#aspen's anniversary sleepover

[buckets-and-trees]

Test Play

Title: Test Play Fandom: MCU Characters/Pairings: Game Designer!Bucky x Female!Reader Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: Sequel to Perfectionists. All hands on deck around the clock as SHIELD has to put in some extra work in order to get things ready for game approval before the beta test can be launched soon at PAX East, especially if they want to beat out HYDRA's new pending release. What will that mean for the new development between Bucky and SHIELD's top tier tester when there doesn't seem to be time for sleep, let alone... whatever this is?

Content/Concept Warnings: gamer AU; strong language; SMUT: vaginal fingering, cock warming; beefy Bucky who is soft but a menace

Notes: THE FIRST OF MY PROMISED ANNIVERSARY SLEEPOVER FICS! Also crossing off:

Catching up on @buckybarnesevents WEEK FOUR of Hot Bucky Summer: Free Week: suggested cock warming

Seventh square of @buckybarnesbingo C3: FREE SPACE - seemed fitting to couple it with HBS Free Week

When I wrote Perfectionists, I really didn't think I had more story to tell or that these two would get as much love as they did...so this is something I'm very excited to share for part of my Anniversary Sleepover event!

A/N: AND THANKS to @rookthorne who helped me with a bit of gamer lingo and encouraging these two and literally @vonalyn’s expertise in knowledge of the gaming industry! Chi especially not only steered me in the right direction, but you were so generous and indulgent of my inquiries!

story divider by @firefly-graphics, reblog graphic by @vase-of-lilies

Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Steve looked over from his desk to see Bucky’s fingers tapping anxiously across the way on the corner of his desk, chin propped on his other hand, staring – glaring, really – at the clock on the wall. As the leads on the new Avengers story release for SHIELD, he and Bucky were on hold until the feedback from the latest round of testing hit their inboxes.

“You good?” Steve asked. None of them were great right now, but Steve felt keenly the need to make sure as captain of this crew that everyone was at least good.

The glower turned to him. “I’m fine, just… hate waiting.”

The icy blue stare didn’t faze Steve – he knew it wasn’t for him. “Maybe there are some preliminary notes we could get a jump on. Do you want me to go check on her progr–?“

“No, I’ll go,” Bucky cut him off and stood abruptly in the same second. He was out of the engineering and design lab before Steve could even respond.

Steve frowned.

Nat and Sam had gone down to consult with the marketing department, but Joaquin was still in the lab with him. “You know he hates these spots where there’s nothing to do until there’s something to do even more than you, Cap,” he quipped.

Steve sighed. “I know. But he seems even more worked up than usual, he’s never liked having to talk with the testers before now, but I guess desperate times…”

Steve went back to refreshing his inbox because there definitely were more things he needed to communicate back to the other teams, even if the other part of his work was on hold, so he missed the slight smirk on Joaquin’s face.

Bucky was on a direct path, not to be deterred by anyone if they were trying to get his attention in any way. As he came around a corner, he nearly collided with T’Challah, lead writer on the story design team.

“Barnes! My apologies!”

“Oh, no!” Bucky’s face turned a bright red. Anyone else and Bucky with his broad chest and hulking frame would’ve probably bowled them over. “That was all me.”

Though they’d worked together from time to time over the last year, Bucky still didn’t know him very well, but T’Challah was one of the few others at SHIELD Bucky enjoyed working with outside of his own team and he had a fair bit of respect from the man.

“On your way to the test room?” T’Challah guessed.

Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. “Guilty.”

T’Challah smiled. “I just came from there. From our conversation, I expect we’re closer than we hoped on getting this mode online with the rest of the release. She’s not done yet, but I think you’ll like what she has to say.”

You glanced over your shoulder when you heard someone closing the door to the test room. “I can not go any faster, I promise.”

You did a double-take and paused the game when you saw the giant gaming engineer who had ruined you a week earlier crossing the room. “Hi,” you breathed and returned the soft smile you saw on his face. You were glad it was dim in the room so he couldn’t see every detail of your expression, feeling flushed at the sight of him, and biting the slight edge of your bottom lip.

“Hi,” he returned warmly. There was a slight twinkle in his eye as his gaze swept over you. “What is this?” he gestured up and down as he planted himself down next to you, body angled to you and not the gaming screen.

You were cocooned with only hands sticking out from one blanket draped over your head and your shoulders and another wrapped around your legs. “It is Women’s Winter! I’m trying not to freeze in the extremes of corporate American summer air conditioning temperatures!”

Bucky laughed. He laughed around the team, but rarely around anyone else. And this? With you? This was still so new, but it was nice.

“Here, I’ll help warm you up.” Bucky settled in on the couch directly next to you. His hulking frame made the couch dip slightly beneath him, and that brought your cocooned self partially into his lap. He wrapped one beefy arm around your back and the other rested over your legs.

“Hi,” you said again, a whisper this time.

“Hi.” The dimness of the room did not prevent you from seeing the heat that was building in his gaze.

That look made you want to squirm in the best way – to be writhing under him. He was so big you had to tilt up your head to look into each other’s eyes, but that was no problem. It meant a natural invitation for Bucky to lean down and capture your lips in a kiss.

Which he did.

The sweet greeting of the kiss, not having seen each other for a few days, melted away quickly into more. His tongue teased at the seam of your lips, and you opened your mouth to him eagerly. It was hungry and demanding, and he pulled a moan from your throat.

And for some reason your brain switched back on, and you laughed breathlessly and pulled away.

“Buck, no.”

“Buck, yes.”  

He circled his arms around you completely now and burrowed his head into the crook of your neck, mouthing at the tender flesh there, a little nipping, kissing, and licking that had you moaning again.

The thud as the controller hit the floor reminded you again that you were supposed to be finishing the test play, not letting Bucky play with your body.

You jumped out of his arms and retrieved the controller.

“Buck, anyone could come in and see us! We’re lucky no one caught us the first time.”

The grin does not leave his devastatingly handsome face. “I specifically locked the door when I came in this time.”

You laughed but shook your head. “That was awfully presumptuous!”

His expression softened, and he reached for your hand. You let him pull you closer as he spoke. “It might have been presumptuous, but it wasn’t my only intention. I’ve been eager to see you, spend time with you. One night of fun last week and lunch the next day before the HYDRA shitstorm… that’s not all I wanted with you.”

He held your hand up and kissed your palm before pulling you even closer. You melted into him as he circled his arms around your waist, your blankets having pooled at your feet. One of your hands threaded into his hair, the other wrapped gently around his neck. He turned his head, resting his cheek against your front, and you felt and heard him take in a deep breath and then exhale slowly. You felt that energy mirror inside of you as well.

You didn’t think he had only used you for one hot night of pleasure – the hours spent wrapped up in each other on the couch after fucking, and then waking up in your own bed the next morning to a text already waiting asking if you wanted to get lunch had said a lot – but it had not been the week to jump into … whatever this was going to be. Ten days ago Barnes had only been the guy you had harbored a crush on and thought didn’t like you one bit since you had been professionally clashing for months as game engineer and game tester.

Literally while you had been at lunch, teasing him about his questionable choice of footwear, Bucky had received a flurry of Slack messages and then a call from Steve. They had intel on review notes from the beta release HYDRA had submitted to one of the first party platforms and Fury had decided to bring the Deep Shadow Conditions mode back into the release SHIELD was going to submit to the first party platforms for approval at the end of next week.

Meaning Bucky and the rest of his team had only by necessity taken any kind of breaks to sleep and refuel for the last seventy-two hours, you’d exchanged all of five texts, and had only seen him from across the main floor once in all that time.

So, this was nice.

Your Apple Watch buzzed at your wrist, and you groaned and pushed away from Bucky, hastily moving around to stand behind the couch.

“I’ve got to finish this test play!”

And you hit resume on the game, leaned forward, and planted your elbows on the back of the couch, getting back into the zone.

Bucky heaved himself over the back of the couch and closed in on you, caging you in on either side with his massive biceps, his big solid chest at your back.

“Bucky!” you tried to take a stern tone, but it was hard when you were relishing the measured weight of him against you.

“I’m not stopping you,” he murmured against the back of your neck.

“Bucky! Really!”

He shifted slightly and then you could feel the smirk of his lips on the side of your neck. He planted one hot kiss there, then said, “If you’re so damn good at what you do, keep playing.”

“Are you issuing me a challenge?”

“Just a chance to prove what a consummate professional you are.”

“Challenge accepted. You are an incorrigible menace,” you laughed.

“Actually, I’m cold.”

“You were judging me and my blankets not even five minutes ago,” you said, focused on the action on the screen.

While he remained hunched over your back, you felt him moving again, and you heard but didn’t register the sound of his belt unbuckling.

“Blankets? No,” he murmured in your ear, “I need you to warm me up.”

“Oh,” you moaned when his broad hand cupped your pussy.

“Think you can do that for me?”

He stroked firmly.

“Part of the testing is to see if we’ve got a game that captures the player’s attention, right? I’m just helping you test this aspect, see if a player can become easily distracted, lose interest – that’s the last thing we want.”

Slowly but purposefully Bucky undid your pants and you fought to keep your breathing even and your eyes open and where they were supposed to be as he pulled them down with your underwear. Then he nudged his right foot on the inside of yours to push your legs further apart while two of his fingers moved over your soft, slickening folds. Then he sunk his cock into you, and you both exhaled at the feel of him inside of you.

“How’s that?”

You let out a slight whimper.

“That good, huh? You’re never at a loss for words with that talented tongue.”

You elbowed him gently. “You really wanna play, Barnes? You tease that you just need some cock warming? You get me to break, and then you can fuck me however you like.”

“Oh, I can be patient. I’ll get you to beg for me to fuck you. We’ll see who gets desperate first.”

Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[queenofthehaus]

「 ✦ Queen of the Haus ✦ 」

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If you’d like to see what fandom events Aspen is participating in, follow the queen and turn the post notifications on!

bingo & events participation

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🩶 aspen writes ~ desktop preferred

[buckets-and-trees]

Oral, vaginal, anal?

EM, YOU WICKED WONDERFUL MINX!

CONTENT WARNING: EXPLICIT DISCUSSION OF ORAL, VAGINAL, AND ANAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY

There's no wrong answer, and that makes this all the more difficult to choose.

but

FOR THE SAKE OF PLAYING THE GAME

Oral = Steve He's going to make it a bit rough with all that strength, all that pent up energy, but he's also going to make sure there are some soft moments, aware of me every second, and I know he'll give me ample praise.

Vaginal = Andy I want to be on my back, this man firmly between my legs, fucking me into the mattress, and he's desperately kissing me until we can't breathe, but then he's going to insist that I look at him and not break that intimate eye contact while he's pushing me to the heights of pleasure, holding me while he thrusts harder and faster until we're both spent.

Anal = Ari Biggest and beefiest, but the one I have no question is going to make sure that his kink becomes my kink because it's that good. He doesn't go for anal right away. We've slept together a couple of times probably before he tries anything. And he knows exactly what he's doing. He's got his hand on my ass while we're kissing and grinding, already mostly naked in bed, and because we're heading into the more comfortable stages of the beginning of our relationship, nothing is rushed. His hand moves from cupping and stroking and squeezing my ass cheek to drifting till his fingers are slipping between my cheeks and then he's gently touching that tight hole, then more insistently he starts to slip a finger in, and my breath catches, and he pauses but asks if that's okay, and I say yes, and he smiles and asks if it feels good, and I say yes, and he asks if I want more, and I bite my lip for half a second, but I trust him and know he's given me nothing but pleasure to this point, so I say yes. When he's ultimately balls deep in my ass, hunched over my back, with one arm around my waist while he slowly thrusts, I'm feeling caged in, but in the best way, and crying good tears, and Steve can praise, but Ari's got a mouth that's dripping with praises, pouring out filth, and has been talking me through every bit of taking his cock up my ass, and I'm fucking here for it. Ruined and his now unquestionably.

...which - er - didn't know I was going to get THAT INVOLVED in that answer.

Okay.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Aspen's Anniversary Sleepover

Exactly one year ago, as it was turning from July 3rd to July 4th in my Mountain time zone, I was finalizing things and getting ready to post the first fanfic I'd published in more than six years. New account, new fandom. Starting a new stage of life, really... And part of that was to reclaim my love of writing. So I did it.

A lot of things have changed in my life over the course of this particular year's worth of days. Major pieces of my life have shifted, and small things as well. A significant part of my life and happiness since then has been this fandom - writing, reading, connecting with others, developing true friendships. My life doesn't revolve around this stuff, but it has grown from the good here.

AND SO I WANT TO THROW MY FIRST SLEEPOVER PARTY WITH YOU, MY TUMBLR FRIENDS - FROM THE CASUAL FOLLOWERS TO THE MUTUAL BESTIES!

The actual sleepover festivities will take place this weekend, but I'm posting to commemorate THE ANNIVERSARY MOMENT.

To see what good mischief I want to get up to with all of you, click the "keep reading..."

This week I'll be posting:

A follow up to The Brooklyn Boys series (the first story I posted on @buckets-and-trees)

A smutty little sequel to something to go along with another week of Hot Bucky Summer

A BRAND NEW STORY debut for a Bucky AU that was born from a request I got when I did my 300 Follower Request Fest (which just seems totally insane given it's only been a couple of months since then, and now I'm flirting with almost 1k of you)

🤔 TRUTH: Take a look at my library and then drop a question in my askbox about one of my stories or a character from that story.

😏 DARE: Take a look at my library and then drop a dare to write a trope or AU you think might challenge me (don’t pick the character - my muse likes a challenge, but thrives on creative freedom to make challenges work).

I’ll give you either a quick “how I would write it”/plot idea OR it may just turn into one of my upcoming stories (still looking for ideas for Bucky Barnes Bingo fills and a series of spooky stories I want to publish once a week this fall).

🍫 SNACKS & TREATS: Drop a pic or gif or thot in my ask box about one of my favorite fictional men for us to drool over and eat up together.

🤫 LATE NIGHT SECRETS: Ask me almost anything (within reason - this is the public internet, so I'm not going to tell you intimate details) OR take inspo from this writing-based ask game.

🤩 STARGAZING: Point at one of these stories I'm working on and ask for either a LINE 💫 or a DETAIL ✨ , and I'll share something from that work:

Devour, pt. 2: Fat

Devour, pt. 3: Acid

Devour, pt. 4: Heat

Thighs of Betrayal

Right About Him, Wrong About Me

Return Line

The Great Bucky Bake Off

PLEASE FILL UP MY ASKBOX AS SOON AS IT SUITS YOUR LEISURE! It's my first big sleepover and I've definitely picked games that I am eager to play and celebrate with all of you. Don't be shy! I wouldn't be posting if I didn't want to hear from you!

If you want to submit on anon, you absolutely can because I've been blessed so far only to have received the nicest things from anons, and I know I was intimidated to send asks to some of the blogs I followed for a while, so I get it.

[buckets-and-trees]

Dare:

Omega auction that lands you in grasp of two Alphas 😈

I'm certainly not happy at being auctioned off in the first place.

They were reluctant to work together to get the outcome they wanted - securing me - at the auction, but desperate times called for desperate measures and a tense alliance.

But they did what they had to do, and I might be feeling a lot of resentment, but the draw I feel to both of them is undeniable and something I trust, even if I don't want to.

The bond that we're forced into - acquired by auction and them having to share me - is going to be exactly what we all will come to fiercely protect, value, and and be devoted to pretty quickly though. But that's to be expected when fate lines up the cards we didn't know we needed to give us the life we didn't know we could dream of.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Time to say the final goodnight on this sleepover weekend!

Friday and Saturday were incredible! So many of you sent in the most delicious, wicked, chaotic, and wildly fun asks. We've thirsted, shouted, theorized... some of you are in trouble/responsible for launching some new writing projects for me... But mostly the reason I wanted to have the sleepover was so I could literally just celebrate having been around for a year and getting to connect with all of YOU, and the amount of you who showed up to rock the hell out of this weekend with me? So above and beyond, exceeding my expectations. Absolutely had fun with friends and feel like there were some of you I genuinely got to know better this weekend because you hopped in on my silly sleepover fun.

Now, the reality is that Sunday did not go the way I planned it... I have so many asks left and I promised to share three stories, not just two, and so

WE ARE JUST GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER SLEEPOVER WEEKEND

SO

NEXT WEEKEND I will:

Share the other two stories with you (the new piece for the Brooklyn Boys collection and the TOTALLY NEW story)

Answer the rest of the asks (there are literally basically enough for a full weekend)

🍫 ACCEPT MORE SNACKS AND TREATS! 🍫

To jog your memory: the snacks and treats sleepover game is when you just leave pics or gifs in my askbox. And we 🍫 always 🍫 need 🍫 more 🍫 snacks 🍫 and 🍫 treats 🍫 for 🍫 any 🍫 sleepover! So send those in!

Bring your blankets and your chaos and mischief, and I'll see you next weekend, my jonas brothers in christ!

FYI, I HAD SOME FRIENDS ASK IF I GOT YOUR ASK SINCE THIS HELLSITE CAN BE FINICKY WITH ASKS. HERE'S WHO I STILL HAVE ASKS FROM just so you know that it's there and waiting to be unleashed for next weekend: @sidepartskinnyjeans @rookthorne @whiskey-bitch @writing-for-marvel @biteofcherry @mainblog-buckyismybicycle @mlibbydp @povlvr @sebstanwhore

(literally some of you sent things that have been torturing my brain and my muse in the. best. way. and so I was leaving them to Sunday for when I thought I would have lovely heaps of time to devote to them, but... but they will be our revelry come Friday...)

[buckets-and-trees]

some treats for your sleepover 😌🍫

YUM, AMBER!

The first? Certainly a bodyguard Bucky, right? Always so focused and attentive. Plus I've got @jobean12-blog's bodyguard Bucky from Protecting What's His on my mind...

And on the second? This is a Bucky you're meeting on vacation. It's one of those tourist adventure trips for singles - maybe specifically this 21-day trip exploring Croatia and the Greek Islands. This is day one as some of you are getting picked up from the airport in the same group. But how can you survive if this guy who is one thousand ways your type part of the group? Especially when you did not in any way want to be that girl who gets caught up in a summer vacation fling! And how is he even single in the first place? Too good to be true? Doesn't matter! You're going to be good.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

happy sleepover! 🎉🎉

I’m still thinking about Minotaur!Bucky x scientist!reader. how are they doing? what’s life like for her in his home?

and one more for this round of talking about Sacrificial...

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED, AMBER! LET ME TELL YOU!

okay

so

Minotaur Bucky wanted you. There's a lot of backstory there that is future story content, so I won't divulge too much. But there's history, there's complex factors that led to the situation. Bucky's not going to be forthcoming with everything either, and that's a point of tension between you two.

He's got trust issues and you hate being denied information.

BUT

In general, things are good.

Deliciously too good.

I only went there briefly at the end because I didn't want to go heavy into logistics since we'd just smutted it out and I didn't want to erase that ruined feeling with too many details, but I tried to very very briefly lay out that this time around (because he did let it drop that she was not the first sacrifice offered to him) Bucky has been the architect and he was meticulous here. You packed up and moved for this fellowship - he had the villagers leave all of those things in a specific drop location so he could retrieve it and bring it back for you. He's keeping you longterm.

You're having heaps of deliciously and ruinously good sex, and he came up with the idea that maybe this time around the villagers should set up a fake grant/fellowship so his pet could be a scientist who would be happy to be in the Amazon doing science-y things and be a clever girl who could fascinate him.

He uses you as much as he dotes on and worships you now.

And it's not primal living.

The villagers think he's living a savage lifestyle, but he's not. You're both quite comfortable. And safe. You know the Swiss Family Robinson tree house? It's a lot like that. Not a five-star hotel with all the bells and whistles, but let's just say you're shocked when you first wake up. How he's even managed this? Even more maddening information he doesn't want to talk about with you - though he'll disclose more of that to you before some of the other things you're demanding to know.

But it's also completely off the beaten path. You're not really a reluctant prisoner anymore, but Bucky did make it very clear that if you tried to escape, there were enough natural and implemented dangers that you wouldn't survive - if you managed to escape him in the first place. But he also made it clear he doesn't want you to have any real practical reason to want to leave the beautiful cage he's built for you.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Hii!! I love your work so much!! I also have a question and I’m really sorry if this comes off of road but my curiosity has been intrigued. For the Minotaur Bucky, how do you imagine him? Is he like buckys head on a Minotaur body or like just a Minotaur with the personality/essence of Bucky?😭Lol sorry I’m confused anywyas much love have a great day!!❤️

Not a rude ask at all, Nonnie!

Short answer: (ha, not like any of my answers are ever short) I made our Minotaur!Bucky a minotaur with Bucky's head, so not a 100% true to Greek Mythology canon minotaur.

It's only very briefly explained in the narrative because...lol I KNOW THERE AREN'T LIKE MINOTAUR CANON POLICE OUT THERE, but the night I was writing it, I just didn't want to draw attention to me diverging from canon just because I wanted to look at Bucky's beautiful face, okay?!

Here's the excerpt from Sacrificial:

Great bull’s horns rose and curled out of his head, possibly longer than your own arms. He had a mane of long, glossy but mostly unruly brown hair, with a couple of braids that fell past his shoulders. Though the rest of his physique inspired fear, the true terror was perhaps the face of this man beast – because it was terrifyingly handsome. Strong jaw, stubbled beard, a crease between his brows, and piercing blue eyes.

Like.

Yes please.

I will go with you to your lair. Take me now.

Also.

I know no one asked for this, but BECAUSE I DID THE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

I wanted a size kink, but I wanted it to be a specific kind of size kink that was hot to me.

So.

I give you the side-by-side comparison of me figuring out how tall our Minotaur Bucky would be. (Greek Mythological canon research told me 8-10 feet.)

While I did feel an 8-food would be more of an intimate height difference while still having a size kink, I needed every villager in that town to also still be terrified of the sheer size of him - but the height difference between a reader and a 10-foot minotaur felt infantilizing, and that's one of my squicks (if DD/lg is your thing, that's fine, you do you). Don't @ me about the height. I went with 5'6" because...it's an average-ish height, and also it's me, and I'm the author, and so. 👀 We get to calculate exactly to my height. I did the work.

So there's your answer and a dose of bonus info you didn't ask for.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Have a treat for your sleepover!

😘😘😘

I think many of us thank you for sending this one in, Jen!

Of course this Bucky lives in my head now as the handsome devil about to knock over a bunch of casinos in Vegas in 1960 in my new Buck’s Eleven story.

which...

nobody asked for this, but how about a treat to go with the snack?

“Oh, doll, he’s Casino Empire. I promise you he’s doing things that should keep you up at night.” Bucky leaned forward and placed his hand over your hand resting on the table. He didn’t break eye contact with you as his fingers glided across the back of your hand. He softly traced a circle over the tender flesh of your inner wrist with his thumb. “I used to keep you up at night doing much better things.”

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

🍫 okay but look at Bucky here 👀

Imagine Bucky drinking a beer, lounged back in his chair and bossing you around. Maybe he bought you a new lingerie set and he's telling you to give him a sexy little strip tease for him.

Oh gosh! *heavy breathing* *clutches chest* Definitely a SPICY SNACK!!!

Only for Bucky. Only behind closed doors. And I might feel a little silly, but I know he doesn't think I'm silly, that this is only going to make the night more indulgent, because if he pushes me outside of my comfort zone, he's going to reward me and then some. But... maybe my only real hope is to punish him by going so slowly, tauntingly, that he's going to ultimately come over and finish ripping the clothes off himself!

THANK YOU FOR SENDING THE SPICE!

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Congrats on one year!!! 💙

💫 - The Great Bucky Bake Off

Thank you, Navy!

Since I shared a little about the judges, I thought it might be fun to share this...

I was so tempted to only give one line, but... the one line I wanted to share kind of begged to have the other lines around it shared, too! And seeing as it's you, my dear...

"Now," Paul said, tucking one hand into his jeans pocket and fixing James with the stare that intimidated every baker in the tent but Bucky, "a little bird told told us you took issue with the brief." Bucky glanced at Noel, but his own murderous stare didn't faze him in the least. "I'm actually quite a large bird actually," he chirped, shrugging his gangly arms, full grin on his face. "And what is your issue?" Paul presses. "'An artistic presentation' is too broad - it doesn't seem fair for equal judging across the board when the expectations are that vague," he responds, articulate, succinct, and without hesitation. You see the slight change in Paul's eyes - he's impressed - but he doesn't respond. "Well, one would never suspect you took issue, James, the presentation is stunning," Martha interjects. "But let's see if you've carried your artist vision through to your flavors."

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Cym as different romance tropes ❤️

oh gosh! this was simultaneously easy but also hard! (hard because this is not all my moots and so please forgive me if you're not on here, it's only because a trope didn't immediately come to mind and not because I don't adore you)

@writing-for-marvel - MODERN royal au @rookthorne - idiots in love @navybrat817 - second chance @targaryenvampireslayer - star-crossed lovers @tom-whore-dleston - summer after college @biteofcherry - omegaverse @vonalyn - mafia

^^blend of either you wrote that trope, we've bonded over that trope, or you give off the energy of that trope

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

I would please like both a line 💫 and a detail ✨ for Right About Him, Wrong About Me 👀

How about one final answer for the first wave of the sleepover?

OOOOH, EM! I'm ridiculously excited you asked about this one! I had the initial idea for this story in late April/early May, and it's slowly been simmering. I dove into some other projects due to some of the schedules on the challenges that I signed up for, but...

WHEN I TELL YOU THE URGENCY TO GET BACK TO THIS WAS WAS STRONG WHEN I SAW THIS PHOTO, BECAUSE I SAW IT AND I KNEW THIS IS THE BUCKY RIGHT ABOUT HIM, WRONG ABOUT ME IS EXACTLY?!?!?!

This story is going to be about a post-Thunderbolts era Bucky.

So that's your detail. Here's your line:

“Take my hand.” Bucky pulls you close, and you can’t help but cave into the comfort he’s offering on a platter in his arms, hot tears you don’t want to shed spilling down your cheeks.

THAT'S ALL YOU GET!

GOOD NIGHT!

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

Happy Anniversary, Aspen! I’m so happy you joined tumblr and I have this opportunity to interact with you and read your wonderful stories 🥰🩵 now, can I please have a Truth for Sacrificial? That fic haunts me to this day 🥴 how did you come up with a Minotaur? What inspired you? Would you ever consider a sequel 👀

First, thank you for the ask, Suz! I'm kind of in love with you asking because, Sacrificial definitely has a story!

I'd been up at my parents' house for dinner and games for my mom's birthday, and I was fueling up gas for my drive home of about an hour. I was scrolling through probably tumblr, I'm pretty sure, and came across this:

AND WHEN I TELL YOU

THAT HIT ME IN THAT MOMENT SO HARD

AND I JUST

LIKE

I WAS OVERRUN WITH THE THIRST, AND I NEEDED TO SCREAM AT SOMEONE I KNEW WOULD JUST UNDERSTAND/GET THAT

AND SO I SCREAMED @rookthorne

AND SHE SCREAMED BACK

Like. Literally.

Content Warning: I'm going to share some of that now under the cut, and then as I kinda go into detail over the inception of this smutty story, keep that in mind and scroll past if terato/monster fucking is not your thing.

I have removed ... haha ... some of the dialogue to protect the innocent (haha, we're not innocent, but...yeah), but I'm keeping the development:

Aspen: The way, I just want a giant monster to devour me carnally Aspen: Not too particular about what kind of monster or demon Lana: fucking amen Aspen: It’s fine Aspen: Maybe my first week of Hot Bucky Summer with lingerie needs to be a human sacrifice for some demon or monster… or maybe a centaur Bucky with a wood nymph… Lana: oh - size kink go brrrrr Aspen: or maybe Minotaur Bucky Lana: I dunno both are fucking divine Aspen: I feel like a centaur would be more charming, but logistically not as fun to write for the sex Aspen: Minotaur who initially seems terrifying, and or repulsive, but because of the way, he fucks you, and whispers the most, will be possessive things in your ear… You end up, letting him willingly ruin you Lana: THIS IS KILLING ME

And then Lana DID figure out some very nice logistics for the Centaur sex situation, so then I was really about half and half. But then as my mind continued to spin possibilities, this thought hit me…

Aspen: Minotaur Bucky is it going to fuck the reader's throat Lana: OOF FUCK Lana: okay Aspen: I just feel like that’s definitely what he would do. Especially if she has been given up as a sacrifice from the nearby townsfolk of the village. Lives up to the expectations of terror… But then it turns out he’s going to treat her so well in the end Lana: "You are nothing but a toy for me to fuck, little lamb. Now open your mouth for me, or I will break your jaw opening it myself." Lana: OKAY WE WENT EITHER WAY THERE Lana: OOF Lana: MAYBE Lana: maybe he is brutish in the beginning... because he knows the villagers are watching 👀 Lana: cos they wanna make sure he takes to her [editorial clarification: they’re watching because they want to make sure he takes to reader as the sacrificial lamb] Lana: I am sorry I took that and ran with it 🤣🤣 Aspen: No, this is true, where my brain is going to… Perception of a brutal fucking monster who is terrifying to everyone so that no one bothers him and the reader that he takes away. Aspen: He will still be rough and brutal with her because he’s a monster, but he will also worship her in private and the aftercare for his pet/mate is ELITE.

So by the time I had an hour to think about the story, I knew most of what I wanted. It was the last ten minutes of the drive when I started to think okay...who is this reader and when and where is this happening? I needed her to have reason to have been even on the radar and able to have this happen, and I didn't want her to just be a pushover, and so that idea of her being a research scientist - a botanist, especially - who would have applied for a grant/fellowship? And the town could vet for a candidate that they thought would be perfect for their ritualistic sacrifice to the terrifying Minotaur to keep their village safe?

BECAUSE I CAN RARELY BUILD A PORN WITHOUT A PLOT TO GO ALONG WITH IT

I mean... I cold do it...

I could...

BUT WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT?!

Okay, so back to that night.

I did a little research for geography. I had this idea that I wanted it to be in South America because of the wilderness/mystery that's still a reality with the Amazon, but even though I was going to write about a MINOTAUR AND THAT'S DEFINITELY A FICTIONAL CHARACTER, I wanted to be true to the lore for the kind of places you could/would find a minotaur. If I'm going to write fiction, I don't want there to be something that gives my readers qualms for suspending the disbelief that I need them to suspend in order to go on the rest of the journey with me. And...because I did the theoretical work, here's more than anyone really wanted to know when Suz asked this:

Exhibit A is from Wikipedia discussing areas of the world that have a "Mediterranean Climate" outside of the Mediterranean - since Minotaurs originate from Greece, I felt like this was the plausible logic to apply.

Here's a map of the Amazon Rainforest.

Here is the tiny speck where it could overlap in Colombia and an EVEN TINIER SPECK that sort of corresponds on the border of Colombia and Ecuador. Since it's probably not at all advisable for a single female to travel to Colombia or Venezuela, but maybe Ecuador would be reasonable, imagine that's where we are.

Once I had that sorted, I was READY TO GO, and....basically wrote on and off, staying up all night, from 11pm to I think 7:30am I posted it?

Now.

Final question: would I ever consider a sequel?

Absolutely. There are pieces in the story that I knew I was weaving in that I had ideas about that were intriguing to me to explore later. Like... more about Minotaur!Bucky's history. Why is he there? What's up with his hold over the village? How did they come to this arrangement, and what exactly are the parameters - our reader has literally only been read in on only what they couldn't keep from her, so there's A LOT there. Some of it I definitely already had notes on from the night of inception, but there were things I also left open so that it would be mysterious and fun for me to explore later.

OKAY.

SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT.

IF ONLY I HAD MORE THINGS TO GET CARRIED AWAY EXPLAINING FOR YOU.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[buckets-and-trees]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxAdB1yXwAEVuw5?format=jpg&name=large

mer bucky 💙💙💙

Okay, THIS IS THE GORGEOUS ART THAT LINKS TO:

THANK YOU ANONYMOUS DIETY FOR SENDING IN THIS STUNNING IMAGE!

I found the creator's original post on deviantart.

I imagine this was sent in as a treat.

Um.

Look at that chest.

Because... everything in this is gorgeous, but I can't stop looking at that chest and those arms. That is definitely, unquestionably, the torso of our Out of These Waters Mer!Bucky! I love this artist's take. The artist gave fin and tail embellishments that are breathtakingly beyond what I'd half-pieced together in my mind but look like sheer perfection. The way I had imagined his coloring was more evocative of the Winter Soldier and his Wakandan arm (black and gold), but a Bucky who had only ever been a merman? This coloring reflects much more of Bucky's pre-war soul, I think.

Link to the List of Sleepover Games