

Ready, Fire, Aim (series) by gyzym - M | 63,019 words in series

There's no "I" in "Avenger."

♡ Relativistic Heat Conduction (series) by BlossomsintheMist - E | 70,484 words in series

Age of Ultron-based, but not entirely canon compliant. Written for the 2013 Cap-Iron Man Reverse Big Bang. Ultron has attacked, obliterating most of the world's superheroes and resistance in a matter of hours. The remaining heroes band together and share what strength they have to get through it, to survive, and defeat Ultron once and for all. Steve Rogers grieves in the wake of the disaster and the heroes' defeat, and no one knows if he will be able to provide the leadership they need--but Tony Stark isn't about to let him slip away that easily.

♡ Rom-Commed By Fate (Or JARVIS) by leashy_bebes - E | 14,387 words

The best thing about being an Artificial Intelligence is the ability to parse, filter and modify the things people say until you've got the cause to do exactly what you wanted in the first place. Or, in which JARVIS cock blocks Tony into having an actual relationship.

♡ Run Program: {x} by Amuly - M | 19,728 words

Taking care of Tony is a lot of work. Especially when you’ve only got one arm. And your code dates back to the 1980s.

♡ Secrets of a Successful Marriage by valtyr - E | 24,118 words

Tony Stark lives a double life; he's secretly the supervillain known as Iron Man. But his loving husband Steve has a few secrets of his own, as Tony is about to discover.

♡ SexyMechanic70 by Potrix - T | 2,449 words

“SexyMechanic70,” Natasha reads aloud, nodding approvingly.“Sounds promising,” Clint offers.“And look,” Bucky adds, “he didn’t even send a dick pic! And he praised your sketch which, by the way, is a totally lame icon choice.”Steve snatches his phone back, batting Bucky’s hands away when he struggles to reach for it again. “Cut it out,” he grouses. “Also, excuse me for not posting a picture of my abs.”“A true tragedy,” Sam sighs, earning himself an indignant squawk from Bucky and a betrayed look from Steve. “What? I’m just saying. They’re great abs.”“True,” Nat hums and bumps the fist Clint is holding out to her.

♡ Sixpence In His Shoe by scifigrl47 - M | 103,682 words

Steve and Tony should really read the fine print on what they're signing. Then again, some mistakes are not really mistakes.

♡ Soul Bomb by copperbadge - T | 1,944 words

Suddenly everyone in Manhattan has someone else's voice in their head. Tony got Steve's, for his sins.

♡ Stand Back, I'm Going To Try Science by Good_News_Everyone - T | 2,123 words

Soulmates are a rare and cherished thing, a simple touch of hands bringing love that lasts forever. By all the rules of romance, they're meant to wait for each other and to trust in the vagaries of fate to bring them together. Tony's never been good at waiting, and when he has science on his side, who needs fate?

♡ Start as You Mean to Go On by BlackEyedGirl - E | 2,612 words

Tony gets that the others think this is an ego thing - the way he can’t resist pushing Steve’s buttons. Honest-to-God, the guy just bugs him. Mostly because Steve is distractingly perfect, but a little bit because of the family history.

♡ Steve Rogers Is (Not) A Morning Person by theappleppielifestyle - Not Rated | 1,161 words

Dream, Steve decides. With that comforting knowledge, Steve takes Tony's face in his hands and kisses him.

(Spoilers: it isn't a dream.)

Steve Rogers Takes Offense and the World Gets Schooled by RurouniHime - T | 2,463 words

In which Steve has no idea how that got up on BuzzFeed (aka, because some people don't respond to anything but the direct approach.)

♡ Syzygy (a Kludged Together remix) by Mizzy - T | 20,198 words

When Tony Stark cut Steve Rogers' morning jog short to join him on a reconnaissance mission off the East Coast, Tony sure wasn’t expecting to end up stuck on a life raft in the middle of the ocean, Steve's hand knuckle-deep in his chest.

♡ Tales of the Bots by scifigrl47 (series) - most works rated M | 523,654 words

When Tony Stark was seventeen years old, he built his first AI. On that day, he ceased to be his father's creation, and became a creating force in his own right.

That one act likely saved his life, and not always in the most obvious ways.

The Best Policy by cylobaby27 - M | 22,724 words

Tony Stark breezes through life on bluster and bullshit. When he gets hit by a truth spell, he locks himself away in his workshop so he can find a way to reverse it without anyone finding out. So why can't he say no when Steve keeps asking to spend time with him?

♡ the family you choose by theappleppielifestyle - Not Rated | 7,385 words

“Just who exactly was my son making out with in a closet?”

“Tony Stark.”Huh.“You might know him,” Fury continues, and Sarah nods, furiously biting at her cheek so she doesn’t do something awful, like giggle.

♡ The Forever-Nighter by Wordsplat - T | 10,172 words

When Rhodey decides that Tony's been slacking lately and drags him along to the gym, Tony's fully prepared to duck right back out the door the first time Rhodey turns around. Then he sees Hot Blond Guy.

♡ The Last Love Song of Anthony E. Stark by jibrailis - M | 42,327 words

After contracting an Asgardian virus, Tony starts forgetting things. And people. And Steve.

♡ The Opposite of a Problem by Sineala - T | 2,490 words

"I promise to love, honor, and probably not obey you, and, uh, take you as my totally-unlawfully-wedded husband, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, until death do us part, or for at least the next seventy-two hours."

(Or: Tony and Steve get fake-married for the sake of the mission.)

♡ The Tchotchke Cha Cha by Arukou - T | 7,269 words

What started off as one impulse buy souvenir snowballs into a constant flow of knickknacks from all over the world, and Steve is starting to wonder if it's more than just Tony being nice.

♡ The Twice-Told Tale by arysteia - E | 15,789 words

For someone he'd hero-worshipped for so long, Steve Rogers in the flesh is a pretty big disappointment. For one thing, he keeps looking at Tony as though he reminds him of someone else, and even if he never says anything, Tony's pretty sure it's his father. A lifetime of not measuring up to Howard's expectations is more than enough, thank you very much, and he's certainly not going to make an effort to live up to any of Steve's. Steve's pretty clearly failed to live up to his expectations, in any case, and that's not hypocritical at all.

Think of This as Solving Problems (That Should Never Have Occurred) by Sineala - T | 35,216 words

No one knows Tony is Iron Man. Then Tony gets amnesia, and literally no one knows Tony is Iron Man.

♡ Toasted Buns by copperbadge, scifigrl47 - E | 47,044 words

After seeing Tony naked and tanned -- all over -- in a decontamination shower, Steve realizes he may be in trouble. Tony, meanwhile, is definitely in trouble over those tabloid pictures of him sunbathing nude. The solution is clearly a tropical island getaway.

♡ Tony Stark Falls In Love With A Cat by shellhead - M | 6,887 words

When Steve goes missing, Tony ends up finding him at an animal shelter. Volunteering.

♡ Tony Stark and the Super Sleeper, or actually, Soldier by RurouniHime - T | 8,571 words

The one where Steve keeps falling asleep on Tony.

♡ Tony Stark Takes a Liberty and the Universe Thanks Him by RurouniHime - T | 1,512 words

In which people think they are entitled to Steve Roger's face (aka, because tomorrow is coming, and I hold out hope, Supreme Court.)

♡ Toy Soldiers by copperbadge - E | 44,241

When Steve Rogers, five foot four and a hundred and ten pounds, met Tony Stark in a bar, he didn't expect it to lead to a relationship. Or that Tony would find out he's not an art student during a SHIELD rescue mission in Afghanistan.

♡ Truth by valtyr - E | 2,677 words

Captain America takes truth serum. Tony is all over that.

♡ Two Out of Three (Ain't Bad) by plingo_kat - T | 9,449 words

It blindsides him one morning in the middle of his customary third cup of coffee; Steve walks through the door in loose cotton pants, shirt pulled up to wipe the sweat off his face from his usual morning workout, and Tony thinks: adorable.

♡ Unveil My Unsightly Heart by Mizzy - M | 43,019 words

Looking over an old prototype helicarrier for its future viability as a base for the Avengers should have just been a routine day full of bickering and non-adventure for Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.

But when they're catapulted into an alternate universe – where their alternate selves are married and battling with a mysterious threat – the two are forced to get over their differences in order to figure out what's going on, before it's too late.

Because there's more going on than meets the eye, and Steve and Tony falling in love might just be the most dangerous thing that can happen. Not just for one universe, but for all of them…

Wait & Sea by Lenalena - E | 53,244 words

In which Tony and Steve get sent on an undercover mission aboard a cruise ship to make contact with Hydra. In this AU the military has kept the discovery and defrosting of Captain America a secret, so Steve and Tony have never met before. Yet they are to pose as newlyweds....

Wash It All Away by ann2who - E | 8,634 words

Steve hummed, looking up at him. “All right. Strip.” Tony blinked at him. “Excuse me?” “Can’t very well wash your clothes while you wear ‘em,” he said and held out a hand expectantly.

What You Don't Know by Sineala - E | 9,808 words

In 1941, two strangers meet in a bar. And then Captain America meets Iron Man. And then Steve Rogers meets Tony Stark. They get it right. Eventually. And also they fall out of an airplane.

♡ when i run out of road, you bring me home by quidhitch - M | 18,466 words

“Oh, I won’t bother you.” The tone of Steve’s voice implies that he definitely will be bothering Tony, aggressively and frequently. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll keep to my farm, you keep to yours. Solitude together.”

Tony opens his mouth to argue that that’s not how this works, but he snaps it shut at the realization that Steven Grant Rogers is fucking with him. That twinkle in his eye has accelerated into a full-on glimmer, and the ends of his lips are twitching. Jesus, he hates this man. Or maybe he wishes he did. Tony can’t really tell the difference anymore.

♡ When I think about you by sirona - E | 11,955

Five times someone saw Steve sass the hell out of Tony and one time Tony finally bought a clue. Also known as the story of Captain Sasspants more than handling his own with Tony Stark at his most devious.

♡ When I Think (Oh, it Terrifies Me) by celli - E | 8,641 words

Look, some mornings you wake up and little green men are invading New York City; some mornings you wake up and you can hear Captain America's voice in your head. Tony has been an Avenger long enough that he saves his freakout for important things.

♡ will we ever say the words we're feeling by theappleppielifestyle - Not Rated | 1,673 words

He breaks off then, the realization of what he’s just revealed finally hitting him, and he stops, and Tony’s still staring.

(Or, Steve and Tony argue and Steve lets something slip.)

♡ With Words Other Than These by RurouniHime - E | 14,690 words

The way Steve’s beating that bag, though—Tony traces the cadence as well as the lines of Steve’s body, and wonders if he might not need to know about the mission after all. There’s a lot of tension knotted in Steve’s shoulders, a frenzy to each punch. The precision lacks. Maybe Steve’s just getting started, and if that’s the case, Tony could be here a long, long while.

with you by laireshi - M | 3,108 words

Sometimes Steve gets overwhelmed by how much he loves Tony.

Your Name on Every Wall by Sineala - T | 17,863 words

The Time Gem throws Steve into the past rather than the future, and in doing so, it gives him the opportunity to undo his past mistakes. But when it turns out that all of his mistakes involve Tony Stark, Steve begins to wonder if he's ever going to be able to mend things between them.

---

Hey, the list did have to end at some point! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed these recs!

Tagging some people who might be interested:

@divine529, @sabrecmcstonyficrecs, @sineala, @ishipallthings, @itsallavengers, @nasafic, @estebanrxgers, @starksnstripes, @goodmorningbeloved, @goose-danvers

[ljones41]

“DARK PHOENIX” (2019) Review

"DARK PHOENIX" (2019) Review I feel sorry for the old X-MEN Movie Universe. Well . . . almost. For a franchise that began on a high note, it certainly ended with a whimper. At least from a financial point-of-view. And that whimper proved to be the 2019 movie, "DARK PHOENIX".

Actually, "DARK PHOENIX" is not the final film of this franchise. The last film is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2020. As for "DARK PHOENIX", it is the twelfth film associated with the franchise that was associated with the old 20th Century Fox Studios. It is also the second movie in the franchise, after 2005's "X-MEN: THE LAST STAND", to adapt Marvel Comics' 1976-1980 comic book series of the same title. The movie begins in 1975 when nine year-old Jean Grey and her parents get involved in a car accident that leaves her as the sole survivor. Jean's situation eventually attracts the attention of Professor Charles Xavier, who enrolls her as one of his students at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The story jumps to 1992, nine years after the events of "X-MEN: APOCALYPSE". Some of Xavier's former students have become the next generation of the X-Men, with Mystique aka Raven as the team's leader in the field and the Professor receiving their glory from the public and media. The U.S. President summons the team to assist NASA into rescuing the space shuttle Endeavour, which is critically damaged by a solar flare-like energy during its mission. While the X-Men save all of the astronauts, Jean is stranded and is struck by the energy, which she absorbs into her body to save the X-Men's aircraft from destruction. Jean survives the event and her psychic powers are greatly amplified by the energy. Her powers become uncontrollable and she later accidentally unleashes her power on the mutants celebrating the success of their mission at Xavier's school. Even worse, Jean's enhanced powers attract the attention of a group of alien shape shifters called the D'Bari, whose home planet had been destroyed by the energy force. They want to use the energy (or Jean) to wipe out Earth's inhabitants and re-shape the planet to resemble their own. Eventually, Jean and the other X-Men learn that Xavier had placed mental walls in Jean's mind as a little girl to protect her psychic mind from experiencing trauma from her childhood accident. Jean's enhanced power destroys the mental walls and the trauma slowly returns, filling her with desire, rage, and pain. Jean then travels to her childhood hometown after finding out that her father is still alive and learned that he abandoned her. Jean recovers her complete memory of the car accident and remembers that her post-traumatic stress disorder had originated with the childhood car accident in which she had inadvertently caused by rendering her mother unconscious at the wheel with her telepathy. When the X-Men arrive to take Jean home but she injures Peter Maximoff aka Quicksilver and accidentally kills Raven aka Mystique before disappearing. And her actions led to the U.S. Army searching for her and willing to imprison other mutants at the government's order. Many X-Men fans and critics had really dumped on this movie when it first hit the theaters. I am not going to examine why this film was so unpopular. I can only discuss how I felt about it. One, it was not an original film. In many ways, "DARK PHOENIX" almost struck me as a remake of the 2006 movie, "THE X-MEN: THE LAST STAND". Or perhaps I should say . . . a remake of the Dark Phoenix story arc, but with slightly different details. I suspect that Kinsberg and the X-Men producers wanted to use the changed timeline from "X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" as an excuse to re-write the Dark Phoenix story arc from 2006. Personally, I feel it would have been more original of them to completely leave that story arc alone and utilize another narrative for the film. I also found the enhancement of Jean's powers via some alien energy wave not only unoriginal, but unnecessary. Why did Simon Kinberg even thought it was necessary to enhance Jean's powers? She had displayed an uber level of power when she killed En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse in "X-MEN: APOCALYPSE". I can only assume the solar flare energy situation was created by Kinsberg to introduce the D'Bari. Speaking of the latter, I noticed that their goal to destroy humanity and settle on Earth as its new home bore a strong resemblance to General Zod's plan in 2013's "MAN OF STEEL". Look, I do not mind that Kinsberg had used aliens as the movie's Big Bad for this film. But did he have to recycle a plot from a D.C. Comics movie? Or worse, create this energetic force to enhance Jean Grey's powers, when they really did not require to be enhanced in the first place? I have one last problem - namely the casting of certain actors in this film. "DARK PHOENIX" is set in 1992, thirty years after the setting of "X-MEN: FIRST-CLASS" and nearly fifty years after Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr's World War II experiences. This means both characters should be roughly 60 years old or in their early sixties by now. The Hank McCoy character should be at least in his mid-to-late fifties in this movie. And yet . . . all three characters are portrayed by younger actors. The ages of both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender ranged from late thirties to early forties around the time of the film's production. Nicholas Hoult, who portrayed Hank, was roughly in his late twenties. If the movie's producers were not willing to hire age appropriate actors for the characters of Xavier, Magneto and McCoy; they could have at least arrange the actors to wear makeup that would reflect their characters' ages. This is just plain sloppiness on so many levels. Despite the film's lack of originality, I must admit that I actually managed to enjoy "DARK PHOENIX". I noticed that Kinsberg's screenplay featured a more in-depth exploration of how Jean's enhanced powers had made an impact on her life and on those in her life. I also enjoyed how the actions of certain characters in regard to Jean had resulted in major consequences for many characters. I found it interesting how Jean found herself isolated by her fellow mutants and a lot of the blame could be tossed at Charles Xavier's feet. He did not use his telepathy to contain her power - especially since he had encouraged her to use it to defeat En Sabah Nur in the 2016 film. Instead, he had used his telepathy to suppress her memories of her parents' death and her emotional reaction to it . . . instead of simply helping her deal with a tragic loss. Xavier had used a short cut. And when the alien energy removed his mental blocks on Jean's mind, tragic consequences followed. Xavier did not pay the consequences of his actions with death, but he did pay a heavy price. Ironically, Erik Lensherr aka Magneto had no interest in exploiting Jean's new powers, as he had done in the 2006 movie. He was more concerned in protecting Genosha, the refugee island for mutants he had founded and demanded that she leave after the U.S. Army appeared. Unfortunately, Magneto's desire to protect those mutants under his leadership transformed into vengeance when he learned about Mystique's death from a grieving Hank McCoy aka Beast. I found it interesting that Hank had never bothered to inform Erik that Mystique's death had been an accident on Jean's part. He was angry at Charles for the latter's handling of Jean and decided to use the latter as a moral scapegoat. And unfortunately, the vengeful actions of both men ended up exacerbating an already dangerous situation. By the time the movie shifted to Manhattan, three forces (including the U.S. Army) were trying to contain, exploit or destroy Jean. Only a fourth group seemed concerned with Jean - namely the X-Men. And for once, Xavier WAS NOT the catalyst for the team's attempt to rescue Jean. Her fellow team members - led by Scott Summers aka Cyclops and Ororo Munroe aka Storm - led this endeavor. If I must be honest, most of the film's visual effects did not blow my mind. At best, I found them serviceable. I could also say the same about Mauro Fiore's cinematography. However, there was one particular sequence in which the film's visuals and Fiore's photography really blew my mind. It involved the major clash that eventually evolved between the X-Men, the mutants under Erik Lensherr and Hank McCoy, the U.S. Army and the D'Bari. I have become increasingly weary of final action sequences shot at night over the past decade, thanks to the second "LORD OF THE RINGS" movie. I must say that I was more impressed by Fiore and the visual team's work in this particular sequence, which began on the streets of Manhattan and ended on a train headed out of the city. And their work was more than ably supported by excellent editing from Lee Smith. I certainly had no problems with the performances featured in "DARK PHOENIX". The movie featured solid performances from the likes of Evan Peters, Kodi Smit Mc-Phee, Ato Essandoh and Brian D'Arcy James. Another solid performance came from Michael Fassbender, whose portrayal of Erik Lensherr struck me as skillful, but not particularly memorable. I do not think Kinsberg's screenplay gave the actor something new or unusual to work with. At first, it seemed as if Alexandra Shipp was doomed to endure another movie in which her character, Ororo Munroe aka Storm, nearly became a background character. Thankfully, the movie's second half gave Shipp an opportunity to convey Storm's resilient nature with more dialogue and action scenes. I especially enjoyed that moment when Storm and Cyclops made it clear to Xavier their determination to help Jean. Vuk proved to be the second time I have ever seen Jessica Chastain portray a villain. And I thought she gave an interesting and slightly . . . bizarre performance as the D'Bari's manipulative leader, who seemed focused on seducing Jean for the latter's powers. Nicholas Hoult surprised me by his skillful portrayal of the uglier side of Hank McCoy's nature. This was especially apparent in scenes that reflected McCoy's desire to avenge Mystique's death. Speaking of the latter, Jennifer Lawrence's appearance barely spanned half of the movie. I thought she gave a solid performance. But there was one scene in which she truly impressed me. It featured Mystique's sardonic rant against Xavier for using the X-Men as his personal publicity campaign. I was more impressed by Tye Sheridan's portrayal of Scott Summers aka Cyclops in this film than I was in the 2016 movie. Sheridan's Cyclops became a more mature and determined personality. That maturity was expressed in Scott's continuing love for Jean and his determination to help her as much as possible. I think "DARK PHOENIX" marked the first time I can truly recall Charles Xavier being portrayed in a negative light . . . and I enjoyed it. This has nothing to do with any dislike of Xavier. But I cannot deny that I found James McAvoy's portrayal of his character very interesting . . . and new. What I really found interesting is that Xavier's uglier side was not briefly manifested in the revelation of the telepathic blocks he had placed in Jean's head. That revelation only deepened Xavier's arrogance and blindness. But audiences first saw signs of these traits, thanks to his argument with Mystique over his exploitation of the X-Men team for personal glory. Some of the franchise's fans felt that Sophie Turner was not up to portraying the "Dark Phoenix" aspect of Jean Grey's character. I suppose they were expecting a re-play of Famke Janssen's portrayal. Even if they were not, I still managed to enjoy Turner's performance. The main reason why I did was because Turner did not try to repeat the older actress' performance. Thanks to Kinsberg's script, Turner was able to put a different spin of Jean's evolution into the Dark Phoenix . . . one that did not paint her as villainous. I also felt that Turner did an excellent job of conveying how Xavier's mental blocks had led Jean to experience post traumatic stress (PST) and loss of control of her powers. I cannot explain why "DARK PHOENIX" proved to be a box office failure. And if I must be honest, I am not interested in expressing my opinion on this topic. The movie was not perfect. And frankly, I wonder if it was a good idea to use the shifted timeline from "X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" as an excuse to create a new version of the Dark Phoenix story arc. But I cannot deny that I enjoyed the movie. I thought Kinsberg had created a solid piece of cinematic entertainment with a screenplay that did not become a convoluted mess and first-rate performances from a cast led by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Sophie Turner.

[higanbana-writer]

Soulmate AU (Ferid Bathory X Reader)

So this is a soulmate AU where streaks of your soulmates’ hair color start to appear in your hair and vice versa. Also, be warned. This is a quite long one shot with 1,642 words.

____________________________________________________________

You had been quite surprised to wake up one morning and find yourself with a streak of silver among your (H/C) hair. Of course you were been happy that you were finally getting clues about your soulmate, but there was just one problem. Just where were you going to start looking for that soulmate of yours? Silver hair was very uncommon and the only person you knew who had hair color similar to that was Shinya Hiragi. You pondered on that idea for a while, staring at the silver streak in your hair through the bathroom mirror. But you quickly brushed away that idea. After all, you had been on the same squad as him for years. If he really was your soulmate, you would have found out ages ago. You sighed heavily in frustration while running a hand through your hair.

“God… Why does it have to be so hard to find some so called soulmate?!” Frowning, you stared at the silver streak again. Despite your frustration at the situation, you had to admit that it actually looked good. Fashionable even.

Pursing your lips, you weighed your decision of styling your hair and being late to your squad’s meet-up and looking good while having the slim chances of running into your soulmate, or, getting to the meet-up on time and risking the chance of looking well…normal if you ran into your soulmate. Another heavy sigh escaped your lips as you reached for your comb and hardly used hairspray, “Well, might as well try a new style today. Those meet-ups always bore me to death anyways.”

·

Half an hour of painstakingly doing your hair to make it look amazing with the silver streak standing out and what do you get? A ten minute lecture from Guren, or more like shouting session, then an announcement that your squad was going out onto the battlefield today.

“I did not do my hair just so it could get ruined while I’m out fighting those bloodsuckers..!” You growled quietly under your breath in frustration as you sat in the squad car, heading straight for your hairs doom. Aka, the battlefield.

Sayuri patted your shoulder in sympathy, trying to cheer you up, “I’m sure that your soulmate will like you no matter how you look!”

Simply letting out a grunt to let her know you heard her, your gaze wandered over to the back of Shinya’s head. He was sitting in front of you and happily chatting Guren’s ear off. And for what seemed to be the hundredth time, your gaze was glued to his hair, desperately trying to find even a single strand of your own hair color. And for what seemed to be the hundredth time, you were disappointed when all you saw was a head full of white hair. Of course you had already ruled him out as your soulmate, but you just couldn’t help yourself when you saw the color of his hair.

·

Twenty minutes later, and you were still mourning over the coming doom of your amazing hairstyle. But this time you and the rest of your squad were actually standing in the middle of the battlefield, preparing yourselves against a large group of vampires. Really, nothing that Guren’s squad couldn’t take care of.

Unknown to the group, however, was a certain sassy vampire noble standing on the roof of a nearby building, observing everything that was going on down there.

“Oh? What’s this? A little human dressed up while on the battlefield?” Ferid let out a small hum of interest as he focused his gaze on you, a curious and amused expression on his face.

That was until he spotted the streak of silver that stood out in your (H/C) hair, his expression now morphing into one of shock and disbelief.  His hand fluttered up to his hair, lightly touching a spot where a streak of (Y/H/C) ran.

“I-Impossible…” For the first time in what was probably centuries, he had stuttered. But who could blame him? After all, he was a vampire noble and being him, he was expecting his soulmate to be around his level. Not some weak human that could easily get killed by him. Heck, he didn’t even know that vampires could have soulmates.

He had started seriously debating on killing you, now moving to the edge of the roof where he was getting ready to join the battlefield. He had spent years alone. What difference would it make now?

·

You were currently facing up against a surprisingly strong vampire, your arms trembling slightly under the strain of holding up your weapon to block a strike from the vampire. Gritting your teeth, you planted your feet firmly into the ground, refusing to get overpowered by some bloodsucker.

Unfortunately for you, the vampire had a trick up their sleeve; kicking you in the side of your legs and sweeping you off your feet. Landing on the ground with a pained grunt, your weapon flying out of your grip, you accepted your fate right there and then that you were going to die without ever meeting your soulmate. Closing your eyes, you waited for the final blow to finish you off.

Clang!

The sound of swords clashing caused you to open your eyes in confusion. The first thing you noticed was the gorgeous silver hair, styled into an elegant pony tail. The second thing you noticed was that the person with the silver hair was wearing vampire noble clothing. And the third, final thing you noticed? That noble vampire had just blocked the strike that was just about to end your life. You were frozen to the ground, staring up at the very unusual scene in front of you with wide eyes.

That silver hair… The shade matched perfectly with the silver streak in your hair. And that streak of your own (H/C) hair color among the vampire’s silver locks confirmed it. You had found your soulmate. While you were grateful that it didn’t take you years to find your soulmate like some people, you were certainly not grateful that your soulmate happened to be a vampire noble.

You were suddenly snapped out of your shocked stupor when the silver haired vampire raised a hand and sliced through the lower rank vampire as if they were made out of butter, the latter bursting into ash a few seconds later. Today must have been your bad hair day. First, your carefully styled hair had gotten ruined during the fight with the vampire. Then, some of the said vampire’s ashes had ended up floating into your hair, earning a loud noise of disgust from you.

You raised a hand to brush the ashes from your hair, only to freeze when the vampire turned around and stared at you with his piercing red gaze. Surprisingly, rather than feeling fearful when your eyes had locked with each others, you felt calm. And happy. Very happy.

The vampire stared at you for a moment longer before reaching out a hand down to you, offering a cocky smirk, “Need help, dear?” You opened your mouth for a moment before closing it again, hesitating for only a slight moment before raising your hand and lightly placing it over his, allowing him to help you up.

“You are not hurt, right?” While the cocky smirk had remained on his lips, his eyes scanned you with worry, slightly surprising you. Who knew that vampires could even worry about someone besides themselves?

“I-”

Just as you were about to answer him, a shout came from a distance. Both of you turned your heads to see what was going on. And there was Mito, running towards the two of you, glaring murderously at the vampire.

He chuckled quietly before turning his attention back to you and raising your hand which he was still holding, placing a light kiss on the back of your hand, “I suppose I should take my leave now. Take care, my dear. If you would like to arrange a time for the both of us to meet up, simply ask Guren Ichinose over there.” He paused for a moment to jerk his head towards the direction where Guren was finishing off killing the last of the vampires, “He knows how to contact me.”

The vampire then placed another light kiss on the back of your hand, “Ah. How rude of me. I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ferid Bathory, the seventh progenitor. I must say, my dear, you certainly have an interesting road ahead of you to have a vampire as your soulmate~”

Ferid sent you a small wink before disappearing before you in a flash. And just in time as Mito had came skidding to a stop in front of you no more than a few seconds later, asking a flurry of questions at you about why that bloodsucker had acted so friendly towards you.

You simply tuned her out, a smile starting to slowly spread across your face. As Ferid had said, you certainly had an interesting road ahead of you. But you were eager and looking forward to the things that would come in the future. Ferid, he hadn’t seemed to bad. Perhaps it would be better then you thought it would be.

·

Ferid stood on another roof top, watching as your teammates worriedly lead you back towards the squad’s car. A small sigh escaped his lips. Why had he bothered saving her? He just couldn’t help himself when he saw that his soulmate was in danger. That woman, (Y/N), as he had heard her teammates call her. He couldn’t help but think how that name really suited her. The silver haired vampire watched her for a few more seconds, a rare, gentle smile appearing on his lips.

“(Y/N)… I certainly look forward to seeing you again.”

[natashasbanner]

Wedding Bells

Bruce and Natasha attend the "wedding of the century" aka Tony and Pepper's wedding.

For the prompt: Bruce and Nat go to a wedding (Could be Pepper and Tony's or could be a scientist friend of Bruce. I'll leave that up to you)

Also on AO3 

“What do you think the chances are of today going off without a hitch?”

Natasha’s voice drifted from the bathroom of their hotel suite. Bruce chuckled as he straightened his tie in the mirror on the inside of the closet door.

“I’d say fifty-fifty,” he called back. “This is Tony we’re talking about.”

Natasha appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, head tilted to one side while she fiddled with her earring. Bruce took a moment to admire the mint colored dress she wore. It was simple but elegant. Her hair was braided to one side, grown out in the last couple years, a few pieces loose here and there. She looked absolutely stunning, but then again he always thought she did.

She stopped beside him and looked herself over in the mirror, running her hands along the skirt of her dress. Bruce leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder, bringing his arms around her front to still her hands.

“You look amazing,” he whispered in her ear and pressed a kiss to her temple.

She turned in his arms and straightened his tie again.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Doc.”

Bruce smirked and leaned in to kiss the the sensitive spot behind her ear. She shivered against his chest and hummed softly.

“We’re going to be late if you keep that up,” she warned though there wasn’t any real conviction in her voice.

“I don’t think they’d notice,” Bruce chuckled, but let her go to finish getting ready.

“As blind as Tony’s been in the last month, I think he’d notice if one of his groomsmen missed his wedding,” she pointed out from her spot on the edge of the bed where she was slipping into her heels.

“Yeah,” Bruce agreed and tried to ignore the nervous swirl in his stomach.

The wedding was supposed to be small, by Stark standards it was relatively tiny, but Bruce still wasn’t too fond of the idea of standing up in front of a couple hundred strangers. Pepper had family for her bridesmaids so Natasha was going to be in the crowd, one of the few familiar faces. That thought calmed him somewhat.

He looked down at his watch with a sigh. If they didn’t leave soon they were really going to be late.

“Ready?”

Natasha stood and held out her hand which he took easily. She threaded their fingers together as they left the hotel room and made their way to the elevators.Natasha slipped into the driver’s seat of their rental when the valet brought it around the front of the building.

“There’s going to be traffic,” she said once he got in on the other side. “You already look stressed.” She winked and peeled away from the curb.

The wedding of the century, as many new outlets had taken to calling it, was being held at a vineyard Tony and Pepper had completely rented out to keep any unwanted onlookers out. Security at the entrance could have rivaled an airports. Anyone without an invitation was turned away.

The vineyard was breathtaking. Bruce caught a glimpse of the ceremony space as he walked Natasha to her seat. It was set up near the property’s huge pond, shaded by the willow trees surrounding it. If Bruce was going to pick a place to get married, this would be it.

“Pretty,” Natasha commented as they shuffled around the other guests to the front rows.

“Were you expecting anything less?” Bruce chuckled and followed her into the second row on the groom’s side. Her seat was right on the aisle on Tony’s side.

“I should probably find Tony and the others,” he said when she sat down.

“Probably.” She smiled up at him. “I’ll be fine, someone will come and fill these seats, keep me company.”

He leaned down and kissed her before heading back down the aisle to find Tony and the other groomsmen.

There was a little ranch house on the other side of the pond where Tony and Pepper were getting ready. Pepper and her bridesmaids were upstairs while Tony’s suite was on the first floor. Bruce knocked on the door and checked his watch, only twenty minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start.

It was Rhodes who opened the door.

“We were starting to think you weren’t going to show,” he chuckled, but Bruce could tell he was relieved.

Bruce smiled and walked into the room. “We hit traffic,” he explained. “How’s Tony?”

Rhodes laughed and glance over at Tony who was pacing back and forth near the bathroom. His tux jacket was still on the hanger on the door.

“As well as expected.”  

Tony looked up then and grinned at the sight of Bruce.

“You finally made it,” he exclaimed and walked over to squeeze him, only a little too tight. “Did Nat find her seat alright?”

Bruce nodded and patted Tony’s back until he let go of him.

“You alright?”

“I feel like I might throw up, but other than that I’ve never been happier.” Tony was grinning so wide it looked like it hurt.

Bruce smiled and patted his shoulder.

“We should get out there,” Happy said from his spot in the corner armchair, he looked surprisingly relaxed. “Pepper will be coming down soon.”

Tony went to get his tux jacket and let out a long breath while Bruce, Happy and Rhodes were waiting by the door.

“Let’s go get me married,” he said and clapped his hands together.

They were golf carted back to the other side of the pond. Rhodes went down the aisle first as best man followed by Happy and finally Bruce. They stood in a row on the left side of the arch where the officiant stood. Tony made his way next, all smiles and waves, the nerves he’d been showing not even five minutes ago completely vanished.

Bruce shook his head and brought his hand up to hide his laughter. His eyes found Natasha in an instant and saw she was doing her best to hold back a laugh as Tony passed her seat. She shrugged and mouthed.

“He looks happy.”

Bruce nodded subtly, but his attention was caught by the string musicians starting up. Pepper’s bridesmaids came first and then the flower girls and ring bearer. Bruce felt a swell of emotions in his chest and glanced over at Natasha to see her watching them with a grin.

The music changed and Pepper started slowly down the aisle. Tony’s sharp intake of breath was loud enough for Bruce to hear from where he stood and he couldn’t help but smile. Pepper was a vision in her long, flowing dress. Tony was a lucky man.

Bruce tuned out for the beginning of the ceremony, his eyes looking over the crowd. He found Natasha once again, watching Tony and Pepper. He let his mind wander over the possibility of having something like this one day, for him and Natasha. They’d been together for a couple years now, bought a house, had a life together.

Bruce was content with the way things were, didn’t need a big flashy ceremony in front of hundreds of people. But there was something to be said of becoming husband and wife, bound together until death. To be each others as long as they lived. It put a smile on his face.

Natasha looked at him again and winked. God, he loved her.

The officiant announced that it was time for their vows and Bruce tuned back into what they were saying.

It was Tony who started.

“Oh god, what can I saw about Pep,” his voice hitched slightly. “You’ve always been there for me, despite the ups and downs. Aliens and whatnot.”

The crowd laughed.

“I’m a better man because of you and I plan to spend the rest of my life showing how much I love and admire you.”

Bruce couldn’t see his face, but he could tell Tony was crying. He was starting to tear up himself. He looked to Natasha and caught her swiping her fingers under her eyes, as affected as he was by Tony’s heartfelt words.

“Tony, I’ve always loved you, even before you knew you loved me too. I’ve stood by you through everything and you’ve always come home to me, that’s all I could ask. It’s always been you Tony and I can’t wait to spend the rest of me life with you.”

A stray tear slid down Bruce’s face and while the happy couple exchanged rings and had their first kiss as husband and wife, Bruce only had eyes for Natasha. She wasn’t holding back her tears as she stood with the rest of the guests as Tony and Pepper left the ceremony space.

She turned to him with a blinding grin and Bruce couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He left his spot beside Happy and went straight to Natasha. He engulfed her in a hug before she had a chance to react, lifting her off her feet.

“I love you, Tasha,” he said as people filed out around them, heading for the barn where the cocktail hour and reception were being held.

Natasha leaned away and grinned. “I love you too, Doc.”

Bruce leaned in and kissed her, not caring who saw.

[husheduphistory]

Elephant in the (Hotel) Room: An Old Bet Lost too Soon

It was the early years of the 19th century and Hachaliah Bailey arrived on New York City’s Bowery Street to find the familiar city bustling. Even though the scene was simmering with hundreds of faces his purpose was similar to many others there. Bailey, a farmer from the New York town of Somers, was visiting the city with a herd of cattle to be sold to slaughter in order to supplement the fickle finances of his profession. It was one of several trades he held, also partially owning a sloop used to transport cattle to the city from Ossining and serving as one of the directors of the Croton Turnpike Company. 

Portrait of Hachaliah Bailey, artist unknown. Picture via Somers Historical Society http://www.somershistoricalsoc.org/menageries2.html

While in town for their grisly task a favorite spot for the cattle drivers was the appropriately named Bull Head Tavern. Here they gossiped, drank, and networked inside their own busy herd while behind the tavern the livestock was corralled, inspected, haggled over, and bought. It was a regular haunt of Bailey’s and it was here that his typical day, and typical life, took a turn toward the extraordinary. 

When he walked outside it was impossible to miss her in the tavern yard. Although young, she towered above the other livestock. Gray, leathery, and imposing. The elephant had traveled far from her home in Africa, but on this day, after an exchange of $1,000, she was going back to Somers with Bailey. 

 He named her Old Bet. 

A painting of the Bull Head Tavern as it would have appeared in the late 1700s.

Purchasing an elephant after work one day sounds like a risky impulse buy but it is possible that this was not the first time Bailey and Old Bet met. Old Bet is first documented as arriving in Boston harbor as early as 1804 after which she was exhibited up and down the northeast by artist Edward Savage. Now, unexpectedly appearing in Bailey’s second home of the Bull Head Tavern approximately two years later, he may have recognized her and seen an opportunity he simply could not refuse.

Bailey may have purchased Old Bet with the intention of using her for work on his farm but soon an entirely different possibility revealed itself. Old Bet was only the second elephant to ever walk on American soil, and wherever her large feet stepped many smaller ones followed hoping to catch a glimpse of this strange and amazing creature. Bailey, forever looking for a way to make money, realized he may be able to profit from simply allowing people to see his new friend. The pair boarded Bailey’s sloop and traveled home in Somers where he ushered Old Bet into his barn.

It was simple. If you wanted to see the grandest creature on the planet you only needed to pay Bailey a small fee of twenty-five cents and mentally prepare yourself to be amazed. The farmer saw early on that people were completely fascinated by Old Bet and he came up with a plan to take her on tour so others could delight in her (and line his pockets). But the biggest problem was obvious, Old Bet was a three-ton elephant and in order to charge money to see her she would have to be hidden from everyday views. Bailey’s solution lay in a shift in schedule, he traveled with her at night keeping her from eager eyes and the spotlight of the sun. The tactic worked. By 1808 Old Bet had proven to be so profitable to Bailey that he took on two partners, Benjamin Lent and Andrew Brunn who each agreed to pay Bailey $1,200 for an equal two thirds of the earnings brought in by Old Bet for one year.

Advertisement for an appearance of Old Bet.  Picture via Somers Historical Society http://www.somershistoricalsoc.org/menageries2.html

Bailey and Old Bet’s huge success was not lost on his neighbors. Seeing that unusual animals brought in money other farmers in the region began to purchase any unique animal they could find. Although circuses did exist at the time what developed from these collections were an entirely new creation, animals on display for education and experience rather than pure entertainment. What Bailey and Old Bet brought on was the development of the traveling menagerie and Somers became home base for this new platform. Within a short time menageries gained steam and enterprises like June, Titus, Angevine & Co. and Van Amburgh’s Menagerie grew large enough to set up permanent establishments in larger cities. 

From 1809 to 1816 Bailey and Old Bet toured extensively along the east coast with audiences finding them from Georgia all the way up to Maine. It was in Maine where their lives again took an unexpected turn. On July 26th, 1816 Bailey and Old Bet were traveling through the town of Alfred when they were confronted by another farmer allegedly named Daniel Davis. Davis was irate with the presence of Old Bet with accounts varying as to exactly why this was. Some say he was jealous of Bailey’s financial success, some report that the farmer was livid that hard working poor people were spending money looking at the creature before him, others say the source of his anger was that Old Bet was being exhibited on the sabbath and it was sinful to view her. Regardless of the reasoning, his actions were uncalled for and purely despicable.

 The farmer shot Old Bet where she stood.

 She did not survive her wounds.

The loss of Old Bet was devastating to Bailey and in 1820 he began construction on a structure to keep her memory alive for generations. Situated at Croton and Peekskill Turnpikes, Bailey built a hotel that became the economic and social center of the Somers, New York region. It also became an active meeting place for owners of menageries and circuses, a stage coach stop for travelers to and from New York City, and a stopping point for cattle drivers bringing livestock to the place where Bailey and Bet met. The name of the establishment was prominently painted on the front of the building for all to see: Elephant Hotel.

Photograph of the Elephant Hotel in 1885. Photograph via Somers Historical Society http://www.somershistoricalsoc.org/menageries2.html

In 1827 Bailey had a fifteen-foot-tall granite pole installed outside the Elephant Hotel topped with a wooden elephant in honor of Old Bet.

Wooden elephant outside the Elephant Hotel.

Although she began her life in the spotlight with Bailey in Somers, New York it is believed that Old Bet was not buried there instead being interred where she died in Alfred, Maine. Despite not having her body Somers and the Elephant Hotel honored Old Bet sixty-two years after her death with a wreath-laying ceremony. The bearer of the wreath was John L. Sullivan, aka Old John, the head elephant in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. On April 9th 1922 Old John set out on the fifty-three mile walk from Madison Square Garden to the Elephant Hotel bearing a wreath with a message reading “To Old Bet from Old John and the Ringling Brother’s Elephant Herd.” Although Somers had only approximately 300 residents, it was reported that over 2,000 people stood along route to see Old John make his way to the ceremony. On April 13th 1922 The wreath was placed as a chorus of 600 children sang and the elephant knelt in recognition of his beloved predecessor.

Old John at the wreath laying ceremony for Old Bet in Somers, New York on April 13th 1922. 

Although the original has been replaced due to wear, an elephant statue in honor of Old Bet still stands outside the Elephant Hotel today. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 7th,1974 as Somers Town House and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005 as Elephant Hotel.

The Elephant Hotel in the early 2000s.

[empressxmachina]

Welcome Home, Sasha - One. by Imperial-Radiance (aka me)

To set the mood: 

Alexa, play this video containing simulated spaceship bedroom ambiance and featuring a fairly complementing background fitting for the first half of this part.

As for this preview pic that resembles the helm in the second half of this part, it's this picture off Pinterest, I think.

Now, the story...

   “So, can you tell me anything about why the hell they were getting emulsified by Commander Martin back there?”

   “Yes.”

   “Uh, will you?”

   “In due course, sure. But everything you need to know, for now, you already do.”

   “Well, fuck.”

   If you oversleep, then don’t expect to get work or pay during the day. That was one of the general, unspoken rules aboard the space station Novis, and Lieutenant Sasha Keeling had prayed that the team with whom he was meant to scout would be as apathetic as usual and not catch him arriving late to training. Or, they would at least allow him to pull some sort of overtime to make up for the time lost: not much, considering all he had done for them already just trying to fit in.

   Washing up and putting on his suit in record time, Sasha had zipped out of his quarters and through the space station’s corridors, hoping to catch up with his presumed partners before they made any bold decisions without him. But they had.

   Where he had expected to find them in Hangar C, conversing by and packing gear into the eldest’s parked spaceship, he instead found an empty parking space that had run cold. Any other day, Sasha would’ve just figured that its owner was out for a test run with his partners being elsewhere in Novis doing other things. But, the lack of message left for him, them not answering his calls for verification, and the teasing expressions and chuckles from those in the hanger that caught sight of him set in stone that they not only left him in the space dust but used him, never going to bring him along in the first place.

   Sasha hadn’t had much time to wallow in his embarrassment, though he definitely lived up to his given nickname of Sasha the Sheepish. As he turned around to head back to his quarters to nap and drink his shame away, he was stopped by a familiar but a nowadays not-so-frequent face.

   He, a superior on various levels except for height, had known all too well that Sasha had no business being in the hangar. He wasn’t enlisted for any mission at the time, yet there he was, ragged looking with his auburn locks going in all directions and his deep-set chestnut eyes no better but everywhere else suited up like it should’ve been.

   Sasha easily saw the judgment on his senior’s face, watching his facial muscles squirm and lift the textured, ebony hairs above and on it. But rather than being scolded on the spot as he and all the now silenced onlookers expected, the higher-up just guided him away from all their eyes to his haven with no questions asked, where he could take him in all for himself.

   It wasn’t the first time Tshepo Azikiwe, a Novis admiral, had brought him into his laboratory, finally greeting the shy subordinate with a “Glad You’re Back” upon arrival, but Sasha never thought that particular meeting then – one predicted to be another one-hour lecture on how he shouldn't be so susceptible to first-time kindness – would eventually lead to him taking the role not of just a passenger but of his Mission Specialist and potential copilot in Tshepo’s own ship, the Demeter, light years away from Novis and headed to… to…

   “Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” the now lackadaisical lieutenant probed in the present from down the hall, voice floating through the cracked open, milky glass doorway dividing the helm from the rest of the dark and dim ship.

   As far as he could tell, there was a blur on all the windows, and all the mapping systems in the Demeter except those in the cockpit were shut down. Sasha had no way of detecting where they were in the caverns of space, and there was no way he was going to be able to get Tshepo's lenses off him that did.

   To combat the boredom and Tshepo’s silence on the matters ensued, Sasha wondered to himself, lain with one foot on the bed of his cold cabin, twiddling and examining a miniature of a NASA Space Shuttle from years – decades, a century – past he’s had since childhood between his fingers. He gazed at it intently, still enamored by its attention to detail and maintained quality for something so small and ancient. He could even imagine almost undetectable, tiny navigators inside the orbiter, fiddling with the controls at the helm.

   As fun as it was to wonder, it wasn’t long before a wave of angst came through, making him reminisce of its and thus his own origins: his home world he hadn’t seen for over a decade.

   Every day, he wondered what his life could’ve been if things didn’t go as they did. Perhaps, he would've been an Earth-based astronaut for NASA rather than the distant affiliate he was now, helping and being a part of humanity directly rather than perusing the galaxies for the unknown just to keep the peace. It would sure be less hectic than potentially starting a war every moment solely by existing.

   “Have you finished setting up the mods on your suit?” Tshepo tested back from the driver’s seat, glancing at the rearview mirror propped to aim back toward the lantern-lit dormitory.

   It was a simple yes-or-no question: one of the few static binaries in the ever-expanding universe. So, how would a non-answer such as the one Sasha gave for a duration fit into the equation? The jab-less silence from Sasha was telling enough on its own, but with the distant footsteps and rustling and creaking of the bed that followed, along with another verbalized “Fuck”, Tshepo knew his authority still held its strength.

   “I thought so,” he chuckled, focusing back on the expanse in front of him. “I figured you would’ve at least tried to get it calibrated, but there’s no use worrying about that now.”

   Sasha set his toy down on his bedside table with a groan and hoisted himself off the bed to do as he had been instructed (after volunteering) to do. He began to stretch, attempting to revitalize his limbs and loosen his muscles, simultaneously scanning what practically was his second home – third, counting his quarters on Novis.

   A quaint hovel, his cabin was: a mobile, cup-sized, soup can of a capsule containing bits and pieces of him, old and new. Although the technological intricacies of his intergalactic escapades were worthily glorified – the inner, emerald luminescence and trackers of his spacesuit, prototypes and mockups of Tshepo’s various experiments, including those to which Sasha contributed, cycling through a Holo-Display and its cyan figures on his desk, the marvel that was the Demeter itself, etc. – the images of the relatively domestic side of his life overshadowed them through their simplicity and wholesomeness.

   Many scoffs and looks of confusion were always sent Sasha’s way about his suit and all of the old-school references and icons of Earth-centric media scattered on its chest plate via decals, but he never batted an eye at them, not ashamed of his roots one bit. Those sentiments spread to more than just absorbed culture, exemplified by all the pictures and video clips of Sasha’s various achievements, large and small, Tshepo pasted across the walls, ranging from his first time completing the Zero-G Hero’s Course as a wee kiddo with bruises for days to the recent ceremony locking in his promotion to Chief Atmospheric Engineer.

   Being just twenty years old and hand-picked by the commander, it was an honor in numerous aspects. He had quite a lot for which he could be celebrated, even if his so-called peers took heed to never acknowledge it. Tshepo had every right to be proud of him, but Sasha always wished for the recognition from someone else: two specific people, actually.

   Right next to the head of his bed, now behind the Space Shuttle model, was not a hologram or 3D print but an actual paper-printed and framed photo of a preschooler-aged Sasha and his parents together back on Earth. A smaller print also found itself pinned by his heart in his suit, adding to the tradition of having one within every uniform he had had over the years. Looking at the picture, no one would’ve been able to tell the magnitude of the global chaos lingering in its background and out of the frame that eventually led to Sasha’s relocation: just a sweet, happy, space-loving family unit he dearly missed.

   Although Tshepo was great in filling the void of his needs and most of his wants, Sasha knew it wasn’t what he wanted deep down. He was never totally sure why his parents couldn’t come with him, let alone why he had to go in the first place. With the fancy gadgets, doodads, and documents they kept around the house as far as he remembered, they had to have been qualified to study the stars and all they held, much more than where he was now. But, what could he do about it, a galaxy or several away? All current worries about them would be produced in vain.

   Eventually, his stretching session ended, his eyes shined from familial remembrance, and his hands went for his helmet sat at the foot of the bed. Upon grabbing it and staring into its innards, though, Sasha’s humility toward his abilities and its complementing worries were reignited and heightened as a recollection of Tshepo’s remark burrowed itself deep into Sasha’s consciousness, not for what he said specifically but what was inferred.

   “Wait, what?” Sasha muttered to himself, looking back and forth between the helmet and the rest of his suit, trying to remember how to even do the procedure. “If the calibration should’ve been done before landing, then why shouldn’t I be worried about doing it now?”

   “Because we’re here.”

   Before he could combat Tshepo’s sudden statement, Sasha could sense the truth enveloping under him, feeling and hearing the vibrations and power of the rockets and engines transitioning into the settings needed for a soft landing. As gravity began taking effect on the ship with its descent, Sasha took the moment to look over his shoulder to whatever he could see through his window. Out of all places to which they could’ve been headed, Sasha was shocked to find primarily warm reds, oranges, and browns in view: a spectrum of a hazily familiar planet that usually didn’t require any secrecy to reference.

   Perhaps, his eyes were deceiving him, trying to give him a sense of comfort being thrust into what would probably be a challenge. After all, there had to be some reason why Tshepo chose him over someone else with more experience in, well, anything. To see if he truly earned his engineering chiefdom? To test his accuracies as the biogenesist he had been building himself to be through years of lab and class study? Just because he’s a favorite, more or less like a son or brother? With the almost missed plop and anchoring of the Demeter’s landing gear onto an apparently land surface, boosting his hypothesis of their location, it was time to find out.

   Feeling confident in where they were, Sasha didn’t bother putting on the helmet just yet, walking out of his cabin with it in one arm while the other tapped his breastplate right above his tucked-in family portrait as both a goodbye and a wish for luck to himself. However, rather than seeing Tshepo doing the same with his suit, approaching him from the helm, Sasha found him still sitting there in the pilot’s chair, not having moved and looking as though he wasn’t going to move, either.

   “Uh, are you not coming, Ki?” Sasha queried, stepping across the metal flooring past the lavatory and little lounge area for eating and through the foggy-glassed doorway to his friend/mentor/caretaker with a knock upon entrance.

   Tshepo perked up at the polite signaling along with the endearing nickname. While he didn’t feel that Sasha’s feelings toward him had changed since boarding the ship, it was still nice to hear them being as strong as ever, even if they had a sheer veil of sadness over them. The youngling’s sideward approach, leaning close by on the copilot’s chair – his if he wished to contribute – to see his doings hammered their veracity in deeper, making keeping the confidentiality alive all the more difficult with him right there.

   “I will if necessary,” he chided, not looking at Sasha as he adjusted the switches, buttons, and screens at the helm.

   Only seconds later, Tshepo felt Sasha bend toward him, breaths passing along the bushel of hair across the underside of his chin as the young adult gazed, trying to comprehend anything in sight. He was nervous momentarily, but the worries subsided when Sasha admitted defeat, ultimately sighing and returning to standing position, unable to read the respectively alien language everything was set to. Luckily, their orientation allowed for Tshepo to pull a smirk without notice, glad that his translation scheme actually worked.

   “But, right now, I have to make sure levels stay in order,” he continued, finally glancing up at his youthful familiar. “The connectivity to Novis, the Demeter’s power bank, the mods on your suit…”

   “And, why can’t you come with me to do that?” Sasha considered through an almost childlike whine. For one, his Ki to the cosmos wasn’t as locked down as he usually was. Or, maybe he was too much so. Either way, it was weird. “Surely, this mission of yours, whatever it is, isn’t time sensitive. You would’ve brought more people with us if that were true.”

   “Well, you’re right about the timing. This is a mission searching for accuracy and detail of the ecosphere rather than time being of the essence. Though, being punctual is never a bad thing. After all, your current timeline would be totally different if you had followed that rule, wouldn’t it?”

   Sasha caught the reference of petty, partner neglect immediately and couldn’t hold back an audible groan, earning a giggle from Tshepo.

   “Anyway,” the youngster tried putting the conversation back on course, “I can wait for you to do your domestic thingies first or even help you with them, and then we can do whatever bio-survey we need to do with you moderating the mods as needed.”

   “My suit can only protect me, not monitor you,” Tshepo prompted him, “and the mods are only on yours. They’re still on a test run for which you’ve accepted being the lab rat, so I can only do my part from here.”

   Completely disregarding the lack of protection implied, Sasha conceded,

   “Fine. Whatever you say, Ki.” He tossed and spun his helmet in the air, catching it like a basketball and observing it like a crystal ball. “I did say ‘Yes’ and all, so I don’t want you to turn me in for insubordination or some shit like that. Not that you would, but I’m not risking it with this secrecy schtick you’re playing right now.”

   Tshepo expelled a moan of disappointment, hearing his apprentice of sorts somberly drag him through the ground for what had to be one of the biggest miscommunications in the universe. “All I ask of you is to trust me when I say that everything will be clear as soon as you get out there. Okay?”

   Rather than addressing him back directly, Sasha, against his instincts, started setting and securing his helmet on its proper place on his collar, hearing the clicks and suctions of locks and beeps of computer systems turning on to standby, waiting for further instruction. He then turned his gaze away and resumed his ranting through a mutter to himself, given Tshepo’s new, closer proximity,

   “You’re already delaying clarifying stuff I was a witness for – what I saw and heard, so I guess it’s not that much of a stretch to think you’d hide stuff I don’t know, too.”

   “Sasha, you know I always try to have your best intentions in mind,” Tshepo reminded, rising from his seat and setting a gentle hand on Sasha’s shoulder with an equally endearing soft, russet stare.

   Doing so kept the youngling from walking toward the entry latch and expanding both the physical and emotional distance between them just yet. The young man already had enough to be sad about as is, and while the truth would just make it worse, Tshepo didn’t want it holding him back until it was right in front of him with no yield.

   “I didn’t think I had to explain how this actually wasn’t a mission for you,” he added with a lecturing cadence, “and I wasn’t supposed to bring you with me but did anyway.”

   From the gasp and look Sasha made back, it was obvious to Tshepo that his apprentice wasn’t aware of the helmet’s microphone’s immediate powering on upon placement along with that tiny truth. His slender suit may have been built fully in crimson with an almost radioactive glow of green in every vent and sliver inside and out, it didn’t dampen out the blushing that crept on Sasha’s cheeks through the viewing window.

   “Really?” Sasha finally replied after a pregnant pause, to which he received an authoritative nod. If his helmet wasn’t mushing his wispy locks down, then he would’ve been combing through or twirling the ends of them with a hand out of embarrassment: a habit burned into him since he was tween-aged. “Then, why in the fuck did you bring me? Why am I here at all?”

    “I already said I can’t test and check at the same time. I have my other reasons for breaking my binds, but don’t tell me you can’t do something as simple as making sure the mods work on the field?”

   “Whoa, hold up,” Sasha breathed, not expecting an interrogation, let alone one so seemingly lighthearted. “What are you implying?”

   “I don’t know, perhaps that your savant-like styles of science and surveying are bounded by walls.”

   As quickly as it came, Sasha’s shame was soon lifted, catching the challenge within Tshepo’s now-apparently friendly berating all the fatherlier. Little did he know that his eventual acceptance of it was falling right into Tshepo's plan. When fitting in a place of comfort, Sasha's cockiness and confidence weren’t hard to pop out.

   “No, no. You and I both know that's not true!” Sasha announced, playfully scoffing. “If the commander himself had enough faith to get me promoted – something I'm still not sure I deserve but am grateful of, nonetheless – then I can do a little scan or two. Watch me; I won't let you down.”

   “I never thought you would,” Tshepo smiled, patting his youngster's back as he headed for the entry latch to head out. “Just make sure the mods are functional.”

    Silence filled the airwaves as Sasha loosened the suction of the heavy latch and trekked down the pebbly path of the exit. He expected to hear winds or animals of the environment or voices of technicians waiting for his arrival, but, surprisingly, he heard nothing on the outside. There was only him, his thoughts, and the beeps and dynamics of his suit. If they weren't the medley of sounds that he was used to on the daily, having never really been talkative with anyone except those of the few positions higher than himself, then he would've thought it was weird.

   The young engineer had just made it to the external opening, just about to be exposed to the mystery destination one-on-one, before he heard Tshepo’s voice again.

   “One more thing before you go,” he directed through the microphone. “As much as I want you to be quick and correct…” He struggled to find the right words, not wanting to give away the truth about their reason for usage prematurely. “…tread lightly.”

   “I, uh…” Sasha caught the hesitation in his voice, frazzled by the strange instruction, but not wanting to restart another uncomfortable back-and-forth, he brushed it aside. Instead, he looked to the metallic, light tessellated walls and ceilings for the camera Tshepo had to have been using to see him, found it, and acknowledged him with a promising salute as he signaled for the doors to open and the exit ramp to be unraveled. “I’m on it.”

   Before either of them knew it, the sensors were set off, and the Demeter opened its maw to reveal its insignificant, human inhabitant and release him to the vastness of the unknown, outside world.

[castorhq]

now that’s a face with a thousand questions. we could give you some answers, stranger. the oracle requests you draw a card. just focus intently on what you want to know most, and pull from the deck. you won’t need to say any more than that-- we’ll leave it to the fates.

you draw: the chariot, inverted

age range: 21 - 28 ( 200 - 500 ) species: vampire alignment: neutral suggested faceclaims: fady elsayed, leah lewis, dev patel, ben levin

the reading: 

“there are perhaps many causes worth dying for, but to me, certainly, there are none worth killing for.” ― albert dietrich

this is not new for you. you have seen war before, long ago, when you were human. you fought then and was it worth it? no, you do not think so. but you have lived a long time and your experience is well desired. the neutrality you hold is being tugged on every end. just like the first time, the war was not yours, but the burden is just as heavy. time is cyclical, isn’t it? see also: death, the vampire this character sired.

you are: nicolas françois de salcedo, aka nicky castro

age: twenty-three four hundred forty-eight gender & pronouns: demiboy, he/she/they faceclaim: maxence dante-fauvel occupation: manager of grounds zero

the interpretation:

tw:  torture, capital punishment, colonization

Born from nobility in Spain 1573, Nicolas François de Salcedo had the opportunity to ensure wealth and power, not just for him, but for his future children, grandchildren, and many more generations to come. All they had to do was follow the same path that his grandfather have blazed for the men in their family and become an explorer. A conqueror of the seas and of men. All in the name of the king. If Nicolas played his cards right, they could lead armies before they reached the end of his second decade.

It was unfortunate that they were born half a decade younger than his older brothers. If it weren’t for his tender age, they could have gone along with them in expeditions already, relishing what the world has to offer and proving his worth inside the tent and on the field. But instead, they were left behind with his mother, his sisters, his brother’s wives, and the many maids that tended to the family estate. Nicolas will just have to follow suit, they said. After they’ve already softened the land with the native’s blood and claimed what was rightfully theirs first, of course. Nicolas has nothing to worry about with, they said. The colonies are rich and Nicolas still has plenty of land to seize and gold to loot by the time they reach of age. Nicolas wanted none of that. Growing up surrounded with women, they learned to be amazed by the wonders a feminine touch could produce, from the delicious meals that filled his belly to the intricate details embroidered in the napkins they used to wipe his mouth clean. Let the men fight their wars, Nicolas thought. They were fully content staying at home where it was safe and comfortable, learning about the world with his sisters through books and not through swords and shields like his brothers.

But family, isn’t so easily denied. Eventually, Nicolas was shipped to sea. And they hated every single second of it. Nicolas could barely stomach being with his brothers behind the table, watching as his brothers gave the orders. What more if they’re thrown into the field themselves? Unable to stomach it any longer, they did the unthinkable and stowed away in a ship bound to return to the motherland.

Being found and becoming a disgrace was inevitable. From then, Nicolas seemed to only stumble from one trouble into another, until they were tried for having relations with an older man, a worker from their own estate. Nicolas’ lover was sentenced to death. They, on the other hand, were whipped, threatened to be sent to the galleys and much worse. It was in his very jail cell where Nicolas would found his sire. Beguiled by his soft feminine features, they offered Nicolas a way out. In exchange, Nicolas would have to offer his life to his sire. It was no question.

Nicolas would spend decades travelling around with his sire. Free from the expectations of his family and the judging looks people would toss his way underneath the sun, they found that they could finally discover what it means to be unabashedly themselves among the supernatural folk, the different, fellow outcast, heresies, and abominations.

Eventually, the pact between him and his sire was broken and Nicolas was forced to find their own way. With his own wealth that they managed to save throughout the years, they searched for a haven from country to country until they found Castor in the late 1700s, a place where the supernatural thrived behind the veils of the night. Castor quickly became one of Nicolas’ favorite stops. Among the various homes they have made for himself throughout the centuries, cycling through towns, even countries, before anyone grew too suspicious why they never age, Castor was the town Nicolas looked forward to the most.

And now it was time to return.

With a war brewing between the Night Terrors and the Street Beasts, Castor was proving itself to be an unfavorable place to be during this century. Nicolas, or as his current documents would say, Nicky Castro, was more than capable of foregoing his usual stay in Castor. However, fate seemed to conspire against him, causing him to bring about another creature of the night into the world. Feeling they have no other choice, Nicky decided that it would be best for his sired if they stayed, no matter the current situation at Castor. They will just have to hold his ground, no matter how tempting the offers of the Night Terrors are or how hard old acquaintances tugged at his strings.

Let them have their war. Now, more than ever, Nicky had the power to say no to it.

played by marcel !

[aion-rsa]

Winter 2021 TV Preview

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Every New Year’s celebration comes along with some excitement, pomp, and circumstance, but rarely has the countdown from 10 felt more urgent in the waning seconds of 2020. Yes, 2020 is just a number and yes, time is just an abstract concept created to explain celestial bodies moving around one another. But darn it all, it still feels great to see “2021” at the top of this article.

2021 will hopefully come along with some good news (though admittedly early signs aren’t looking great on that front). At the very least, however, it should come along with some interesting TV options. Due to COVID-19 production delays, there perhaps aren’t as many confirmed release dates for early 2021 as we’ve seen in years’ past. Still, there are plenty of exciting new and returning TV shows to keep you occupied throughout the chilly season.

Winter 2021 is when Marvel makes its triumphant return to television. The official MCU canon gets started with WandaVision in January before continuing on with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in March. The newly-branded CWverse will make its debut this season with Javica Leslie’s Ryan Wilder taking up the mantle of Batwoman. And that’s not even to mention other genre options like Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga or season 2 of TNT’s surprisingly good Snowpiercer.

What follows are all the new and returning shows in winter 2021 that we’re excited about. You can also check out a list of our most anticipated returning British series here and new British series here.

Prodigal Son Season 2

Jan. 12 on Fox

Audiences were captivated by a shocking season 1 finale for Fox’s crime thriller Prodigal Son, and season 2 will continue the story of police profiler Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne), and his notorious serial killer father Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen). Malcolm’s sister Ainsley (Halston Sage) has gone from intrepid reporter to protector of family secrets by following her father’s deadly instructions.

With Malcolm’s life in disarray as a result, Prodigal Son season 2 will find him protecting his mother Jessica (Bellamy Young) from a secret that could tear the family apart even worse than before. Martin, meanwhile, is determined to strengthen the growing bond between him and his “prodigal son,” and the relationship is bound to produce more twists and revelations when the show returns on Jan. 12, 2021. – Michael Ahr

Superstore Season 6

Jan. 14 on NBC

Superstore will be taking a bow with its current sixth and final season, but there’s a big status quo change that will add plenty of drama to its final episodes. Jonah (Ben Feldman) will have to find out how to move on from Amy (America Ferrera) after her exit from the series less than three months ago. 

So far we know that Jonah’s ex Kelly (Kelly Stables) has returned to the Ozark Highlands store. Also, there are rumors that though Superstore is coming to an end, characters Bo and Cheyenne could be getting their own spinoff. Perhaps we see some sort of backdoor pilot? Superstore will air 11 more episodes before concluding in the spring. – Nick Harley

Search Party Season 4

Jan. 14 on HBO Max

In addition to being a great TV show in general, Search Party belongs on a short list of the best “well…how did we end up here?” entertainment properties. This dark comedy from Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, and Michael Showalter began with one young millennial’s decision to go looking for a missing acquaintance. Somehow that led to no fewer than two murders and the trial of the social media century. For its fourth season, Search Party will up the ante yet again.

Read more

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Search Party Season 4 Review (Spoiler-Free)

By Daniel Kurland

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Cassidy Diamond is Search Party Season 3’s Vocal Fry Queen

By Alec Bojalad

As evidenced by the end of season 3, Dory Sief (Alia Shawkat) finds herself kidnapped and held by her stalker (Cole Escola). While Dory is missing, her friends Elliot Goss (John Early), Portia Davenport (Meredith Hagner), and Drew Gardner (John Reynolds) try to move on with their lives before deciding to make the name of the show make sense again. Search Party proved to be a modest cult  hit when it originally aired its first two seasons on TBS. That was enough to get seasons 3 and 4 to HBO Max, where hopefully it will confuse and delight audiences for years to come. – Alec Bojalad

WandaVision

Jan. 15 on Disney+

Give it up for Marvel Cinematic Universe’s wackiest installment yet. Partially filmed in front of a live audience, this nine-episode TV series centered around Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and The Vision (Paul Bettany), is poised to herald in the new, Disney+ era of MCU. 

While showrunner Jac Schaeffer has kept mum on the exact details of the plot, trailers tease a trip down TV sitcom memory lane that appears to be some kind of collective (forgive us) vision shared by Wanda, her late boyfriend android Vision, and others. We’ll have to wait to find out if it is a reality created by the uber powerful Wanda herself, driven by her grief over Vision’s Infinity War death, or if there is another force at play here. Whatever the answer, WandaVision looks to be a wild ride. – Kayti Burt

Disenchantment Season 3

Jan. 15 on Netflix

While Matt Groening is best known for a certain animated on Fox series that’s run for…a few seasons, to some he will always be known as the mastermind behind beloved cult animated hit Futurama. And it’s that series that fans hoped for more of with the announcement of the fantasy kingdom set Disenchantment for Netflix. Through two seasons, Disenchantment hasn’t reached Futurama’s heights yet (because really: what could?) but it has delivered on the promise of exciting, serialized storytelling in a wacky animated world.

Disenchantment season 3 is set to open up the show’s storytelling even more. The end of season 2 (or Part Two, per Netflix) finds Bean (Abbi Jacobson), Luci (Eric Andre), and Elfo (Nat Faxon) trapped in a catacomb surrounded by “Trogs” and Bean’s villainous mother Queen Dagmar. Season 3 trailers reveal that Bean and the gang won’t spend much time here, however, and will instead eventually make it to the previously hinted-at steampunk world known as Steamland. With the show transitioning from magic to science only three seasons in, perhaps it’s not much longer before we get a proper Futurama crossover. – AB

Servant Season 2

Jan. 15 on Apple TV+

The premise of Servant’s first season was a simple yet unnerving one. The M. Night Shyamalan-produced Apple TV+ series found two parents, Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell), dealing with the death of their son by caring for a “reborn” doll named Jericho. The doll was creepy enough to begin with but made creepier by the Turners bringing a young nanny named Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) aboard who immediately accepts the doll as a real child without questions. And that was all just the setup for a show that absolutely wasn’t satisfied to let weird enough alone. 

Season 2 finds Leanne on the run with Jericho and also perhaps with a cult? I don’t know, Servant really is a lot. The real question, however, is what kind of meals Sean will be preparing this year. As a professional chef, the character was always known for cooking up something truly delicious (and usually gruesome) in his expansive Philadelphia home kitchen. Hopefully he still has enough time to cook with all the missing baby and cult stuff. – AB

Batwoman Season 2

Jan. 17 on The CW

Batwoman is gone; long live Batwoman. Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane is out of the picture, but Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder is here to put her own spin on the black and red suit. We’ve seen the first two episodes of season 2, and we can’t wait for more! The series makes room for Kate’s loved ones, Gotham, and the audience, to mourn her, while Ryan quickly establishes her own origin story and relationship to all our favorite returning characters, who have very different reactions to her presence.

Like Kate before her, Ryan opens up the world of superheroics to new communities. Oh and that villain Safiyah they teased all last season, who even makes Alice scared? Buckle up because she’s coming to Gotham and she’s not messing around. – Delia Harrington

All American Season 3

Jan. 18 on The CW

This CW sports drama breakout returns for a third season with a whole new set of problems for Spencer James, who returned to his former school, South Crenshaw, at the end of Season 2 in order to keep it from becoming a magnet school. From the looks of the Season 3 trailer, Spencer continues to be caught between two worlds; his former teammates at Beverly Hills High can’t get past the color of his jersey.

Meanwhile, Coach Baker’s own transition to South Crenshaw is anything but smooth, as he has to deal with a hostile school principal who has raised the required GPA for student athletes. Additionally, All American plans to explicitly integrate th Black Lives Matter protest in Season 3, promising another season that is as relevant as it is dramatically addicting. – KB

Riverdale Season 5

Jan. 20 on The CW

Riverdale’s fifth season will open with the prom, finishing up the season four stories that were cut off early due to COVID-19, with the trailer teasing eerie violence, plenty of twists, and a possible Barchie hookup. Then the show will fast-forward seven years to show the gang in their mid-twenties AKA at their actual ages. The main cast is returning, with Riverdale parents Skeet Ulrich (FP Jones) and Marisol Nichols (Hermione Lodge) leaving the show.

Riverdale has cast Veronica’s husband and he’s not played by KJ Apa or his secret twin, so we’re going to need some serious explanation about what happened to Varchie – and why, if they broke up, it wasn’t so Beronica could finally get together. Vanessa Morgan’s IRL pregnancy will be incorporated into Toni Topaz’s storyline – hopefully that means a gayby for Choni! Whatever comes next, it will definitely be bonkers-drama, stylized as hell, and at least 75% murder-y. – DH

Nancy Drew Season 2

Jan. 20 on The CW

If you skipped Nancy Drew last year because you think there are too many reboots and remakes, take this as an opportunity to correct your error! Part Veronica Mars, part ghost story, and actually as cool as Riverdale hopes to be, this refresh of the beloved books is a take on high-stakes small town crime, the haves vs the have-nots, and every conceivable legend involving a sea witch that fictional Horseshoe Bay, Maine has to offer.

Read more

TV

How Nancy Drew Succeeds as an Adaptation Where The Hardy Boys Fails

By Lacy Baugher

TV

How Nancy Drew Has Reinvigorated the Dark Young Adult Drama

By Lacy Baugher

This season Nancy and friends are left to deal with many cliffhangers – including visions of their own deaths! Season 2 promises more of Nancy dealing with learning who her real parents are and the mysterious and deadly Aglaeca and its connection to the Marvin family. – DH

Walker 

Jan. 21 on The CW

The CW is rebooting the 90s television hit Walker, Texas Ranger for a new action series titled simply Walker, premiering January 21, 2021. Jared Padalecki takes on the titular role in his first outing after wrapping up 15 years on the network’s juggernaut series Supernatural. Texas Ranger Cordell Walker is haunted by the death of his wife Emily (guest star Genevieve Padalecki) as he returns to Austin after two years undercover.

Much of the drama centers on Emily’s suspicious killing, but Walker also must reconnect with his creative and thoughtful son August (Kale Culley) and his headstrong daughter Stella (Violet Brinson) while navigating clashes with his parents and brother. He also finds unexpected common ground with his new partner Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan), one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history. – MA

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Season 2

Jan. 22 on Netflix

Netflix and Dreamworks Animation’s Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous really could have been a phoned-in effort. The formula to success on such a series would appear to be: get the coveted Jurassic World license, animate some dinosaurs, throw the product out there, and profit. It’s to the show’s credit, however, that it sought to be a much more entertaining and enriching experience in its first season than mere IP mining. 

Read more

TV

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous – The Origins of Bumpy Revealed

By David Crow

TV

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Reveals That Friendship is When Trust Defeats Loneliness

By Alana Joli Abbott

Season 2 of the show will find the lead children outside the friendly confines of Camp Cretaceous but still trapped on Isla Nublar and looking for a way out. Camp Cretaceous excelled in creating an intense, yet still family-friendly narrative in season 1 and season 2 seems poised to do the very same. – AB

The Blacklist Season 8 

Jan. 22 on NBC

When The Blacklist returns for the remainder of its eighth season on NBC, expect the already rapid pace to be increased. “The next season, season eight, starts in a much more heightened and dramatic place than normal seasons do,” writer and producer John Eisendrath told Cinemablend. “We are gonna tell the story that we were unable to tell at the end of last season.” 

The latest season continues the ongoing saga of enigmatic antihero “Concierge of Crime,” Raymond Reddington (James Spader), the world’s most-wanted criminal who – unbeknownst to the general public – enjoys an immunity deal with the F.B.I. in exchange for leads about his vast array of criminal contacts (the titular blacklist), frequently shadowed by special agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), who, as revealed later in the series, happens to be the daughter he conceived with a deadly Russian spy. – NH

Fate: The Winx Saga

Jan. 22 on Netflix

Netflix has taken on the daunting task of adapting Winx Club, a beloved Nickelodeon animated series, into a live action teen fantasy series called Fate: The Winx Saga, which drops its six hour-long episodes on Jan. 22, 2021. The story follows Bloom (Abigail Cowen) as she adjusts to life as a fairy at Alfea College, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld, where she must learn to control her dangerous powers. 

The live action series promises to be darker and edgier than its predecessor as the fairies fight the Burned Ones, but Fate: The Winx Saga hopes to capitalize on the original’s iconic set of strong female characters to build an equally addictive genre series. The male specialists from the animated series will also be on hand, including Bloom’s love interest, Sky (Danny Griffin). – MA

Charmed Season 3

Jan. 24 on The CW

Like many a network TV show, Charmed was forced to cut its second season short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which left a lot of plot threads hanging—the biggest, a brewing battle against the Faction. Season 3 promises to see that power struggle through, with Macy, Mel, and Maggie jonseing for a fight in the trailer. 

“I’m afraid not even the Charmed Ones can survive the death of all magic,” we hear someone voiceover in the sneak peek. If you’ve given this reboot a pass because you’re loyal to the original, now’s the time to reconsider. This show is forging its own path, and it’s filled with supernatural delights. – KB

Snowpiercer Season 2

Jan. 25 on TNT

The original 2013 film Snowpiercer has gone down in history for two main reasons. First of all, it’s another superb entry into the film canon of director Bong  Joon-ho, who would go on to strike Oscar gold with Parasite. Secondly, it’s the movie where Chris Evans earnestly delivers a line about eating delicious babies. Beyond even those two heavily memeable factors, however, Snowpiercer is a great, exciting, and class-conscious movie.

The real surprise about the film Snowpiercer, however, is that the TV series it inspired is also pretty good! After some behind the scenes difficulties and a slow start, Snowpiercer chugged right along in its first season to become one of the more interesting cable TV dramas on television. Season 2 is set to become only more intriguing with the addition of Sean Bean as the elusive Mr. Wilford and with the train quite literally coming off the tracks. – AB

Resident Alien

Jan. 27 on Syfy

Sometimes a title is so good and so of its moment that the powers-that-be have no choice but to make a TV show out of it. Such is the case with Syfy’s Resident Alien. “Resident alien” is, of course, a (rather outdated) term for an individual residing in a country without having yet achieved citizenship. It also brings to mind the concept of actual outer space aliens. Resident Alien, based on the comic of the same name by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, takes that latter concept and just runs with it. 

Syfy’s adaptation will star Alan Tudyk as the titular resident alien, Captain Hah Re/Dr. Harry Vanderspiegle. After “Harry” crash lands in a small Colorado town, he must go undercover as a doctor, while also…solving a murder mystery? This all sounds like a fascinating mashup of genres with a satisfying arc at its center. Also Linda Hamilton is involved, so that’s pretty rad. – AB

Firefly Lane

Feb. 3 on Netflix

Veteran actresses and former TV doctors Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) are coming together for a new take on a decades-spanning dramedy a la This is Us for Netflix. An adaption of the bestselling novel by author Kristin Hannah, Firefly Lane finds the pair set on teaching audiences that “the greatest love story of all can be between friends.” 

With a story spanning 30-years, the pair of friends experience tragedy, triumphs, love triangles, and all of the tear-jerker, life-affirming moments one can hope for. Ali Skovbye (When Calls the Heart) and Roan Curtis (The Magicians) will portray younger versions of Heigel and Chalke, respectively, and the rest of the cast is rounded out by Ben Lawson (Designated Survivor), Yael Yurman (The Man in the High Castle) and Beau Garrett (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce). The 10-episode series hits Netflix on February 3. – NH

The Equalizer

Feb. 7 on CBS

After successful big-screen adaptations with Denzel Washington, The Equalizer is back on television this winter, this time with Queen Latifah stepping into the role as the titular protector. Latifah stars as Robyn McCall, an underground vigilante who is the crime fighter you call when you can’t dial 911. 

Balancing being a mother with helping the defenseless by any means necessary, McCall must evade those that seek to harm her as well as Chris Noth’s CIA Agent William Bishop. The series also stars Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black), Tory Kittles (Colony). and Adama Goldberg (Taken, Fargo). The reimagining premieres on CBS on Feb. 7 after the Super Bowl. – NH

Black Lightning Season 4

Feb. 8 on The CW

Black Lightning’s fourth and final season will pick up where its many season three storylines left off. Jefferson Pierce and his family are still fighting to keep what’s left of Freeland safe. Following congressional approval for a boarding school for metahumans last season, expect to see Dr. Stewart working on that, and it’s hard to imagine Jefferson not being involved as well.

Nafessa Williams and China Anne McClain return as Thunder and Lightning, although we’ll be seeing a bit less of Jennifer as McClain had already decided to leave the show after this season before it was announced as the final one for the show. There’s a Painkiller spinoff in development, so expect a backdoor pilot. Crime boss Tobias Whale is still at large and Gravedigger is still out there, and Jefferson no longer has Billy Henderson to have his back, so things might get a little rough. – DH

Clarice 

Feb. 11 on CBS 

How do you make a show centered on Clarice Starling, author Thomas Harris’ FBI agent trainee popularized on-screen by Jodie Foster in Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs, without her most famous adversary Hannibal Lecter? Well, CBS is going to try. Rebecca Breeds stars as the titular agent in this sequel series, which finds Starling heading back to her native West Virginia to work a case while her mind is still preoccupied by her experiences hunting Buffalo Bill. 

The series will also feature Starling’s FBI colleague Ardelia Mapp, played by Devyn Tyler, and kidnapping survivor Catherine Martin, played by Marnee Carpenter. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Jenny Lumet said, “She came face to face with the worst of what we have and the worst of what we are, and lived through it. If you imagine a puzzle box of puzzle pieces all thrown up into the air – that was the experience that she had with [serial killer] Buffalo Bill.” Unfortunately due to legal reasons, the series cannot mention Lecter, which should be an interesting hurdle, but will explore the shared trauma between Martin and Starling. – NH

Tribes of Europa

Feb. 19 on Netflix 

German science fiction captured Netflix viewers’ hearts with the time travel series, Dark, and now the post-apocalyptic Tribes of Europa hopes to do the same when it drops its six-episode season on February 19, 2021. The series follows warring factions in the harsh future of 2074 who discover a crashed ship containing a powerful, cube-shaped artifact.

Three siblings Kiano (Emilio Sakraya), Liv (Henriette Confurius), and Elja (David Ali Rashed) get caught in the middle of the bloody war over the cube and are forced to forge their own paths. There’s also the question of what caused the apocalypse and what might be threatening humanity’s existence while the tribes fight amongst themselves. – MA

For All Mankind Season 2

Feb. 19 on Apple TV+

As with many an ongoing Apple TV+ show, many missed the first season of this science fiction drama from Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore. And, as with many Apple TV+ shows (obligatory Dickinson shout out), it’s time to reconsider. For All Mankind is an alternate history exploring a world in which the Soviet Union made it to the Moon first, and the global space race never ended.

Joel Kinnaman stars as astronaut Edward Baldwin, but this drama isn’t all white dudes in space. The Soviet Union’s emphasis on diversity in its space program has forced America to do the same, training women and other minorities for space exploration in a way that didn’t happen in our reality. A fascinating blend of real-life history and an imagined path, For All Mankind is a worthwhile watch for any sci-fi nerds out there and, with a Season 3 already greenlit by Apple, holds the promise of more narrative to come. – KB

The Flash Season 7

Feb. 23 on The CW

In a post-Arrow world, it’s up to The Flash to bear the standard of the Arrowverse. Err Berlantiverse. Scratch that, CWverse, apparently. And it will do that with the speedforce destroyed, Barry Allen losing his speed, and Iris trapped in the Mirrorverse. Season 7 will pick up with Team Flash at an all-time low, with Cait MIA and Mirror Mistress Eva McCulloch victorious.

Read more

TV

The Flash TV Episode We Almost Saw

By Mike Cecchini

TV

The Flash Season 7: Jay Garrick Will Return

By Mike Cecchini

Of course one person won’t be returning. Hartley Sawyer, who plays Ralph Dibny AKA Elongated Man, was fired for his racist and sexist tweets back in August, what feels like a solid five years ago. Joe West’s story arc will be inspired by, “the societal changes happening in today’s world,” which sounds like a euphemism for systemic racism, white supremacy, and police brutality, a weightier topic that veteran actor Jesse L. Martin would do an excellent job handling. – DH

Superman & Lois

Feb. 23 on The CW

The CWverse is at a real crossroads. With Arrow done, The Flash past its prime, and Supergirl and Black Lightning nearing their ends, DC TV’s hold over small screen storytelling is loosening. Superman & Lois, as well as a new-hero-driven second season of Batwoman, are looking to change the direction of that momentum. The former is betting on a different screen adaptation of Superman than we’ve seen in recent years: Superman as a parent. 

Superman & Lois is looking to tell a small town story, one led by title characters who are firmly into adulthood and have some very relatable problems—namely, the complicated pressures of raising their two teenage sons while also working. In a time when many parents are feeling the immense weight of childrearing more than ever, Superman & Lois may just end up being one of the most cathartic shows of 2021. – KB

The Walking Dead Season 10B

Feb. 28 on AMC

Wait a minute, didn’t The Walking Dead season 10 finale already premiere a few months ago? Indeed it did. The Walking Dead concluded its 10th and now penultimate season with “A Certain Doom” on Oct. 4, 2020. Due to a major delay in airing said episode because of the coronavirus pandemic, however, AMC decided to go ahead and reward loyal viewers with some extra season 10 episodes.

The Walking Dead season “10B” will consist of six loosely-connected installments that each follow different characters and will help bridge the gap to the show’s 11th and final season. In order, the episodes will be “Home Sweet Home” (Maggie-centric), “Find Me” (Daryl and Carol), “One More” (Gabriel and Aaron), “Splinter” (Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Princess), “Diverged” (Daryl and Carol again), and “Here’s Negan” (Guess who). While this extra half-season clearly exists in part to milk AMC’s zombie cash cow as it nears the end of its life, the storytelling possibilities under capable showrunner Angela Kang are undeniably intriguing. – AB

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

March 19 on Disney+

One of several Marvel TV offerings coming to Disney+ this winter is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which got pushed from its original August 2020 release date to March 19, 2021. The miniseries picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame as Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) team up for a global adventure that will apparently test their abilities and their patience.

Daniel Bruhl will reprise his role as Helmut Zemo, the Sokovian citizen turned terrorist mastermind who, in Captain America: Civil War, engineered the rift between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Emily Van Camp also jumps from that film to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter, grandniece of SHIELD founder Peggy Carter. Wyatt Russell will play John Walker, better known to Marvel fans as USAgent. – MA

Solar Opposites Season 2

March 26 on Hulu

Through four seasons Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s Rick and Morty has proven itself to be one of the most exciting and narratively complex animated series around. So folks could be forgiven for assuming that Roiland’s next animated effort, alongside Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan, would be all but an equally brainy carbon copy. But while Solar Opposites has the same animation style and intergalactic environs as Rick and Morty, season 1 proved that this was a hilarious beast all its own.

Read more

TV

Solar Opposites Season 3 Confirmed

By Alec Bojalad

TV

Solar Opposites Character Guide

By Joe Matar

Solar Opposites is essentially Roiland’s version of a wacky neighborhood sitcom. The neighbors at the show’s center just happen to be outer space aliens technically charged with overtaking the citizens of Earth (they swear they’ll get around to it eventually but don’t seem too motivated). Season 2, which was ordered at the same time as season 1, will continue the Earthbound adventures of Terry (Roiland), Korvo (Thomas Middleditch), and their two “replicants” Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) and Jesse (Mary Mack). Solar Opposites was not afraid of some serialized storytelling in its first season, and who’s to say we won’t get another background story as epic as The Wall saga. – AB

Shadow and Bone

April on Netflix

Netflix has experienced quite a bit of success when it comes to bringing fantasy adaptations to its servers. Shows like The Witcher, Cursed, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina have all found success (to differing extents) on the service. It’s no mystery then why the streamer would go out and snag the rights to Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy.

The first novel in the trilogy, Shadow and Bone, lends its name to this live-action adaptation. Shadow and Bone is set in a world that’s divided in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness. When orphan Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) discovers she harnesses a particular power, she gets to work trying to unite her country. The Grisha trilogy is well-known for its effective Russian-influenced imagery and is sure to be a production designer’s delight when it premieres in April. – AB

Loki

May on Disney+

The month of May is a bit late to be considered part of “winter” TV season, but depending on where you live in the world, it will probably still be snowing anyway. And plus, it’s not like we can turn down an opportunity to include the third, and in many ways, most intriguing, Marvel Disney+ series.

Read more

TV

Doctor Doom Could be Mystery Villain in Loki Series

By Kirsten Howard

TV

Owen Wilson’s Loki Character is Based on a Beloved Marvel Writer

By Gavin Jasper

By the time Loki rolls out in May, viewers will already have gotten a good idea of what Marvel’s Disney+ offerings are all about thanks to WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Still, it seems as though Loki (like its titular character) will have plenty of tricks up its sleeve. Based on the bonkers first trailer, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is primed to jump from the events of Avengers: Endgame right to the offices of the Time Variance Authority where he travels through events in human history…and also somehow becomes D.B. Cooper? Yeah, this is going to be wild. – AB

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[agreateryesterday]

Stucky - ABO Fics

Omega!Steve

sweet child of mine

pray for the thunder to pass me by by icoulddothisallday

(Last updated July 11, 2018) *Finished* 8 chapters, One Shot

It had been nine years since Bucky had last seen Steve Rogers. Nine years and he’d mostly lost hope of ever finding his friend again. All he had to hold on was that last night, the scent of Steve’s pre-heat and the warmth of his body. Until Steve abruptly reappears in New York, eight-year-old daughter in tow.

Steve had made himself a promise, when Charlie was born, that he would be honest with her — that he would answer all her inevitable questions.

Anam Cara

The Life and Times of CLUB Members

Stay My Brooklyn Baby

Never Have I Ever (Been This Drunk)

From Dust to Dust and Age to Age by JokerzPrincezz

*Finished* One Shots

"Whether the world was burning or freezing or made of nothing but misery and pain, I remembered your eyes, that won’t ever change, sweetheart." Steve struggles to adjust, living an isolated life to protect what little reason he has to live. Everyone seems to forget that this change, this new body, the fresh horrors he sees at night, aren't seventy years old for him. For Steve, just last year he was a scrawny little Beta with only one friend in the world. For Steve, last week he stormed a concentration camp and saw horrors beyond compare. For Steve, yesterday he had an Alpha and a pack forged in blood and battle. Now he's got a shield and a new form and secret heats. Now he's got fear and isolation and PTSD, now he's got a body he doesn't know what to do with and a mind he can't control. It should come as a surprise to no one that the moment Bucky is revealed to him, he's ready to follow him till the ends of the earth. Where Bucky goes, Steve will always follow, and in return, Bucky will always piece him back together. And, God, Steve has just been living his life in pieces, scraps of humanity and normality just barely masking his never ending fear and loneliness.

CLUB opens in secret in 1925, it's changed locations many a time, and had many patrons and employees come and go through her doors. This is the story of her Fabulous Foursome. A group of remarkable men who support and love each other against all odds.

"Please be well for me, sweet thing, please be good to yourself while I can’t. Please, please, above all else, don’t go where I can’t follow. Stay home, stay there, stay my Brooklyn baby. I promise I’ll return to you soon. Love always, Your Bucky” In 1942 Steve Rogers experiences his second heat during his USO tour. While he sleeps, while he goes deeper into that terrible heat, something unspeakable happens. And his reaction changes his life, changes the way he sees himself. Seventy years later, he tells Sam Wilson the truth of that awful night and finds he must make a choice. Justify his actions and absolve himself of his sins, or spend the rest of his days wallowing in guilt and self-loathing.

The Avengers face down aliens, again, and Tony throws a party, again. The gang decides to play a round of Never Have I Ever, Thor brings that good booze so Steve is officially sloshed. Fun times are had, secrets are revealed. Nat and Steve have more in common than either of them realized.

"But Bucky was no normal man, he was perfection incarnate, carved from the same marble that had shaped Steve Rogers. He may well have been born of Steve’s own rib, pulled from Steve’s own heart. His perfect puzzle piece. His anam cara. Cut of the same cloth, out of dust as one and to dust together again in their end." Steve and Bucky talk about getting mated, their relationship and argue over who deserves whom less. (Spoiler, they're both idiots with self-esteem issues and they're perfect for each other.) The other parts of this series really are required at this point in the story.

Season of all things by Claudia_flies

*Finished* 4 chapters

Steve really isn’t sure about sharing with an Alpha but he is starting to run out of options. There are only six Omega boarding houses in the city and Steve has been kicked out of four of them. Or: A small town a/o/b AU that nobody asked for.

Please, Take Me by sobermeup

*Finished* 10 chapters

If Bucky has to describe Steve’s scent using words that would be logical when speaking to the sense of smell, he’d say things like spring, floral, or meadow. The distinctness of certain smells in Steve’s scent is weaker than it is for other people. The doctors say it’s because of Steve’s underdeveloped body, because of the sicknesses he has been riddled with during puberty. And yet, despite Steve’s anxiety and distaste of his smell, Bucky can’t seem to find something to dislike about his scent. He smells... happy. It also seems that Bucky can’t find the proper olfactory words to describe Steve’s scent. He can’t help but associate emotions with Steve, his scent, and his pretty body.

Welcome Home

Destined by eclecticxdetour

*Finished* One Shots

Reunited after a mission, Bucky shows Steve how much he missed him.

Steve Destines as an Omega and talks about it with Bucky.

no matter the distance, I’m holding your hand by suzukiblu

*Finished* One Shot

“Your body temperature is elevated,” the asset says. “And you stink.” “Of course,” the captain mutters, tilting his head back against the bed. “I make it through every other alpha in the twenty-first century just fine, but five minutes around you sets me off.”

The Daily Grind by notlucy

*Finished* One Shot

In a perfect world, the need to rut and an omega in heat would line up every time. Bucky's world is rarely perfect. Steve puts up with him regardless.

I'll Look After You by Milk_Tea_Fantasy

*Finished* One Shot

When Steve’s in heat, all Bucky wants in the whole wide world is to take care of him.

with his educated eyes, and his head between my thighs

constantly on the cusp of trying to kiss you by spacebuck

*Finished* One Shots

Living with an alpha was usually … difficult. The last alpha he’d shared a building with, some asshole whose name Steve had forgotten almost immediately, had been pushy – scenting the entire building, walking up and down the hallway of Steve’s floor on regular days, let alone when Steve was in heat. After a week of the guy literally scratching at his door, Steve had packed up and left, and the landlady hadn’t blamed him – had even given him back his bond, though she had been entitled to keep it given the circumstances. The worst part had been when they had crossed paths as Steve had been preparing to move out. The alpha had leered at Steve, catcalled and coaxed, puffed up and made his scent that much more potent. Convinced for some reason that Steve would mate him just because of his designation. Fat chance. Steve had held his breath the last time they had been face to face, refused to look at him, thrown the guy’s hand off when he’d tried to stop Steve from leaving. Bucky though? Perfect. Fucking. Gentleman. And it drove Steve nuts.

“Nuh uh, you gotta get up,” Steve murmured, and Bucky grumbled, not moving at all. “Don’t give me that,” Steve chastised, and Bucky ducked his head, tucking back in against Steve’s shoulder. Dealing with Early Morning Bucky was always an exercise in patience, most of all at this time of the year. “Don’t wanna,” Bucky mumbled against his skin, and Steve felt the alpha inhale deeply, before he let it out on a rumbling sigh. “Why’s that, Buck?” “Warm.” Steve snorted at that, taking advantage of the inattention to the rest of his body to turn and face Bucky fully. A warm hand immediately slid down to cup his ass, and Bucky’s nose tucked in against his throat. “I’m sure that’s the only reason,” Steve snorted, wedging a knee between Bucky’s, pressing it against Bucky’s crotch. The hand on his ass shifted, dipping under his boxers to rest against skin, and Steve shook his head. “Nuh uh, you’ll be late for work. Again.” “Don’t care,” was the mumbled response, and Steve thumped a hand against Bucky’s chest lightly.

Give Me Your Love, Baby by KimchiAndPasta

*Finished* 11 chapters

Steve wants to have a baby but Bucky isn't so sure.

the pulse that rages for you

all things will unwind by miraclemoon

*Finished* (Last updated Oct 10, 2017) 4 chapters, 3 chapters

In the midst of a mission, Steve is caught in the middle of an enemy made gas that forces him into heat. AKA, an ABO pwp that no one asked for.

There were many things Steve didn't expect from the 21st century. Even after receiving the serum, when he was no longer bird boned and could actually consider himself healthy, he never exactly imagined himself getting pregnant. AKA, an ABO mpreg fic no one asked for.

Overdue by cuddleslutloki

*Finished* One Shot

Six years after he presents as an omega, Steve goes into heat in the middle of World War 2. The trigger? Sparring with his best friend.

Baby, Can You Dig Your Man by dancinbutterfly

(Last updated March 16, 2018) 28 chapters

After a run in with the Winter Soldier Bucky on the never-ending hunt for HYDRA, Steve goes into heat. Now he's expecting but impending parenthood seems like the least of his worries. Hell, if it were the biggest complication he had, Steve's life would be just swell.

You Are Scent-sational by LightningStriking

*Finished* 15 chapters

Alpha Bucky has spent the last three years in Russia, working hard to become as successful as possible. All in the hopes of winning the heart of his best friend, Omega Steve, upon his return. Yet when Bucky comes home at last he discovers the small, adorable Stevie he left behind has transformed into a giant golden Adonis, and Bucky knows he's going to have to step his game up to have the slightest chance. Commence plan: Woo Steve Rogers Into Falling In Love Before He Realizes What's Happening. Sneakily wearing Steve's clothes so the blond will continually be smelling, and smelling of, the Alpha, sounds like the perfect way to start.

Always by attackmybutt

*Finished* One Shot

Steve never expected to go into heat in the middle of fighting against the Winter Soldier and much less that alpha would help him get through it. - "You are thinking too loud." For a second he feels like laughing. To just let out all his frustrated emotions but he can't when he feels like crying and rolling over to bare his ass and wriggle it in Bucky's direction. Oh yeah, the heat was definitely beginning to sip through his body.

Unchained by LightningStriking

*Finished* 17 chapters

Growing up in ancient Rome where Omegas were nothing more than commodities, Stevanos was captured by the Empire and forced into slavery. Where he became the greatest Omega Gladiator that the nation had ever seen. However, rather than earning his freedom, this instead assured his place as part of an envoy sent to Egypt. But he was not delivering fabulous gifts to the Pharaoh. Instead, Stevanos was the gift. A physically perfect specimen demonstrating the might of Rome, and a pawn that might garner Egypt's goodwill. Pharaoh Bakari, the most powerful man and Alpha in all of Egypt, had little time for offerings from a far off nation. Yet when his eyes fell upon the gorgeous man whose golden hair brought to mind the great sun god Ra himself, Bakari found himself fascinated by the Omega who's body promised the greatest pleasure, and who's eyes promised swift death to any who dare touch him. Stevanos provides a challenge for a Pharaoh who has been denied nothing his entire life. Bakari provides a temptation that might be too great to resist. Caught in a web of desire where they are not simply Pharaoh and slave, or Alpha and Omega, but equals, can they both come out the other side whole?

The Nameless

The Named by dragonspell

*Finished* One Shots

They skitter around him, over him, through him. Ants on a hill. A cuff attaches to his arm, Velcro snapping in place. His other arm is opened up, the wiring and interior circuits poked and prodded. One ant makes a notation on a chart, quickly scribbling and moving on. They have no names. Like him, they are no one. Some would disagree if he said so. Some would grow angry with him. They would try to argue or punish him. In the end, however, he will go back into the ice and nothingness and when he awakes again, they will all be gone, names and faces erased with new ones having taken their place long ago. They will have had no meaning, no impact, no lasting legacy—no name. There is a faint hint in the air, a taste that tempts the edge of his tongue, makes something dead inside of him wish to stir again. He knows that it is due to the ants that scurry around him, but he does not know why. This is their sweetness that coils around him, possessing a distant echo that bids his dead flesh to rise. It is something that he should know, but he does not. (Or, Hydra has kept alpha!Bucky chemically neutered, but they cannot account for omega!Steve. Plays fast and loose with canon.)

Having just come back from his run, Steve looks like a picture in a magazine, T-shirt tight but sweat pants loose, the exercise barely affecting him beyond a slight sheen of sweat on his skin. He’s not even breathing hard, completely photo-ready. Steve’s the reason why Bucky is standing by the kitchen counter at seven in the morning when he would much rather be still in bed. After the first few days, when Steve finally would allow Bucky to be out of his sight for longer than five minutes, Steve had reverted to his set morning routine, slipping out of bed before dawn when all sensible people are still trying to sleep. It had taken Bucky two days to catch on and adapt to the new situation. Now, every morning, though he’s loathe to leave the bed that smells of him and Steve, Bucky rolls himself to his feet about an hour after Steve leaves to ensure that he’s by the door when Steve comes back. If he doesn’t, Steve will head straight for the shower to wash off all of the hard won sweat that Bucky would like to drown himself in. (Or, since being rescued, Bucky's relearning what he's missed. Steve goes into heat. Pretty much complete porn).

In the Jet to Russia by Cryo_Bucky

*Finished* One Shot

Steve goes into heat in the jet on the way to Russia at the end of Civil War.

My Angel by Rogers_Barnes45

*Finished* One Shot

Bucky met Steve when he needed someone the most. He wanted to be loved and cared for. So when the Alpha Dom came along and promised the Omega the world, Steve couldn’t say no. He had a bad past and Bucky wanted to help Steve move on, which is what he did and Steve couldn’t be happier.

it's gotta get easier somehow ('coz, i'm falling, i'm falling) by orphan_account

*Finished* One Shot

Bucky doesn't remember being Steve's alpha. Until he does.

Reassurance by Cryo_Bucky

*Finished* One Shot

Steve is afraid that Bucky doesn't want him anymore now that he's not the skinny little omega that he fell in love with, avoiding him and refusing to eat. Bucky shows him he's wrong.

Comics and Comrades by Pinkfrostdiamond

(Last updated Aug 9, 2019) 6 chapters

A fic about an omega comic book artist with an amazing service dog and an alpha who is head of the Russian Mafia learning to work through their past. Will love win? (Yes because these boys need a happy ending)

Blood and Honey by Claudia_flies

*Finished* 4 chapters

A growl. It makes Steve’s knees turn into jelly and his body clench again. With dawning horror Steve realizes what is about to happen.

Shorteralls by moonythejedi394

*Finished* One Shot

The first time Bucky ever saw Steve Rogers, he was struck by how Neanderthal-like his response was. It was immediately followed by a bout of mental scolding. The second time was just about the same. The third time, it was actually appropriate for Bucky to start a conversation with him, at which point he was determined to be the gentleman. No such luck. Steve Rogers is, always has been and always will be, a relentless flirt. These days, Bucky's Neanderthal-ist feelings about Steve are consensual and highly appreciated. More so now that they're having a baby.

Unsuitable Breeding Stock by sarahyellow

*Finished* 8 chapters

“You fucking son of a bitch!” Steve is spitting out, furious. His face is going red, poor thing, and Bucky feels a twinge of guilt for having smiled. He knows he shouldn’t be encouraging it. “Calm down, sweetheart,” he says. “It’s gonna be okay.” Bucky brings his omega home.

I never knew you... by Harry1981

*Finished* 4 chapters

Alpha, Beta and Omegas are known, but most of the population is made up of Betas. Alpha females are rare and Omega Males even more. But it doesn't really concern Tony Stark, who is a beta and everybody he knows is similar or either Alpha Male or Omega Female. Things become complicated when Steve Rogers, an Omega Male, more commonly known as Captain America, comes out of the ice and take reins of the team known as Avengers. It's not something bad, as per se. Just, why the hell is he obsessed with Tony? Natasha says it is not just him, but Tony knows that Steve Rogers has a special interest in him. What did he do to bear the weight of Mama Rogers, after all?

Anything you need (just knock) by Neonbat, polarRabbit

(Last updated May 4, 2020) 1 chapter

Knocked up, kicked out, and down to his last dollars, Steve moves into a new apartment. His neighbors range from awful to decent, and then there is 108. Bucky lives with his girlfriend Dot, happy(ish), and equipped with a plan. Marriage, eventually kids, all that good stuff. That is until an unmated, pregnant Omega moves in next door and calls all his future plans into question. After a rocky start, the pair form a friendship that gets gossip rippling through the complex. Between secrets, feelings, society, and a pissed off girlfriend, they have heaps of reasons to call it quits and wish each other the best but, that's not what friends are for. Are they?

[insert joke about pipes] by notallbees

*Finished* 2 chapters

Steve doesn't date alphas, or at least he tries not to. With a string of exes hanging around, Steve does the only sensible thing he can: pretends to be dating his hot alpha plumber. Unfortunately, Steve's plan has as many holes as his pipes. And no, that's not a euphemism.

Snowed In by DyslexicSquirrel

*Finished* 4 chapters

At 16, Steve Rogers knew two things: Bucky Barnes was his best friend and that he loved him. At 24, he hadn't talked to Bucky since the day before he moved to Colorado after his mom died and he thought he never would again, even when he moved back to New York City. Except Bucky showed up at his door and Steve ran to his parent's old cabin up state. It was probably a stupid idea to go for a walk when there was a storm threatening--he did it anyway. The last thing he expected when he got stuck in the worst snow storm that year was for Bucky to show up and rescue him, but maybe he should have because the alpha had been saving his ass since Steve was ten.

When the Brooklyn Boys Begin

If you care to know by fullarmorandahotfudgesundae

(Last updated April 26, 2020) *Finished* 11 chapters, One Shot

Steve just wanted to die in peace. An Omega without children, who couldn't have children, living for long after their Alpha was torn from them? Not happening, not even with modern medicine. So, having accepted his fate, why was he suddenly haunted by a hallucination of his dead Alpha? A really firm, tactile, weepy hallucination of his dead Alpha? Maybe he should just roll with it? (Bucky, for his part, just wants to know what the hell is going on and how he and his punk Omega managed to be alive in the twenty-first century. Oh, and also how to stop that little issue of the bond sickness killing his Stevie.)

In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, Tony really just wants to relax with Pepper and his new buddy, Bruce. Given that this is his life, those plans are interrupted by a Soviet-era myth and an unconscious Captain America. Sigh. His life was so hard sometimes.

Sarah by MMXIII

*Finished* One Shot

It's still dark when he blinks awake, early enough that there's no light filtering through at the edges of the windows, no traffic out on the street.

Fuck You... And Your Metal Peg Leg by jaybird6232

(Last updated April 26, 2019) 14 chapters

“Mother fu–!” Steve throws himself to the ground and covers his head, narrowly avoiding the cannon ball that plows through the ship’s wheel, destroying it completely. Steve scrambles to his feet, looking at the remnants of wood and nails with wide eyes, before fearfully turning his head to look at the ship. It’s massive, far bigger than he realized at first, and it clicks instantly in his mind that this has to be the High Captain’s ship. The Captain of the entire Hydra fleet is the one who is on a mission to kill them all. On the other ship, a tall, older man wearing a large topper sends him a smirk, whispering to a few alphas beside him and pointing to Steve. Oh shit, Steve gulps nervously, taking a few cautionary steps backwards and hovering his hand over the dagger secured on his belt. The man sends him a feral smile, nodding his head in Steve’s direction. The alphas next to him disperse, tucking their swords away and climbing the netting on their ship. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

Always Yours by LilyInTheSnow

(Last updated April 20, 2010) 1 chapter

Steve is in love with his best friend, and the only Alpha he trusts, Bucky. And maybe Steve is an oblivious dumbass that doesn't realize Bucky's in love with him too. Though maybe he should've figured it out when he asked Bucky to donate sperm so he could have a baby and Bucky suggested they date for six months first.

Like Rahab by moonythejedi394

*Finished* 29 chapters

"Brother of Rahab, Father Elliot had called him. As Steve fell asleep, he dreamed of Nazis invading New York and an American spy with Bucky’s face hunting for a safe place to hide…" – intertwined, prelude. On December 7th, 1940, Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor. On May 8th, 1944, Nazi troops set foot in New York. On January 10th, 1945, Adolf Hitler was assassinated by a man now gone down in history as Captain America. Unfortunately, Captain America was killed after taking down Hitler, but his successful mission led to the Nazi invasion of the United States turning and the end of World War II. History recounts the legendary shot that took down Hitler, but it will always ponder why Captain America killed Dr. Johann Schmidt with the very next bullet. But before that, long before that, there was first an American sniper who needed a safe place to hide. There was first a prostitute turned spy who would take him in. There was first a strained relationship and a bittersweet reunion to be had, and when it was all over, there was then an escape to take place. After all, who would look for an American hero in Canada?

Be Mine, But Don't Make Me Ask by Apieceofurmind

(Last updated April 18, 2020) 33 chapters

Joseph waits his whole life for the perfect alpha son who will make him proud. The son who follow his father's footsteps and serves their country at war. And then, Steve Rogers is born. He is not strong, tall or muscular. But above all he is not an alpha. Betrayed by his own son, Joseph shuns him away. Enter James Barnes. Tall, muscular and strong. The perfect alpha. When Joseph saves his life on the battlefield, he asks him to marry Steve in return...

SOLDIER, KEEP ON MARCHIN’ ON, COME THRU LIKE THE SWEETENER U R by moonythejedi394

(Last updated April 13, 2019) 9 chapters

When Steve was seven years old, he found a mangey and half-starved cat in the alley behind his and his mother’s apartment building in Navy Hill. Despite being incredibly allergic to the creature, Steve had spent all of his allowance for that month on cat food and he spent the next few weeks nursing the stray back to health. The cat moved on after eventually, but a few months later, Steve found another one and the whole process started all over again. Bucky is another stray cat. Steve has no way of knowing what demons the Alpha carries in his head and he certainly has no way of knowing that Bucky won’t turn hostile on him, but Steve never learned his lesson to stop feeding strays. “This is gonna end badly,” Steve mutters to himself. So, as one does when one makes potentially catastrophic decisions that could and would backfire spectacularly based on how little self-control one has concerning bedraggled and sad-eyed stray cats and Alphas, Steve makes a cup of tea.

Captain America is more Alpha than Ares by LimaBeanie

*Finished* One Shot

The thing is nobody has ever even asked him about his status. Steve dealing with accepting himself and his designation. Alternatively all the times Steve had to come out.

A Scent to Fill the Lungs, A Soul(mate) to Fill the Bond by oceanfoamgreen

*Finished* One Shot

In a world where scenting one’s soulmate means that the onset of one’s first heat or rut is imminent, it is to be certain that meeting one’s soulmate can be extremely stressful. Or In the winter of 1937, Steven Grant Rogers scents his soulmate. In the spring of 1948, James Buchanan Barnes meets his.

I will not bow, I will not break by belovedbookdragon

*Finished* One Shot

Dystopian AU. The world's population fell dangerously low after a virus destroyed most of mankind's reproductive abilities. To combat the shrinking population, the Federation of Northern American States requires all children to be educated at government-run schools until the child presents. Alpha and beta children are sent to the military, omegas are sent to the breeding facilities. Steve and Bucky are separated at 14 and Steve will stop at nothing to get back to Bucky.

With a Love that Won't Sit Still

This Sudden Burst of Sunlight by dragongirlG

*Finished* One Shots

After buying plums from the market, Bucky returns to his apartment in Bucharest to find a small, half-naked Steve huddled on his bed. At first, Bucky thinks it's just a hallucination, but then he smells the honey-sweet slick in the air and comes to a shocking realization: Steve's presenting as an omega in heat, even though he hasn't been an omega in decades due to the supersoldier serum. Drawing on a mishmash of instinct and memory, Bucky takes care of Steve as best he can, trying to give Steve what he needs until Steve can safely be extracted from the situation.

In Bucharest, Steve gets hit with a weapon wielded by Black Panther that strips him of his serum mid-battle, turning him back into an omega and inducing his heat. He seeks out Bucky for help.

The Corset Prince by LeisurelyPanda

(Last updated April 8, 2020) 6 chapters

The year is 1836. James David Henry Buchanan Barnes, called Bucky by close friends and James by family, is an alpha, a soldier without peer, a skilled military commander, and a charmer. He has allies and friends on both sides of the political aisle in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. By all accounts, he is the favorite to become King when his father dies. There's just one problem. Bucky is the Duke of York, not the Prince of Wales. His brother, known throughout the world as Brock, is the eldest of the King's children. He has all the charm of a feral Doberman. He inherited their father's temper and his overall tendency towards excess. Enter one Steve Rogers, a little known nephew of a new, powerful merchant and innovator recently appointed to the House of Commons, Howard Stark. Steve is young and innocent. His engagement to Prince James is sudden and it sweeps him into a world unlike any he'd ever imagined. The palace, for all the lights, casts many shadows. However, there is more to Steve than anyone suspects, including himself.

in the heat of the moment

on the nose

knot without you by Deisderium

*Finished* One Shots

"His time is upon him," Mrs. Rogers said solemnly. Bucky stared at her, taken aback and not altogether certain what she meant. It kind of sounded like she thought Steve was on the edge of death, but if that had been the case—again—she probably wouldn't have had a smile curving up the corners of her lips. "His heat," Mrs. Rogers said more bluntly. She was a nurse, after all. "Steve has presented as an omega." In which Steve presents very late as an omega. Bucky isn't supposed to go see him, but when has he ever done what he was supposed to do where Steve is concerned?

"Barnes," barked the sergeant, and Bucky jolted out of his thoughts. He strode forward to get his mail and was thrilled to see not only a letter from Becca and another from his ma, but an actual package from Steve. He took his treasures and retreated back to his tent. Inside the package was another bound in butcher paper and string, but much smaller than the shirt. There was a note tucked in the strings of this one too, but it was just a small square of folded paper. The note in the string was much shorter than the letter Steve had sent him with the larger package. It read in its entirety: don't open this unless you're alone. In which Bucky receives a sexy letter from home.

"I have to," Steve said stubbornly, even though Peggy hadn't tried to discourage him, not yet. "You heard Phillips," she said, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. "He's probably dead." "There are a lot of men and women of the 107th who might not be," he said, and then, because she knew him too well: "He's my alpha." "He was." She wasn't trying to be cruel, he knew that; but he slapped a hand to his neck, where the mating bite used to be, and glared at her. "It's all right, Steve. I know a man with a plane.” In which Steve goes to get his man from the Hydra factory, and Bucky discovers that Steve's a little different from the last time he saw him.

Blossom like sunshine, nectar sweet as sin, the devil's drink has me pulled in by moonythejedi394

*Finished* 3 chapters

“Your son was said to be as beautiful as Brooklyn’s sweet apple blossoms,” Barnes said, and his lips lifted in another smile, then his eyes moved and Steve was startled by the intensity of his gaze. Barnes gave pause, long enough that Steve’s heartbeat picked up again. Then he spoke again. “But no blossom could compare,” he said. “Not even the most perfect of untouched flowers.” Steve felt his cheeks heat up; he blushed right to the roots of his hair, pulled back from his face by Wanda’s best braids. Barnes’s gaze somehow intensified even more as his gaze just shifted enough that Steve was sure he saw him blush that far. Barnes’s lip lifted at one corner by a hair. “I’ve never been gladder to have my expectations so far exceeded,” he concluded.

I Just Want a Friend by elliot_edison

*Finished* One Shot

Trapped in an unwanted engagement with an unpleasant alpha twice his age, omega Steve makes a plan to run away with the beta stable boy he befriended. Featuring a dirty-mouthed Steve, shy amnesiac James (spoiler: it’s Bucky). “Why did you—why am I—what do you want from me, sir?” James asked softly, looking down at his gloved hands. “What do I want? I want a fuckin’ friend. I want someone to call me by my name for once, instead of that ‘sir’ or ‘young omega’ bullshit. I want to be treated like a goddamn person instead of an object.” Steve was practically shouting, and then his face twisted sadly. “I just want a fuckin’ friend, James.”

Brambles and Bonfires by Lasenby_Heathcote, StarshipEnterprise

*Finished* One Shot

Bucky is an Alpha gone feral living up in the mountains. Steve is a lost Omega wannabe-hiker. Bucky, a creature of instinct, decides he’ll make the perfect mate to keep and breed, no matter what Steve has to say on the matter.

Back in the day

Making camp by Jokers_Wild

*Finished* One Shot, 2 chapters

Bucky returns home after working after a long day at work, finding Steve all curled up in the nest that they'd made in preparation for the Omega's heat. The Alpha can't help himself, not with how tantalizing Steve looks sprawled out in it and it's just so easy for the Alpha to get the Omega all hot and bothered. It's not his fault if he sets Steve's heat off early, its just something he's particularly good at doing.

Steve has saved his Alpha, they've made it back to camp and now comes the hard part. Talking about the change in their dynamic now that Steve is suddenly larger, stronger, and overall just more than his Alpha would have ever expected the man to be...But that's what you get when you sign up for an experiment to make the best soldier. Shame Bucky hadn't been there to tell Steve what a dumbass he was, he'll just have to do it now and if that leads to some great reunion sex that's fine too.

The last one

Meeting the Children

Another

Little Sister

Loki

Names

Domestic

Baby Stark Doo do by AngelynMoon

*Finished* 5 chapters, 7 chapters, one shot, 2 chapters, 2 chapters, One Shots

Captain America is an Alpha, Steve Rogers has always been an Omega.

In which Bucky Barnes meets his kids. Also known as that fic where Steve adopts the Avengers and Bucky's just along for the ride, as per usual.

In which there is another pregnancy for Steve.

The Avengers and Avengers adjacent meet a little Dream.

In which Steve adopts another kid and Bucky is still just along for the ride.

Bucky starts to remember names.

Tony has some thoughts.

In which Tony announces his and Pepper intentions to have a baby.

Start from the Beginning by omgbubblesomg

*Finished* 4 chapters

What about a sex pollen fic where the pollen-ed one doesn’t remember getting hit in the face with a sex flower, and wakes up midway through the depollenating? Or: the one where Steve wakes up on his back with a stranger buried balls-deep in his ass.

no grave can hold my body down, i’ll crawl home to him by moonythejedi394

*Finished* 6 chapters

1917; James "Bucky" Barnes is born. 1918; Steve Rogers is born. 1936; Bucky Barnes bonds Steve Rogers. 1941; Bucky Barnes is drafted. 1943; Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. 1945; Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers die separately. 1972; the Winter Soldier is recovered by SHIELD. 2011; Captain America is recovered by SHIELD. 2012. The Winter Soldier is asked to care for Captain America during subdrop.

let me hold you close by icoulddothisallday

*Finished* 2 chapters

When Steve went down with the Valkyrie, he'd only just started to wonder if he might be pregnant. But there's no way a baby could have survived 70 years in the ice. Right? (We've all seen the stories where Steve's pregnant when he comes out of the ice, and through the miracles of the serum the baby is Okay. This is the story where the baby is Not Okay, but somehow still Okay.)

Who could ever love a Beast?

Surprise! It's an Omega! by alexisriversong

*Finished* 7 chapters, One Shot

Basically the Beauty and the Beast story with the Marvel characters. Mix between the various versions of the Beauty and the Beast stories out there.

Setting right after the end of the Beauty and the Beast AU, basically, the same plot as the movie but with alpha/omega/beta and the Avengers team. Not really necessary to read the first fic, but in some places might not make sense without reading that first.

For Your Own Good by MoonMated

*Finished* One Shot

Steve has to deal with life-altering consequences after tracking down Bucky.

easy love by moonythejedi394

*Finished* One Shot

In 1918, Joseph and Sarah Rogers welcomed their first and only child into the world. Joseph was the heir to Rogers & Rogers Medical Innovations and a very wealthy man. He had grown up in the high society circles of New York and as a high society man, he conversed with his peers about his son’s future before the boy was even born. With a good friend and business associate, George Barnes of Barnes Telecommunications, he struck a quite reasonable deal. George had one son already and a daughter on the way. His boy had the DNA markers of an Alpha and his daughter would likely be an Omega given their family history. They agreed that, however Joseph’s boy presented later in life, their families would merge with a marriage. Joseph’s son was named Steven Grant and his parents cautiously assumed by his fifth birthday that he would present as an Omega. At 16, he did. At 20, he married James Barnes.

innocence came screaming by moonythejedi394 (Some tentacle porn, but not overly “wierd”)

*Finished* One Shot

There had been no rain since the beginning of spring. The crops were dying. The river, what little freshwater they had on their island, was drying up. The village well was, too. They had made many sacrifices to the Great God of the Deep, and yet, the air remained dry. At last, in final desperation, the priests announced that a sacrifice of greater caliber was needed. “Only the sacrifice of a young, unbred Omega will turn away the Great Old One’s anger,” the high priest said to Steve. “You will honor your people.” Thus, he was left to die in the Great Old One's temple. The Great Old One, however, had other plans for him.

One Step at a Time (Like this?) by peachycinnamon

(Last updated Dec 28, 2020) 3 chapters

Will long lost friends be able to recognize each other? Be able reignite a flame and maybe make it burn into something else? Its their last year, and everyone is going to be faced with some kind of obstacle, the main question is, how will they deal with it?

Warming Up (To You) by Huntress79

*Finished* One Shot

Omega Steve is anything but happy about the week-long “company vacation” Tony has arranged for them all for Christmas, participation mandatory. He is lonely, he forgets to refill his suppressants before the trip, there’s a blizzard heading towards the resort – and on top of that all, he has to share the chalet with none else than his archnemesis, hot Alpha Bucky Barnes.

Compliance (The Knot Fic) by WhiteCeilings

*Finished* 2 chapters

It's not that Steve's alpha is cruel, he just doesn't consider himself his own person.

Of Feasts And Family by stevergrsno (noxlunate)

*Finished* One Shot

“Nothing?��� He sounds almost… offended? Steve might not know the dude, but he’s pretty sure this random alpha sounds offended that Steve’s plans for Thanksgiving involve Steve, a frozen pizza, and watching the parade on tv. “That’s what I said,” Steve says, squinting at Sam’s list for a moment before grabbing two bags of marshmallows, “What, you’ve never had a nice boring Thanksgiving home alone with some Digorno?” The man makes a horrified noise and softly repeats Steve, “Home. Alone. Digorno,” in the way that people repeat something when they're expecting it to somehow change. In which Steve Rogers meets Bucky Barnes and somehow spends Thanksgiving with him the next day.

The Soldier's Omega by PandaFey

(Last updated Nov 16, 2020) 2 chapters

Bucky is back, but he's not the same. He doesn't know how to be an alpha or how to treat omegas, but Steve is willing to help teach him. Even if it hurts him in the process.

the Kept Boy

Into the Dark by moonythejedi394, Neutralchaos

*Finished* (Last updated Nov 13, 2019) 25 chapters, 18 chapters

Here is James Barnes, the most dangerous Alpha in New York. Rich, powerful, cocky and short-tempered, his only skill greater than his persuasion or intimidation is his marksmanship. Head of the Seyrbakov crime family, inherited over the heads of the late Aleksei Seyrbakov’s own sons, who he had deported when they attempted to murder him. Top of Interpol and the FBI and the CIA and probably the NSA’s most wanted lists, but there’s never enough evidence to bring even a parking ticket against him, as it has been for New York’s Bratva since the late 1910s. His company smuggles weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, exotic animals, you name it, but you’ll never find a shred of proof. If land barons still existed, then Barnes – owning property in all the five boroughs, the state, the country, even on other continents – would easily be one. When you think of the Russian mafia, you think of Barnes. Here is James Barnes, gracing the scum and lowlifes of Brooklyn with his presence, and here is Steve Rogers, not-so-cheap yet consistently broke hooker, sitting on his lap like he belongs there. Very rapidly, that makes him the most dangerous Omega in New York.

After the traumatic events that marked six months in his and Steve’s relationship, things aren’t the same. There’s a nightlight in every room, set to automatically switch on after sunset. Neither of them can stand the sight of a rat. Bucky can’t go away on business trips and leave Steve behind anymore; he can barely leave his baby home for a day while he goes to work, he brings Steve with him more days than not. Neither of them sleep as much as they used to, and Bucky didn’t even sleep evenly every night before that. But it’s not bad. They have each other. And together, it’s so much easier to brave the things they fear.Starting with going into the dark.

Post: Part 2

[spine-buster]

Samhain in the City - 31 Little Wrestlings Fics Challenge

A/N: Halloween fic challenge based on the genius minds of @thewriterformerlytaggedas and @fan-fiction-galore!  Thank you for including me, and I hope you all enjoy!

Please notice that there are some links included within the text to help you better visualize some things.

@wrestlewriting

@thegenericluchadora

@fan-fiction-galore

@anerdysouthernbelle

@spot-of-bother

@amaranthine-reign

@baleesi

@flnnbalor

@smuppies

@sarahmatthews7

@daintymissdevitt

@newjapan

@corey-renee

@running-ropes

@balorsomega

@karleedaniels27

@kazuchika

@ileana0300

@alexahood21

@imnobodiesbitch

@fembxt

@heelturn-timesten

@kaitlynwwefan

@50shadesofadamcolebaybay

@50shadesofkennyomega

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@thyestean-feast

@thecandicej

@devittsbalor

@sp00kylesley

@danahart

@sietefinns

@kaydee-kayyyy

@powerbombshell

@swedish-strong-style

@blondekel77

@irish-newzealand-idian-dutch

@nickysmum1909

@houndofjustice-imagines

@wwesmutdonedirtcheap

@wweximaginesxd

@indywrestlinglover-life

@mandi512

@kakakatey

@ourscratcheddreams

@sleeplessandcynical

It was a dark and stormy night…

Well, actually, not really.  It was dark, sure, but stormy it was not.  Not a drop of rain had fallen from the sky in three days – unusual for Edinburgh, especially in late October.  It put everybody in the city in a good mood, just in time for Halloween and the Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated every year.

Edinburgh was a medieval city at heart.  It’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the stuff of wonders.  Old buildings, winding streets, secret closes, the historic Grassmarket – it had it all.  Tourists clogged sidewalks taking pictures of the old buildings; those who lived in the Old Town often couldn’t believe they were able to live in such historic structures.  The Royal Mile, for all it’s ‘find-your-clan!’ shops and tourist buses, provided the Old Town with its link from Edinburgh Castle, perched upon an extinct volcano looking down on the city, to Holyrood Palace, the seat of the British Royal Family in Scotland.  

But for Zadie, the posh New Town, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the main attraction.  Georgian architecture, streets (mostly) perfectly laid out in a grid, with parks and shops and cafes and anything you could ever want.  Princes Street, with its view of the medieval Old Town and its buildings looking as if they were built on top of each other; Rose Street, the charming alley of pubs only known to locals (aka no tourists allowed); St. Andrew’s Square and Charlotte Square, the picture perfect parks to stop and have a picnic or get in some good reading on a sunny afternoon.

There were more neighbourhoods, of course, that Zadie adored: Stockbridge, Marchmont, Morningside in particular.  Each had a uniqueness to it that couldn’t really be explained, only felt.  Maybe she adored the city due to her background in architecture – also what she was currently getting a Master’s in at the University of Edinburgh.  Maybe she adored it because it was unlike any other city she had visited.  Maybe she adored it because of the people.

It was most definitely the architecture.

All of this was lost on Adam Cole, the man Zadie had been chatting up at her friend Hamish’s house party.  He was cute, she was single, and Hamish knew him from work – best friends with a wrestler, he invited them all over to the house party last night after attending their show.  Now, there were at least seven big burly men stuffed into a flat in Marchmont, along with the regular assortment of friends and acquaintances, drinking cheap wine and beer and eating hors d’oeuvres from Tesco.

“I’ve never been here before,” Adam confessed to her as they sat facing each other on the couch, Zadie’s legs tucked underneath her as she held her third glass of white wine. 

“You’ve never been to Edinburgh before?”

“Nope.”

“But I thought you traveled around a lot for your job?”

“I do, but it’s mostly throughout America.  Sometimes mainland Europe.  When we come to the UK, we mostly stay down in England,” he explained.   “Edinburgh was always one of those cities that we never got to.  Sometimes we’d even plan to take a day trip, but we’d end up being so tired we wouldn’t go.”

Zadie furrowed her eyebrows.  “Edinburgh is always worth it, even when you’re tired!” she protested.  

Adam giggled.  “Well I can see that now,” he said, shifting so nudged closer to Zadie on the couch.  “Hey, why do you know so much about all the buildings in this city, anyway?” he asked.  

“Oh, well, I mean…I study architecture at the university,” Zadie said.

She watched as Adam visibly gulp.  “You’re in university?”

“Oh God, I’m not like, eighteen or anything!” she cleared up, knowing exactly what Adam was trying to get to.  “I’m a Master’s student.  I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh thank God,” Adam took a sigh of relief.  “I can’t be thinking eighteen year olds are cute.”

Zadie arched her eyebrow.  “You think I’m cute, then?”

Adam shrugged his shoulders playfully.  “Maybe.”  He took a sip of beer while still staring directly at her and Zadie could feel her cheeks blush at his intense stare.  His eyes were the perfect shade of blue and her consumption of wine wasn’t helping her cease her thoughts.  

“Why do you guys call Halloween Sam…Samh…Samson or whatever?” Adam’s voice interrupted her thoughts.  

She snorted.  “You mean Samhain [[sah-win]]?”

“Yeah.  What’s the deal with that?”

“It’s based on an ancient Galic festival.  Tonight marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark half of the year,” she wiggled her eyebrows.  “Fuck Halloween.  We have a fire festival.”

“A fire festival?!” Adam asked.  Zadie nodded her head.  Adam leaned forward to whisper something in her ear; she could feel the goosebumps forming on her skin and a shiver run up her spine.  “What the fuck are we still doing in this apartment?  Let’s get out of here.”

It was a festival unlike anything Adam had ever seen before…

They had left the party pretty easily.  Adam counted only two pairs of eyes on them as Zadie slipped on her shoes at the front door, and Zadie was too excited, naming all the places she’d show him, to notice any eyes.  ‘We’re in Marchmont, which means we’ve gotta walk north’ she told him, as if that meant anything to him.  He just smiled and slipped his hand over hers, telling her to lead the way.  He was pretty sure he saw her swoon.

Zadie wasn’t kidding when she said it was a fire festival.  Some people had literal torches and were marching through the streets of Old Town, and there were many other fire sculptures on display; performers were doing tricks and busking at every corner, again, all dealing with fire; and everyone was singing songs in Galic and strong Scottish accents.  Adam was overwhelmed with everything that was happening around him, but he was having fun nonetheless.  He couldn’t keep the smile off his face the second he saw Zadie’s smile light up the night, too. 

As she brought him right into the middle of the crowd, he grabbed at her hand so either of them wouldn’t get separated from each other.  That, and for Adam’s own safety.  Everyone was having a lot of fun, but the whole sight of people carrying torches and playing with fire and chanting things in an ancient and foreign language was…creepy, to say the least.  “Uhh…is this the point where you hypnotize me, lead me to my untimely death, and everyone here sacrifices my body to the gods like some sort of lamb?”

Zadie let out an animated laugh at his question, moving towards a small pocket of less crowded space where they could breathe a little bit.  “Maybe.  If you’re good, we’ll find someone else to sacrifice.  Your good looks and hot body would make the gods very happy,” she joked.  Adam appreciated her humour in this situation, but he was pretty positive if they were in the medieval period, or whenever this festival started, he definitely would have been the sacrificial lamb.  “Despite that, are you enjoying yourself so far?”

“Of course.  Better this than some house party in Marchfield, right?” he winked. “Marchmont,” she corrected him, giggling slightly.  “And yes.  Way better than some house party in Marchmont.  Even though some of the buskers are freaking me out.”

“Seriously?”  For someone who was so excited to show him the festival, he couldn’t believe that the buskers, of all things, would freak her out.  Not the chanting, or the fire…the buskers.

“Just the ones with those creepy masks,” she admitted.  “I’ve always hated them…I’ve watched too many horror movies.”

“If they’re freaking you out, we don’t need to be here,” Adam said.  “I can lie and tell everyone we stayed, but we can go somewhere else if that’s what you want to do.”

Zadie appreciated his offer.  Other people would have probably ridiculed her for being freaked out by something so juvenile.  Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.  “Come with me,” she said, grabbing at his hand and dragging him out of the crowd.

Adam followed her without hesitation, but when he realized they were walking farther and farther away from the crowd he became sceptical.  He thought she would maybe take him to a pub, not…wherever they were going.  “Where are you taking me?” he asked.

“It’s time for your sacrifice,” Zadie deadpanned.

It was Adam’s turn to snort.  “Seriously.  Where are we going?  I’m a foreign man in a foreign city and you’re taking me somewhere at night all alone!”

Zadie raised her eyebrow at him.  “Foreign man?  Foreign city?  We speak the same language, you numpty.”

“Clearly we don’t, because I have no clue what a numpty is.”

“You’re going to find out by the end of the night, Adam Cole,” Zadie smiled coyly.  

As they continued to walk up the Royal Mile and down George IV Bridge, Zadie led Adam through gate adorned with ‘Greyfriar’s’ at the top.  Adam knew that everything about this part of the city was going to be old – super old, to his American standards – but this place was even older than he was expecting.  It was as if nothing had changed for centuries.  When he saw a tombstone, he stopped dead in his tracks.  “Seriously…where are we?” he asked, looking around.

“This is Greyfriar’s Kirk,” Zadie said.  Again, as if that meant anything to him.  “This is the most haunted place in all of Edinburgh…save for maybe the vaults.”

Adam gulped.  “Haunted?”

“Mhmm,” Zadie grinned.  “So the church was built in the 1600s, and about 1200 Scottish Covenanters were imprisoned here.  You have to keep to the paths because if you walk on the grass, there’s a good chance you’ll step on someone’s remains peeking through the eroded soil.  Tom Riddle – you know, like Lord Voldemort – he’s here too.  J.K Rowling used to write in a café down the street and she got her inspiration for his name from a gravestone here.”

Adam looked around.  The place gave him the creeps.  He didn’t doubt that everything Zadie was telling him was 100% true – that just made it creepier to him.  You could step on someone’s remains just by veering off the path?  No-fucking-thank you.  “Yeah, cool.  Can we go now?”

Zadie smiled.  “Don’t you Americans love your graveyards and haunted things on Halloween?”

“Sure, but that’s like…fake stuff.  That’s volunteers from your town dressing up and scaring you at the local rec centre turned haunted house.  Not…stepping on some prisoner’s bones in a medieval graveyard,” Adam explained, shivering. Zadie grabbed at his hand.  “Okay…next place I take you won’t be haunted.  Deal?”

Adam smiled down at her, already dragging her out.  “Deal.”

It was an adventure of a lifetime…

Cities at night were a journey all on their own.  A city at night was completely different from its daytime identity.  Adam was learning that Edinburgh had it’s own night time magic that came extremely close to surpassing its daytime beauty.  

Much like New York City, Edinburgh seemed to never sleep.  Zadie had taken him walking down The Mound and into the New Town, running into some rowdy teenagers drinking along the gates of the Scottish National Gallery.  They held hands as they walked along Princes Street, on the park side, so Adam could get a good view of Edinburgh Castle perched on its ancient volcanic rock.  He would lean down and kiss Zadie every time she told him wherever they were standing would make a great picture.  After she got the hint, she’d make the comment every ten steps.

They weren’t just kissing though – there was actual talking involved.  About his job, about her studying, about their passions.  How she didn’t always used to live in Edinburgh but moved here for good when she started university; how her parents still lived in the same little house in some town called Pebbles – Pobbles?  Peebles?  Peebles. – in the Scottish Borders.  How she had an older sister who recently got engaged.  How nothing ever happened in her town, which is why she needed to leave.

“Where did it all begin for you, then?” Adam asked as they sat on a curb in Charlotte Square, overlooking the classic Georgian townhouses that gave this area of the city it’s distinct character.  “Like…this love, this infatuation with architecture.  Where did it all start?”

Zadie smiled shyly.  “Right here,” she whispered, nodding her head towards the townhouses.  “Charlotte Square.”

“These ones specifically?”

She nodded her head.  “My school had a field trip to go see Bute House, which is the official residence of the Scottish First Minister…anyway, as we got off the bus, we walked along here and I just…fell in love,” she explained.  “They looked so fucking regal…like something out of a fairy tale, or like, where a princess would live if she wanted to escape from her castle incognito.  So I asked my teacher who built them, and she told me, and then I said, ‘I wish I could have built them’.  And then my teacher said, ‘Well, Zadie, maybe one day you will’.”  It was at this point she looked over to Adam to see him smiling.  “And ever since that day, I’ve been hell-bent on building these things.”

It was the most endearing story Adam had ever heard.  “Thank God for that teacher,” he commented.

“What about you?  Where did it all begin for you with wrestling?”

Adam hadn’t taken his eyes off her.  “With a house, too, actually.”

Zadie nudged him, thinking he was making fun of her.  “You’re just saying that,” she accused as he grabbed at her hand.

“I’m not, I swear,” he told her.  “My parents divorced when I was ten and my brother, my mom, and I moved back into my grandma’s house.  My karate instructor lent me a VHS of the latest Wrestlemania and when my mom wasn’t around, my grandma let me watch it.  I was hooked.  I told my grandma that I wanted to become a wrestler and she told me I could do whatever I set my mind to.  She’d let me practice on my brother when my mom was at work.”

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard,” Zadie swooned.  “How bad did you beat up your brother though?”

Adam laughed.  “It wasn’t that bad.  There were never any bruises cause that meant my mom would find out.  We got away with a lot around grandma, let’s just put it that way.”

There was a comfortable silence between them, Zadie enjoying the feeling of Adam’s thumb rubbing the back of her hand.  After he had taken his eyes off of her, they settled back on to the townhouses.  Of course they were beautiful to the naked eye, but he wanted to try and see them as Zadie saw them; as magical, as ethereal structures that had so much life, so much history.  

They were silent for so long he thought she might have fallen asleep, but when she raised her head off his shoulder to look at him, he smiled at her.  He leaned in and kissed her quickly, and just as he was about to say something, his stomach growled loudly, embarrassing him.  Zadie laughed at the noise, but truth be told she was expecting it.  They had only snacked at the house party and hadn’t had anything to eat since.  She pushed herself up on her feet and held her hand out to Adam for him to grab on to.  He did and almost pulled her down with him, but she had enough leverage and Adam had the decency to not put too much of the strain on her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.  She looked up at him with a smile.  “You want to get some lamb kebab?” she asked.

At her suggestion, Adam side-eyed her hard.  She started to giggle uncontrollably at the look on his face.  She thought she was so funny.  “You think you’re cute, don’t you?”

She pursed her lips playfully.  “I don’t have to, you already told me you thought so.”  He leaned down to kiss her again, unable to resist.  “There’s one more place I want to show you,” she whispered.  “You up for it?”

“Let’s go,” he smiled, allowing her to pull him in whatever direction she wanted. 

“Okay, to be completely honest, I wasn’t ready for physical activity.”

“It’s not that much.”

“It’s enough.”

“You’re a wrestler!  Aren’t you like, fit?  Isn’t that your job?”

“I have a whole damn lamb kebab in my stomach, woman!”

“Okay, honestly, you would have definitely been the sacrifice to the gods.”

“Are we there yet?”

“Shush!” Zadie exclaimed, trying not to giggle.  “It’ll be one hundred and fifty percent worth it, trust me.”

“At least I’m working off that lamb kebab.”

Zadie tried not to roll her eyes at Adam’s complaints.  He grunted the entire way up and she was this close to trying to shut him up by kissing him the rest of the way up.  But that was dangerous, and she wanted him to work for the view he’d inevitably see.  

When they finally got to the top, she looked behind her.  Adam’s eyes were wide as he looked at the giant field and ancient monuments in front of him covered in a very thin layer of fog.  

“You bring me up Carleton Hill –”

“– Calton Hill –”

“— you bring me up Calton Hill, you beefed me up with lamb kebab, it’s fucking foggy…you really are sacrificing me, aren’t you?”

“It took you only a few hours to realize,” Zadie winked.  “I’m serious, Adam.  I know it looks like a giant foggy field with some old monuments right now, but it’s just the dew.”

“It’s not just the dew.”

“Okay, whatever.  Just follow me,” she pulled at his hand for the umpteenth time that night.  “And please…whatever you do, don’t look behind you.  At least not just yet.”

“Why not?”

“Cause I want you to get the full effect in the perfect spot.  Also because you might fall in love with the city like I did if you’re not careful.”

Adam smiled for the first time since they had started the climb.  “Okay.  I trust you.”

She led him a bit farther up, made a few turns, and held Adam close.  To his credit, Adam hadn’t said a word and had even closed his eyes when she had asked him, for maximum effect.

“Are you ready?” she asked as she stood beside him, holding his hand and watching him to make sure his eyes were still closed.

“I’m ready,” Adam nodded his head.  

“Okay.  Open.”

Adam opened his eyes at her command and saw the city of Edinburgh in all it’s glory, in the dead of night, lit up in the most beautiful way.  So medieval, yet so modern.  So small, yet so large.  So vast, yet so local.  

He understood now why Zadie was so in love with the city.  He understood now why Zadie wanted to be in the city, study the city, live her life in the city.  He understood why she was so keen on showing other people the magic of the city.

He understood it all now.

He felt her squeeze his hand excitedly.  She had been watching his reaction the entire time.  “Have you fallen in love?” Zadie asked.

He looked down at her.  “I think I have.”