#squid bucky

[sunnysideprincess]

September is here, have a stuckony squid-mer-octo sandwich. Stevie boy, whatchu doing there, huh?

A/n: How do you keep track of all those wiggly thingies? You don't. You just let them take over and watch the mayhem unfold. Also kinda wish I used a diff brush for the line art here asgdhdjsgsks

[phantomraeken]

10 ships and lyrics you associate with them

OH HELL YEAH.. I'm way too excited for this.

Tagged by @th30ra3k3n

10. Scott x Kira

" oh but love grows where my rosemary grows! and nobody knows like me " - NEED I SAY MORE?

9. Minho x Newt

" if you're lonely no need to show me. if you're lonely come be lonely with me " - minho who feels unloved to newt who feels like everyone only likes him cause he's alby's right hand man

8. McCree x Hanzo

" she's balling for a guy, that cigarette it needs a light " - hanzo trying to help hanzo get over the whole thing with his brother and hanzo doing the same with mccree and his sister

7. Sam x Bucky

" don't blame yourself. cause you tried as hard as hell with the hand you were delt " - sam trying to convince bucky its not his fault and bucky convincing sam he deserves this

6. Stu x Billy

" the red means i love you " - self explanatory

5. Jay x Harry

" if your body matches what your eyes can do you'll probably move right through me on my way to you " - harry to jay who chooses to ignore his feelings

4. Steve x Sodapop ( platonic )

" i'm in love with someone who doesn't know i exist " - steve thinking soda is way too cool for him and soda thinking steve doesn't like him

3. Squid x Zigzag

" cotten candy skies, why cant you be mine? always on my mind " - Squid being in love with the oblivious Zigzag

2. Theo x Liam

" how could a heart like your ever love a heart like mine " - theo with his shattered heart to liams " perfect " heart that is also shattered ( but theo doesn't know )

1. Steve x Eddie

" theres glory ahead but our love will be forgotten. if my heart was still mine i would go to the bottom and apologize to you until the day it went rotten " - steve trying to apologize to eddie for everything that happened to him and eddie trying to tell steve that what happens to the kids is bound to happen

I HATE TAGGING PEOPLE! So anyone who wants! Tag me when you do so! I wanna see

[matchesarelit]

MatchesAreLit Masterlist

REQUESTS OPEN

Bridgerton Masterlist Marvel Masterlist Firefly Masterlist Squid Game Masterlist Smosh Masterlist

*= suggestive (minors dni) ** = smut (minors dni) Tiny imagine <150w Small imagine <1000w Imagine >1000w

Dark Matter

Three

The Bridge* (small imagine)

Bunking

Meeting back up with the crew of the Raza but with their new crew members there’s only one bed left at the end of the night.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Ghostbusters-CU

Lars Pinfield

Just us

Lars has invited you over to the lab before, so why is it awkward today?

Scientists of an Absurd Field

You visit the lab and as always the air is full of condescending words and unspoken compliments.

Workplace Attire (small imagine)

In the aftermath of Garraka Lars makes his way back to the lab... You are just a little amused at the state he's in.

Zookeeper

The only thing left for the day was feeding the ghosts their dinner... Lars is there and ready to help, help keep you company that is.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Oscar’s hotel

Oliver

Oscar’s Protégé (tiny imagine)

Capabilities (tiny imagine)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Rusty Lake

Jakob\Mr Owl

The Gardening Job (small imagine)

David

Research (small imagine)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Friday Night Dinner

Johnny

Adam’s Bestie*

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Lucifer

Lucifer Morningstar

Back With A Badge, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, (INDEFINATE HIATUS)

Detective Hatch is reunited with a friend when she is transferred to LA but what will happen when she gets ‘acquainted’ with the Devil.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

DC

Dick Grayson 

The Mysteries Of Dick Grayson*

“Now as far as I know this rooftop is neither yours nor in a city you have sworn to protect. So what, pray tell is a little birdie doing up here in the dead of night?”

Felicity Smoak

Proposal (small imagine)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Dorian Gray

The Newest Fad 

A new club has Dorian’s empty and he is furious... until hes not. I mean how could he be with that familiar voice in his ear.

Ambrose Spellman

Old ‘Friends’

You visit the home of two women who are practically family, but so much has changed in the last 70 years since you lost your best friend. what will it be like to see him again.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Tin Can Bros

Scrags

Hands up (small imagine)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Grimm

Trubel

Anti-Grimm (small imagine)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Who

11th Regeneration

“Sorry”* (small imagine)

Make out sesh (small imagine)

10th Regeneration

Two Hearts (small imagine)

Clara Ozwald

“Best Friends” ... sure (small imagine)

Rory Williams

A Hunky Nurse

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Stranger Things

Robin or Steve

Heading to Hawkins P1

While staying with the Hendersons you meet someone new.

P2 Robin x F!Reader

P2 Steve x F!Reader

P2 Steve x NonF!Reader

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Curious Creations of Christine McConnell

Christine + Norman x reader

Poly (small imagine)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Jurassic Park

Ian Malcolm

Cuddling Him (HCs)

Au pairs and attacks

Last Moments?**

injuries getting in the way? quite the opposite

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Evan Peters

An Interesting Rest

During a week or so break off of filming you and some friends go on a trip, that results in a new friend who looks strikingly familiar.  But will this friendship tear apart another?

Fp Jones

Picnic (small imagine)

Tommy Shelby

An Easy Target

Samuel Davenport Archive 81

Visser**

Visser P2 **

[duckapus]

Give me Spletzer sibling angst please :D

Consider the following:

1: This continuity's version of the Nintendo Firewall from the Lawsuit Arc suppresses all non-canon aspects of a Nintendo character's identity (so for example, Bob ends up acting like an actual canon Garo instead of just himself with amnesia)

2: Agent 3/The Captain is a Nintendo Character, while Paige Spletzer is an unofficial reinterpretation of said character with direct ties to an "illegal" oc who Lawyer Kong happens to specifically have beef with

3: The leader and possible strongest member of an elite team of covert military operatives is probably a more sensible choice for guarding a high-profile prisoner than a random musician who's self-admittedly not much of a fighter

You can probably guess how much rougher those facts put together might make the climax of "If Mario was in Splatoon 3" :)

[therenlover]

Always For A Second (Usually At The Start) - A Helmut Zemo x Reader fic

"And when I imagine life when it's mine / I can try to picture faceless folk to love a thousand times / But always for a second, and usually at the start / You're in the image posing with a cradled beating heart" - Katie Gregson MacLeod, i'm worried it will always be you

Synopsis: Leaving Helmut for good had been the biggest, most final choice you'd ever had to make. Two years later, he's in your living room again. This time, though, things are different.

Tags: Explicit Smut (+18), Exes, Getting Back Together, Enemies to Lovers to Exes to Lovers, Enthusiastic Consent, Switch!Zemo, Oral (Fem Receiving), Service Top!Zemo, Aftercare, Bucky is Mentioned Too Much

Rating: E (+18) Minors DNI

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 8,600~

-------------

“I didn’t expect you to come crawling back so soon, schatz,”

The restaurant was crowded enough that nobody heard Helmut’s words, curt and cloying and so fucking familiar. Still, my face heated. It always would for him, no matter how much my common sense protested by body’s reactions. How dare he be so damn effective at getting under my skin? 

Some over-expensive brown liquor sloshed against the rim of the glass in my hand as I lifted it less than gracefully from the table, dribbling down the edge of my mouth as I guided it to my lips and drank deeply. “For one, two years isn’t soon,” I started, swallowing. “Two, you’re the asshole who showed up in my apartment like a robber, which makes you the one who came crawling back. I was just nice enough to let you take me for a free meal to get you the hell out. Three,” I set the glass down sharply, “don’t call me that. We’re not friends. We’re not anything. I still haven’t forgiven you,” 

“Apologies,” 

He didn’t mean it. 

“Still, it’s too soon to expect any sort of kindness from you,” he continued, “If I recall correctly, you said you’d rather die than suffer through another night with me for the rest of eternity. I believe an eternity has yet to pass… and yet, here we are,”

His matter of fact tone left little up for debate, unless I wanted to reach for my fork and maim his smug face. Instead, I bit my tongue and swallowed another mouthful of whatever I was drinking.

For once I was glad to be surrounded by the kind of noisy, faceless jumble of humanity that usually made my skin crawl. F. Scott Fitzgerald was on to something with his theories on large crowds and intimacy; there was no better place for two war criminals to meet than the corner booth of a hazy restaurant, lounging and drinking, covered by the blanket of sweet anonymity. Anyone who glanced our way would see two normal human beings sharing a meal in peaceable silence, sharing sparse conversation between bites of this and that. 

They would see lovers.

The thought left a lump in my throat. 

Maybe I looked uncomfortable enough that they would presume, correctly, that we were ex-lovers. I wasn’t hopeful about it, though. 

Helmut noticed, of course, but I knew he would. He had always had an almost supernatural sense for these things, like he could tune into my emotional radio on a frequency I didn’t even fully know myself. Enemy or ally or… otherwise, it was a constant to be seen through and picked apart like carrion. An appetizer for the fights to come. Thankfully, though, he chose to have mercy on me this time in a rare show of respect. Instead of wrapping his lips around another snide comment- even though I could tell it was burning a bitter hole into the tip of his tongue behind his clenched teeth- he chose to pick up a ring of calamari from the plate between us. He held it up to examine the crust in the dim lamplight before placing it delicately against his lips, pulling it from the fork in one bite. Still, he couldn’t be too gracious. Helmut held eye contact as he went.

I could only managed a disgusted sigh but found myself mirrored as his teeth sunk into the squid and his brow furrowed. 

“Bad?” I asked.

He chewed for a good while before managing to swallow the offending clump down, gagging all the way. “Despite my recent diet, that might be the worst thing I’ve eaten in a long while,”

A laugh escaped me before I even knew it was there. “You managed to pick a restaurant where our appetizer is worse than prison food? Serves you right for ordering seafood in the midwest,” 

“I suppose it does.” He nudged the plate towards me with a growing smirk, “See for yourself. I’d hate to see it wasted, and as you said, it is ours. I can’t be expected to finish it alone,” 

As if under the spell of his charisma all over again, I followed his instructions without a second thought. It was just as bad as I anticipated. 

Things were off to a bad start from the moment the tines of my fork hit the batter. The breading seemed to squelch under the pressure, sagging and giving way into meat that was somehow both rubbery and gelatinous, if that was even possible, and if the texture seemed bad outside of my mouth it was even worse inside. Somewhere between its fishy tang and the overly salted batter, there was a bitter, almost sour note that seemed to permeate further with every chew. I spit the macerated glob into my napkin before even attempting to swallow down the remaining spit. 

Across the table, Zemo grinned at my misfortune. “Let’s hope our entrees are less offensive to our palettes,” 

“Fuck off,” I muttered, lips turning up at the edges. 

“You can curse all you want at my poor choice of venue, but I can tell you’re glad you’re the one who ordered the pasta instead of the steak,” 

I went for my glass again, letting the liquor with a name I couldn’t pronounce burn all the way down my throat and into my chest. “I hate that you’re always right, Helmut. Can’t you be wrong, just once? Leave some correctness for the rest of us,” 

Maybe it was the lighting, soft and amber against the dark wood of the table to mask the bloody steaks that would sit below, or maybe it was the music, something old and swinging that I couldn’t quite put my finger on but knew from the radio in my grandmother’s car as a child, or maybe, just maybe, it was the crows feet that popped up around Helmut’s eyes when he smiled that hadn’t been quite so prominent the last time I’d seen him, but no matter the cause, the solid iron wall I had put up around my heart when I walked out of the Baron’s life those two year sago seemed to soften. Weakened, somehow. It was like someone took a blowtorch right to the center of my defenses. Something in me screamed that they had never been all that strong to begin with. 

I only noticed I’d been staring when he looked away, clearing his throat and wiping his thin mouth with the napkin from his lap. 

There went my hand. Helmut, 1. Me, 0… Well, 1, if leaving him those years ago counted for anything, and I refused to believe that it hadn’t. That the blow to his ego hadn’t given me at least a slight upper hand compared to the naive girl I had been in comparison when I first met him. There had been so much good in the world then. 

The silence dragged on as if the structural flaws of my guarded heart could patch themselves up with the defenses created from just a few silent moments between us. That’s all it would take for me to remember all the reasons this would never work: all the pain, the sleepless nights, the snide comments that turned into biting replies that grew into massive, earth-shattering fights that exploded into days or weeks or months living alone in a house with him. One by one, the memories flooded back, reminding me exactly why it had taken me almost two years to find enough peace within myself that I wouldn’t decide to shoot the man in front of me on sight. My heart hardened by the second.

“I saw your concert,” 

I was simultaneously thawed and frozen all over again. “How did you-“ 

“James mentioned it,” 

“You still talk to Bucky?” 

“Here and there,” 

The conversation lapsed into silence. 

He had… been there? I didn’t even bother to think about the talk I’d have to have with Bucky about my privacy, too focused on the more important matter at hand. 

The venue was grungy, a basement bar with a small stage serving the communities aspiring comedians and desperate punk-rock garage dwellers just waiting for their big break. I had barely had the guts to pay the booking fee, though. It was just me, a piano, and my guitar for an hour and a half set of mostly cover songs that had gone better than I’d expected, but hadn’t been anything crazy. The crowd was appreciative and respectful. Several people had left tips, even more giving me a congratulatory clap on the back as I left the building that night, promising to “stream my EP” whenever I released it, despite the fact that I had no plans to do any such thing. Still, I couldn’t imagine that I hadn’t seen his face in the crowd. I couldn’t name what I was feeling as I imagined it; visualized his face on the other side of the smoky room, leaned against the bar with his dark eyes catching hold of mine…

“You came and you didn’t say anything? Not even a hello?” 

Helmut laughed, but there wasn’t much humor in it. “And risk my life over a free concert? No.” He paused, “Despite my tendency to sometimes be… less than kind, I knew it would rattle you to see me. I didn’t want to throw you off before your performance.” 

I didn’t have much of anything to say in response. Instead, I picked at the paper straw wrapper in my lap and tried to look anywhere but in his direction, shoving down whatever was welling up in my chest. He wouldn’t let things go, though. He never could. That was half of why we’d never work. Every time I tried to drop an uncomfortable subject he’d be there to pick it up with a snide comment or two. It was an easy rhythm. Too easy. I had never wanted to fall back into it and yet, here I was, almost excited to snipe his next words down. 

“Cain misses you,” He continued. 

I folded the straw wrapper in my hands, pulling at the crease as I thought about the doberman puppy I had left behind. He would be so big now, as big as the one I’d taken with me was now. My heart ached at the thought. 

“I doubt he remembers me after all this time,” 

“Of course he does,” Helmut’s voice was low. It was almost hypnotic, the way he carried himself. He could fool anyone. I realized, with a sinking feeling in my stomach that couldn’t have been the calamari, he could still fool me. “He’s quite the troublemaker. More times than I can count he’s evaded me in the house, only to be found asleep in your old closet. I think he remembers your scent,” 

“Thats…” I sat quiet for a moment, pursing through choices of words in my mind, mulling over the sharp accented way he pronounced the t in scent, “Sad. Really sad. Makes me wish I could’ve taken them both,” 

“And what of Brutus?”

“He’s good,” A smile crossed my face. “Big, as you saw tonight. I remember when we got them, they told us they’d be 60 pounds at most, but I swear Brutus must’ve snuck in with the rest of those puppies, because he’s massive. Headbutts me every time I walk through the door wondering where I was. He’s a good boy, though. Keeps watch while I sleep, just in case.”

“Just in case I decided to let myself in through the window one night?”

I let myself laugh without judgement this time, reaching for my water. “Looks like it was all for nothing, then. Who knew he’d just let intruders come waltzing in off of the fire escape?” 

“Am I truly considered an intruder in your home?” He asked it as if the answer wasn’t obvious. As if there were any other answer I could possibly give. As if I could’ve wanted him there. His earnestness almost hurt as much as his taunting did, maybe more, because even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself, there was a soft ring of truth to his words. 

I took the cowards way out. “I don’t know, what do you think?” 

It was a vulnerability to not give a straight answer, the kind of weak spot that Helmut would catch wind of in an instant before using it to unravel someone piece by piece. Not a no, but certainly not a yes, and the fact that it hadn’t been a resounding yes was enough to glean that maybe, deep down, I wasn’t hating this dinner. He would see through me. Rip me to shreds for the subtle admittance that I hadn’t hated seeing him waiting for me on the couch when I walked through my door, even if I hadn’t expected or wanted him there in the first place. 

I found it was better to lie by omission than to fully lie and let him see through me to the more important truth; For as much as I despised everything about him, I had missed Helmut Zemo. I had missed his stupid expensive taste and the tilt of his stupid head and his stupid shiny white smile. I had missed seeing his coat hung up beside the door and knowing what waited for me inside. It was sick how I had loved him. How I had loved every minute of him picking me apart by the seams and putting me back together. Who could possibly crave their own destruction? Who could live knowing that to be loved was to be deconstructed down to the bone and laid bare as something lesser, something so small compared to the great destroyer I devoted myself to. 

How could he let me live like that if he truly saw through me? 

And that was why I had to leave. 

Loving Helmut Zemo was no way to live. I knew that. I had known that the day I picked up my dog and walked out of our home with nothing but my wallet, car keys, phone, and a polaroid picture of his silhouette. Somehow, I knew that he knew that too. Why else would I move on so suddenly, so sharply, removing every piece of the life we’d built to start myself fresh? A new me, I had said. A new chapter. Yet here I was across from him, shredded bits of paper littering my lap as he puppeteered my heart right back into his arms. 

No. I couldn’t let it happen. 

Not again. 

“Listen, baron,” I didn’t let him answer my rhetorical question. It wouldn’t be wise to let him gain the upper hand again. It wouldn’t be smart to let myself stay weak. “I appreciate dinner. It’s been surprisingly lovely to catch up with you. I’m glad to know you’re not dead, and its great to know Cain is doing well, but I know you weren’t here to tell me that over a plate of mediocre pasta,” 

Helmut smiled, his head in its signature tilt, and swished his own glass a bit. The ice was all but melted giving the liquor an almost clear quality as it diluted. Not a sip had been taken. “Ask the question, schatz,” 

“Why are you here? Why did you stalk me here and break into my apartment when I made it clear that you weren’t welcome in my life?” My words came out so matter of fact even I almost recoiled at them. Not unemotional but detached. 

“Um, who had the chicken alfredo?”

I could feel the blood drain from my face as I looked up at the poor waiter, hot plates in hand, as he took in our table at just the wrong time. Five minutes earlier he would have walked in on polite conversation about the dogs or the shitty appetizers. Now, though, he stood between a man who was known to kill for the things he wanted and me, the one thing he could never have again. 

Surprisingly, though, Helmut waved a hand towards me as I froze. There were none of the usual dramatics, just polite chatter with the waiter as he set my plate in front of me and left Helmut with his, taking the offending calamari plate away with him as he scurried away, surely to tell his coworkers about the crazy exes at the corner table. Helmut didn't even carry on with his answer. He just started tucking in to his steak and potatoes, not sparing me a single glance. If I didn’t know better, if I hadn’t memorized the way his eyes looked in the low light of a restaurant across from me, I would think he’d been replaced by a skrull.

Where was the tearing? The shredding? The utter evisceration of my waiting throat as he drank deeply of my darkest, most shameful thoughts only to spit them out for the world to see. Where was that shame? In the before times, in the times that the two of us had been a we, he never would have paused to mind a waiter. The world would have revolved around him as he laid me bare, no matter who watched or waited in the wings. What changed? 

How had I not noticed his docility until now?

The pasta was decent. It was better than anything I would’ve made at home, at least. I barely thought about it, though, letting my body go through the motions of eating mechanically while my mind went over a million things I could say. What could I say? There was nothing left to. We had gone over every possibility before I had left, at least I thought we had. Whatever we were was dead. That was certain. But what we could be…

I swallowed hard before I could choke on a relatively large piece of broccoli I neglected to chew in my trance. 

Helmut seemed to be in a painfully similar situation. One look at his plate showed a steak cut into tiny pieces. Almost none of it looked eaten, just diced into a pile and shuffled around a bit on the plate to mix with the potatoes, smashed down from their neat ice cream scoop globe and spread with the back of a fork. 

With a sigh, I set down my fork, pasta already forgotten. 

“Lost your appetite?” 

He paused his fiddling with his fork and knife, mirroring me and letting the utensils rest on the table beside his plate. It was odd to see him rattled. Strange to watch his eyes roll up to the ceiling and pause there, as if he was searching for the right words to say. He always knew just what to say to cut the deepest. Maybe it was foreign for him to not want to cut; To find a soft word, instead of a sharpened one. His mouth opened one… two…three times. Open and shut, open and shut. I couldn’t help but hurt for him. The man of many words was finally struck dumb. 

Finally, it came. 

“I’m sorry,” 

I had anticipated a selfish reply, a demand for me to come back and put the past two years behind us, but time had changed him. It had changed us both. He was no longer the man he had been when he was first freed from behind bars, vengeful and biting and so deeply afraid of being alone again, but I was no longer the lost girl I had been either. I did not need to be destroyed to breathe. I could feel tears pricking up in my eyes as he reached a hand across the table to search for my own. It was such a familiar sight in a time of uncertainty. I kept my hands firmly in my lap, though. I would not give him the satisfaction. 

More, I would not give him hope.

“Come home, schatz,”  

There it was. 

I couldn’t hold in the bitter, wet laugh that bubbled up through me, more at my own foolishness than at anything else. He had changed, yes, but some things never would. 

“Helmut,” The word hurt to say. It was altogether both familiar and unfamiliar, covered in a thick layer of dust from time, but nothing could erase the fact that it had once been used over and over, like a prayer, as easy as breathing or saying my own name. “You know I can’t,” 

He let his hand slink back to his side. “I had to try, you know,”

“I know,” The words were a whisper. 

So this was closure? 

The table was quiet. There was no desperation from Helmut’s side, no attempts to sway me or sudden outbursts of resentment. It was almost peaceful. His voice was sad but there was no manipulation in it. We laid our cards of the table as the game we’d played for years finally came to an end. 

“You were right about us, when you left,” he laughed, “I was, as you so aptly put it, a massive ass. I was still so deeply disillusioned about this world and the horrors of it. It was as if everyone around me was just another cog in it all, even you. I thought if I could puppet it all, make things go my way, everything could just be quiet. The horrors would finally stop. The memories would finally stop. I took it too far, though. I took it out on you. For that, I will never be sorry enough,” 

I put up a hand. “Helmut, you don’t have to do this-“

“I want to,”

His voice was delicate but didn’t waver. For the first time I wondered if this was more about what he needed to say than about what I needed to hear. I nodded him on. Without me even thinking about what I was doing, my hand caught his across the table.

“I wanted to run after you the same day you left. I nearly did, too, before I thought better of it. Then I really thought of what you said. What I did. It was then that I decided I had to change for the better, not for you but for myself. Only then would I allow myself to try again. So I did. I spent my time deconstructing the things I had seen and done and finally facing my own demons. I’m not perfect- believe me -but there are many things I have… worked on, for lack of a better word. James was surprisingly helpful throughout it all,” 

“Is that why you’ve been talking?” My thumb stroked over his knuckles, pausing on a scar. 

“More or less. I needed advice on how to overcome my atrocities, and I owed him an apology either way. He told me about your concert because he thought I would be ready to make amends, and yet I found myself unable to speak to you because I knew that if I did, I would have to beg you for forgiveness, and that is not something I will allow myself to do from anyone. Not now, nor ever,”

I let myself pull away. This was not a movie. There was no happy ending for the two of us at the end of this conversation. It was a chance to clear the air and let go of our grievances before going our separate ways. Treating it any other way would only hurt us both. “Why break in, then, and drag this all out over dinner? Why not just knock on my door, apologize, and leave?”

“I couldn’t have you slamming the door in my face and leaving me to apologize to the wall, now could I?” 

We shared a sad smile, a knowing one. “I guess that’s true.” 

“I needed to know you would hear what I had to say until the end,” he paused, “And one last confession. I must admit, I could not walk away without sharing dinner with you one last time. It’s selfish, as I am selfish, but I could not see you again without truly seeing you, more than just as you shouted at me and threw me to the curb,” 

“You think so little of me?” I asked. There was no bite in it. 

“No, I think so little of myself,” he finally took a sip from his glass, “Any anger on your part is warranted,” 

We did not speak again for a long while. Helmut methodically went through the bite-sized pieces of steak on his plate as I finished the alfredo, which had grown cold in the time it took to sort things out. There was no quiet conversation, no jokes or shared stories in the glow of the lamps overhead. Instead we sat in peaceable silence and breathed in the finality of it all. I was almost grateful for it. I never would have imagined sharing a meal like this with him in all of the years I had known him and loved him. If it was to be the last, and it was, we would savor every moment of each others company. Every moment not spent on my meal was devoted to memorizing the line of his jaw and the shape of his eyes as he did the same for me. 

By the time the waiter came to ask about dessert, I could have written sonnets about his face alone, and by the time he returned with the check, paid discreetly with a 40% tip for his troubles on Helmut’s card, I had committed the sound of his breathing to my mind. I could only hope the memory would last this time.

Realistically, I knew it wouldn’t. 

I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as we approached the front of the restaurant together, pausing awkwardly outside the door as we exited out onto the street. 

“So, this is it,” My hands found the pockets of my coat as I rocked onto the balls of my feet. 

Helmut smiled softly in the lamplight. “Let me walk you home,” 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” 

“Says who? I have to follow you either way, my car is parked down the block,” He offered me his arm. 

I took it far quicker than I should have, relishing in the scent of his cologne. Even after all these years he had never switched to another brand, and I refused to admit to anyone else but myself that I was grateful for it. Instead I leaned into his warmth. “Well, it’s only a few blocks anyways. I guess it couldn’t hurt,” and with that, we were off. 

The night was cool. Summer had given in to the pull of a lush fall, the temperatures dropping to a comfortable but windy chill when the sun fell below the horizon. The leaves were not yet falling but they’d begun their slow transformation from green into a mosaic of reds and yellows and greens, forming a rustling canopy above the sidewalk that allowed a flash of stars and moon through the foliage every few steps. 

We were not the only pair walking through the streets that night, but if you had asked me about it later I would have said we were the only two people in the whole city, matching each other step for step under the flickering streetlights. Helmut’s crows feet were in full force as he laughed at my terrible jokes, and I couldn’t help but feel warmth rush through my neck and cheeks as he recounted the moment we first met. 

It had been fall then, too. A brief, chance encounter in the streets of Paris was all it was, a night spend with a stranger, until I had seen him again in Sibera, and again in Germany, and again on the Raft, and again, and again, and again, and again…

He had been younger then, much younger, and still raw with grief, but I had loved him even then.

I was so lost in my own memories that I almost missed the stairs up to my apartment, but Helmut paused there, keeping me rooted with him even though the look in his eyes told me he almost kept walking past, hoping to gain one more turn around the block before he had to let me go. He didn't, though. This was the end of the line. 

My arm slipped easily from its place against his own, hand catching briefly on the crook of his elbow. “Walk me to my door?”

His laugh felt almost nervous, a paid mockery of my own earlier reticence. “I don’t think that’s wise,” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be a gentleman, baron?” 

“I have never claimed that,” For a moment, when he paused, I thought that would be that. I would turn my back, ascend the stairs, and turn around to find he’d shifted back into the shadows from whence he came, but then the moonlight caught on his soft, wet eyes. “But for you, schatz, I try to be,” 

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the words I wanted to say as we walked up the front steps and into the building. 

It had been so angry last time. I had vomited up every hateful, raging, repressed thought that I had shoved down into my chest over the course of our turbulent time together all at once and left without a second glance. This time, though, it felt wrong to end things without giving him credit for all of the other things, the things I had forgotten in the midst of all the chaos that surrounded us. How could I thank him? How could I tell him every wonderful thing about himself only to close the door in his face a moment later? I spent the whole trip up to my apartment trying to find a way to express even an ounce of what I felt, and then it was far too late. 

We stood there on my novelty doormat, boots settled over the dirty cartoon chickens, hands in our pockets, and breathed in the stale hallway air. 

“Thank you for dinner,” I said. If I shut off my heart and my mind and every other little betraying ache in my bones it was like it had been all those years ago. We were just meeting. This was the end of our very first date. There was a future instead of a past in the time that lay beyond us. 

Helmut averted his eyes from mine. I could tell he was pretending too. “Of course,” 

“I’ll see you again,” I lied, “I mean, it’s inevitable. We’ll end up at Bucky’s place at the same time,” 

“Or run into each other at a busy cafe,” he offered. 

“Exactly! Or our cells will end up next to each other in maximum security prison,” I laughed, but it caught, pathetic, in the back of my throat.  

He took a step back, boots leaving my doorstep. “I look forward to it, whenever it may be,” 

My shaking hands found my keys, an autopilot motion I had done a million times, and the door to my apartment swung open. I could hear Brutus in his kennel, beginning to whine the moment he heard me come home, but I paused there for a moment, one foot in and one foot out. 

“Goodbye, Helmut,” 

“Sleep well, schatz,” 

I stepped inside and locked the door without turning around for a last look. 

My tears came quicker than expected as I took in the room around me. It was the antithesis of my home with Helmut, all whites and beiges and grays from the sparse walls to the lonely couch against the wall. There was one great shock of black, though; a solid footprint on the windowsill. One last souvenir to remember him by. 

I had done the right thing. 

I had to have done the right thing. 

Life with Helmut was hell. It was exciting and lush and romantic and alluring but it was destructive and painful too. It would mean being seen and unseen for the rest of my life, living with the ghosts of those lost in Novi Grad. He would never stop being the man his grief had created. He was just too broken… wasn’t he? 

All at once I knew I had to see him again. This wasn’t going to be the end. There were still so many chances to make it right. 

Before I knew my own feelings, I was undoing the latch and throwing my door open, only to find him there, feet planted solidly on that stupid welcome mat and fist raised to lift the knocker. Our eyes locked. 

We didn’t need words then. 

No, all I needed was his lips on mine and my hands in his hair. It was a need easily rectified. 

He didn’t pull away as I grabbed the edges of his ridiculous fur coat and dragged him in for a kiss, letting the remains of that day’s lipstick smear against his chapped lips as the parted and made way for me. It was like a piece of my puzzle fell back into place, like the thing that had been lying dormant in my empty chest for the past two years had jumped to life and jumped into my throat. The tears weren’t coming anymore, though Helmut’s cheeks felt wet when I guided one of my hands to rest against it, dragging him closer. I needed him urgently. I needed all of it. Every moment I had missed. 

At least one time in my entire tiny, useless life I needed to know him as he had always known me. I had to see him through eyes that would know every atom of him by heart. 

It could have lasted second or hours. I was lost in it; lost in every heartbeat and the messy clack of teeth on teeth as we remembered exactly how our mouths locked into each other. There was no need to breathe. I would happily drown in him if he would let me. Through the passion I distinctly remembered this fervor, the endless need for him. It wasn’t frightening anymore, though. I knew how to walk away. We both did. 

This time I didn’t want to. 

Helmut was the first to pull away. His mouth was wet and red as he panted there, just a breath away from diving in for more, but he pulled away when I advanced again, instead choosing to speak between placing kisses on my cheeks and down my jaw. “I couldn’t let you walk away from me. Not again,” his voice shook as he kissed me, “Does that make me a bad man? Does that mean you can’t love me?” 

I could only breathe a laugh as I pressed my chest to him. No measure of closeness was enough. I needed him to cover every inch of me. “I don’t think I could stop loving you if I tried, and I’ve tried,” 

“Please, stop trying,”

With that, he caught me in another kiss. 

“We should probably go inside,” I panted, gesturing towards the apartment with my head and Helmut nodded, maneuvering us over the threshold and into the barren entryway of the home  I’d made without him. It didn’t matter, though. That wasn’t what I was focused on. Instead, my hands were more focused on pulling his coat from his shoulders and discarding it loosely in the direction of the coat rack between fevered kisses. 

The old Helmut would’ve pulled away and make some snarky remark about keeping the place clean. This Helmut, though- my Helmut, as I had selfishly started to refer to him mentally in the past few moments -just dragged me in closer after his arms were freed, letting his hand drift to the small of my back but not even an inch lower.

Suddenly, though, things seemed to cool. The kisses grew shorter, softer. His arms still held me but seemed to loosen their grip. 

“Tell me you want this,” He whispered softly against the shell of my ear, “That you want me,” 

Ah. So that’s what this is. 

“Helmut, of course I do-“ 

“That’s not enough,” his voice was laced with a rare seriousness as he pulled away to look at me properly. His brown eyes glowed a million honeyed colors under the shitty, flickering overhead lighting I should have replaced months ago. They flitted from my swollen mouth to my cheeks to my watery eyes as his hand came up to cup my cheeks again. “Tell me this isn’t a mistake or a bad decision you’ll regret the second we finish,” 

The rest went unsaid. 

(Tell me you’ll stay. Tell me this means something to you, even if it doesn’t mean as much as it does to me. Tell me I won’t wake up alone tomorrow morning. Tell me anything and everything except the cruel reality that neither of us really knows what the future looks like once this is over)

I simply nodded my head, coming in for one closed mouth kiss. “I want this. I want you. Whatever I choose to do next, you’ll be a part of the decision. No more running away,” 

Like a shot, we were off to the races again. 

It was hard to detach our bodies long enough to give Brutus a treat to quiet him down, harder still to lead him to the bedroom and drop his hand long enough to turn on a nearby lamp, but somehow I managed. For all of the small things I’d forgotten about Helmut in the two years we’d spent apart, his bitten nails and the silhouette of his nose and the sound of his labored breathing as he took in my body with something akin to animalistic hunger, it was easy to fall back into the rhythm we’d always found ourselves in intimately. 

His shirt came off first, exposing the soft curve of his stomach. I kissed down from his neck to his chest, letting myself pause on each and every pinkish scar that graced his flesh. I made a mental note to ask him about a few new ones, including a wicked one across his collarbone that still puckered into an inch long divot in his flesh. My fingers followed my mouth, mapping every inch of his flesh. They caught on every soft yielding place he offered, a worship on the altar of his body, dragging his flesh ever so slightly but never enough to leave a scratch or bruise. 

I would not mark him any more than the world already had. It was not my purpose to remold him into my image. Instead I would venerate what he was, what he had become. 

Helmut had put so much effort into changing himself, rebreaking the things that had never healed correctly and setting them right again. I refused to let him break down to splinters again. Not on my watch. 

He shuddered at my attentions. 

“Let me see you?” It was a question, not a demand, and how could I deny him when he asked so nicely? 

I stood up again, relishing in the feeling of his fingers against the hem of my t-shirt, the gentle scratch of nails on skin as he lifted it over my head. When he looked at me, it was like he was looking at the most precious thing in the world. Usually he was so hungry for it that there was never a pause once my shirt was discarded. My bra would be thrown off with it, then my pants, then my underwear, all in such quick succession that I barely distinguished one article from the next in the order of things. This time, though, he paused, hands just inches from my bare flesh. 

“My sweet girl,” he whispered to me like a prayer, a confession, “I don’t think I can hold back much longer,” 

Slowly, deliberately, I stepped forward and pressed my body into his awaiting hands. He squeezed my hips once, gentle, and twice. Then they were roaming up to the clasp on my bra with that usual hunger again, freeing my breasts for his attentions. I don’t exactly recall how he manhandled me on to the bed, I was too busy feeling the hard press of his bulge through his crisp dress slacks. The first thing I was fully cognizant of was his hot breath on my sternum as he hovered over me, still standing but bent at the waist, boxing me in with his knees. 

“So fucking sweet,” he whispered before taking one of my nipples between his lips and laving his tongue over the hardening tip. 

I felt like a live wire. Heat was building everywhere. Dazzling electricity shot through my head and fingers and toes and cunt and gods especially my breasts. They were always my weak spot, and how he knew it, how he knew me. I wanted to thrash against him, to buck and gain his attention where I really needed it, but his body above mine held me fast, keeping me right where he wanted me, vulnerable to him and his specific brand of torture. With a particularly sharp pinch and a well timed suck he had me keening against him, curling into his every move. 

How had I lived without him? It was hard to imagine a night not spend here with Helmut, wherever here was, not that that mattered. I was embarrassingly wet. The slickness had gathered enough that I could feel it on my thighs despite my jeans. When I tried to relieve myself, though, the baron caught my hand, tutting softly. 

I expected to have to ask permission. Soft begs escaped my mouth. I needed him. I had no patience for games. Instead, though, he lifted up off of my chest and smiled, pulling my hand to his lips. “Let me help you, love,” 

There are no words in the human language that could adequately represent the sound that escaped my mouth. I could not even begin to try. It continued even as I lifted my hips to shimmy free from my jeans and underwear in one fluid motion, only ceasing when Helmut was on his knees with his face buried in my cunt. I was making different noises then. Loud. Guttural. If I had any mind left at all I would worry what my neighbors thought, to see me out on my doorstep desperately pawing at a man only to hear the noises we were making in tandem now. Thankfully, any sensible thought I had left seemed to fly out the window with Helmut’s first lick to my cunt. 

It was clear that he hadn’t forgotten me, and if he had, the muscle memory was coming back quick. His tongue was deft as it worked its way over my aching nub in a pseudo-figure eight; circling once, twice, and three times before dipping back through my folds. I held him in place this time, though, rocking into his mouth. At some point my hands found their way into his hair. It was so soft between my fingers, so pliable as I pulled against him, desperate for more of him, anything he would good. 

Every time he relented to me. Each sharp jolt was rewarded with a kiss against my thigh or a muttered curse in Sokovian, hot breath teasing my glistening mound. 

He was so giving, so attentive to my every need. He had always been a generous lover, never leaving me wanting for anything, but this felt… different. The way he sucked bruises into my thighs, relenting to each and every sobbing please that escaped my soft lips, was a new and devastating experience. There were no power games left to play, no lording his sexual prowess over me as he brought me slowly closer and closer to the ever distant goalpost, just his mouth on me over and over and over again as he wrung the first orgasm of the night out of me, then the second in short measure, barely ceasing from one to the next.

By the time he decided I’d had my fill, my legs were a trembling mess against his shoulders and my cunt was a sopping mess. 

He grinned a crooked grin at his masterpiece.

“How was that, my love,” 

I could barely catch my breath enough to speak. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, thrumming a frantic drumbeat even as the room quieted. “So good- really really good, Helmut,” 

Slowly, he rose up from his knees, undoing his belt. “Please say my name again, schatz,” 

“Helmut,” My voice was hushed. Reverent. 

He undid the button at his fly, pulling at the band of his boxers. “Again,” 

It fell from my lips like a prayer. “Helmut,”

His cock bounced free, bobbing as he took a sharp, steadying breath. He placed his hand at the base and squeezed slightly. 

“Again,” 

“Helmut,” 

“Fuck, that’s good,” The trance broke momentarily as I gazed up at him, watching the sweat roll down his forehead in shining rivulets despite the chill in the air. He wiped at them with the back of his free hand and smiled sheepishly. “Scoot back and get comfortable, please. I don’t think I’ll last long,” 

I did as he asked, settling against my pillows on the still-made sheets. “Neither will I,” 

“Where are your condoms?” 

“Bedside drawer, way in the back. I’m on the pill too, so no worries,” 

He moved quickly, grabbing a foil package from the small pile I’d accrued, just in case. 

It felt odd to have him be the one using them. 

There had been a few other men who had been invited here, fewer still that made it to the point that Helmut and I were at now. Every time, though, I hadn’t been able to go through with it, because every time they had finally settled themselves above me, I would close my eyes and, just for a moment, see Helmut in their place. It was unsettling the first time, enough so that I sent the guy home right away. The next time, though, it was more thought provoking than anything. I chalked it up to him being my longest lasting sexual partner and left it at that, but now, watching him roll the condom onto his length and crawl into his position over me, I knew. 

I would never get over him, even if I tried for years. My heart had a space carved out in the shape of his own. No matter how long I stayed away, I would never find something quite like what we had. He was it. This was what people dreamed about. And to think, I had almost let it slip away…

He slid one hand into mine, lacing our fingers together in the gentle lamplight. “Are you ready for me?” 

“More than ready,” My thighs spread as I canted my hips up.

Physically and mentally and every other possible way I needed him. I was prepared. 

So Helmut pumped himself once with his free hand before guiding himself into my wet heat. 

It was impossible to last long once we were finally complete. 

Feeling him inside me was like knowing the truth of the universe. It was comfortable, and thrilling, and so deliciously enough. He filled me well, finding his rhythm as he swore and released my hand to prop himself up more comfortably. We were linked together like the final pieces of a puzzle. I closed my eyes at let myself relish in it. 

There was nothing left to worry over while Helmut was inside of me. All thoughts that weren’t of him were banished. It was something to be cherished, every thrust paired with a whispered confession of love from one of us, a fleeting kiss, a curse, a plea… We laid ourselves bare. I let my legs wrap around his warm, soft hips as he rutted into me, bringing a hand between us to circle my clit once more. Even after everything he refused to leave me behind while he chased his own pleasure. It didn’t take much to send me tumbling over the edge into oblivion. 

As always, Helmut followed me down. 

His thrusts quickened, then stilled as he came to rest upon me, panting and heaving and begging for breath. I didn’t care much. He smelled of cologne and sweat as I buried my face in his shoulder and closed my eyes. I could feel him soften inside of me but I was far too spent to urge him to move.

We only shifted apart when he slipped free of me.

Helmut quickly kissed my forehead and gathered himself up, shuffling to the trash can to discard the used condom and grab a tissue to wipe himself up. I didn’t let myself move an inch. If I moved, would the bliss run away? Would I realize what I’d done? I let myself lay instead, eyes closed, panting in the autumn chill as my lover approached and wiped up our beautiful mess as gently as he could manage. With one last kiss to my thigh, he discarded the rag, opened the window, and crawled back into bed with me. 

The process was indelicate, a lot of awkward shuffling of sticky limbs, but we were settled beneath the blankets soon enough. Helmut stroked his fingers down my arm languidly while kissing the back of my neck. 

I broke the peace between us. 

“I don’t… I don’t know what this means for us,” 

He sighed gently. His breath was soothing and familiar against my shoulder. “That’s not something we have to decide at this very moment,” 

“But I just don’t want you to think this means something… or at least something more than it does? If that makes sense? I don’t know,”

“Schatz, please,” 

“I want to keep my own place, at least for now. I don’t know what that means for when I’ll see you or if we’ll keep doing this,” I gestured vaguely to my nude body beneath the sheets, “or if we’re even a thing anymore, bu-“ 

Helmut reached his arm around us, placing a quieting finger over my lips and another soft kiss against my shoulder. 

“I swear, your mind sounds even louder than mine,” 

“Sorry,” 

“No reason to be,” His hand left my lips, running down to my stomach and pulling me back towards the softness of his chest. “As for your questions, I shall respect your wishes about distance and housing and labels, whatever they may be. That being said, as long as you’re still up for… this, as you put it, I will never deny you, no matter the distance. I would cross oceans for you,” 

A cum-drunk, half-asleep giggle escaped me as he nuzzled in, kissing my ear. 

“Thank you,” 

“No, thank you,” he matched my laughter with his own, “I believe this is what James would call post nut clarity,” 

“Now you ruined it!” I huffed. The faux anger only lasted a moment, though, before I was rolling to face him, cheek pressed to the soft, downy hair of his chest. “I love you, Helmut.” 

“I love you too, sweet girl. Now sleep. I’ll get up and deal with the dog once you’re resting,” 

For the first time in two years, I breathed in the scent of Helmut’s cologne before lapsing into a peaceful sleep.

---------

A/N: Thank you for reading! This is my first foray into smut in literal years, and it was literally all written within a 12 hour period, so I hope any mistakes weren't enough to take away from your enjoyment. Comments are always appreciated, but never expected. See you on the next authors note!

[extremelyblackandwhite]

pairing: dad!bucky barnes x au pair!reader

warnings: age gap (reader is 10 years younger than bucky), smut (18+, dni if under 18)

summary: sometimes the past haunts us

masterlist

      - I just don’t agree with it. 

Those words were the ones she feared the most. After sweating and crying over a draft of her thesis, one of her supervisors just threw the papers on the desk with as much disdain as someone could muster, without as much of an ounce of mercy. She stared at the papers on the desk, attempting to hide her watering eyes. She shouldn’t be crying, she had been expecting criticism but not an overall dismissal of 4 years of work. 

      - I’m gonna be honest, Y/N. After 4 years, I didn’t expect to read this sort of work from you. I don’t think we can actually pass this, Y/N. How would you defend this? 

      - I ... I can rewrite it. 

      - I honestly do not see it getting any better with a rewrite, Y/N. I’m still waiting on feedback from your other supervisor but I wouldn’t be too hopeful.

She didn’t know what to say, there were really no words or anything she could say right now that wouldn’t downright embarrass her. Her eyes were fully watered as she looked around the countless awards in her supervisor’s office. She used to think she’d once own as many, now she wasn’t as sure. 

     - We may have to keep you another year. 

     - But I’m not sure I have enough to cover costs for another yea ... - she stopped mid sentence as her phone started to buzz against her thigh. Looking down at the screen, she saw the all caps name of Sadie’s daycare. - I’m sorry, that’s my baby’s daycare. 

She gave her supervisor a loop smile, bringing her phone to her ear only to hear a bunch of nonsense coming from the other side which could only roughly translate into how much they needed her to come down. Perfect, just perfect. 

     - I’m sorry, I need to go check on my baby. 

     - You know, Y/N, it may be time for you to check what your priorities are. 

     - I’m sorry, I’d ask her dad but he’s stuck in back to back meetings. I’m so sorry, I can’t leave her. 

     - We’ll schedule a meeting once your other supervisor is back. 

     - Thank you.

She rushed out of the campus and onto her car, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper before driving down to Sadie’s school. Last thing she needed was parents commenting on her red eyes and blotchy skin, it was hard enough knowing her supervisor had seen her like this. Yet again, she wasn’t even sure that was the last thing she wanted as she walked into the dean’s office and found Sadie sitting in one of the kiddie chairs with a band aid on her knee and a crying face. Y/N didn’t know what was more disturbing, if her baby girl crying or Michelle sitting down with her snooty son. 

     - Oh, Y/N, it’s you. - she looked her up and down. 

     - Come on, darling. - Y/N ignored Michelle, leaning down to Sadie’s level. The little girl wrapped her arms around her, burying her head in Y/N’s hair. - Who else would it be, Michelle? 

     - I’m so sorry to call you in. It seems my boy got in a tussle with Sadie.

    - Sure, a tussle. My kid has a bandaid on her knee and yours looks just peachy to me. 

    - She’s not your kid, Y/N. She’s Bucky’s or have you forgotten?

    - Sure. - she rolled her eyes. - So what is it that you want Michelle? You want us to sort this out or you wanna flirt with my kid’s dad?

    - Just wanted to make sure Sadie was okay. 

    - She’ll be fine. 

Y/N really had better things to do other than deal with Michelle and her eagerness to see Bucky. Right now she was worried about Sadie who was following right after her, arms wrapped around her leg as she enjoyed the swing back and forward. Y/N always knew Michelle’s kid was no good and she wouldn’t be surprised if his mother even trained him to hurt Sadie so she could see James - although, that was the most irrational part of her speaking. 

     - Come here, squid. - Y/N leaned down to pick the 2 year old so she could place her safely in her car seat. - Did the nurse look at your knee? 

     - Yes. I gots the red band thingie, see. - she pointed at her knee. 

     - It’s a band-aid, Sissi. - Y/N clasped the buckles. - You’re being very brave.

     - Can I watch Bluey? 

     - Alright but we can’t tell dad I let you use the tablet on the car, yeah? It’ll be our secret. 

    - Pinky? - she showed her au pair her pinky which just seemed to brighten her whole day. She nodded, wrapping her own pinky around hers before grabbing the IPad. 

Truth was, she was glad her irritation at Michelle had made her forget of the terrible time she’d had at university. Sure, she was probably gonna raise some hell at the next PTA meeting, however, right now what Sadie needed was time and some happy things. As such, she turned left where she should’ve taken right, coming across the small park. Soon enough, the IPad playing Bluey was forgotten in the car as Sadie joined other kids in the playground, while Y/N took it upon herself to join the other mums on the benches watching over their own kids. It was peaceful, the sound of the kids laughter meshed with the sounds of the wind brushing through the trees and the birds chirping. It was nice, at least it was until her phone started ringing. It came as no surprise it was Bucky, Michelle had probably personally called him to somehow explain how her snooty kid hurt his daughter. 

    - Hello. - she said as she picked up the phone. 

    - Is Sadie alright? I got a call from her kindergarten saying some kid pushed her. 

    - She’s fine, Bucky. Scratch on her knee but she seems to have forgotten it’s even there. 

    - Are you sure? I can get out of work and we can drive her to the hospital and have it checked. 

    - Buck, it’s a scrapped knee. I’m sorry to tell you but she’ll have plenty of those as she grows up. - she smiled. - Don’t you have a meeting to go to?

    - But ...

    - Bucky, she’s fine. I think she may be trying to push a boy off a swing but other than that she’s a peach. - she got off from the bench to go and stand next to Sadie who was trying to get a turn at the swings. - Sadie do you wanna say hi to daddy?

    - Hi daddy. - she took the phone from Y/N. - Bye daddy. 

    - That hurt. - Bucky said as Y/N got a hold of her phone before Sadie could run off with it. - We’re already at hi and bye? Soon enough it’ll go from daddy to dad. 

    - Go to your meeting, Sergeant. We’ll see you at home tonight. 

    - Are those orders? 

    - Strong suggestions. 

    - I’ll see you both tonight. 

Bucky put his phone in his pocket, his brain still racketing about his daughter’s wellbeing while at the same time worrying about the back to back meetings that had left him with only 20 minutes to have lunch. 20 minutes which were interrupted by a call from his secretary saying someone needed to see him. He had barely even had time to take a bite from the cheap cafeteria sandwich and was now on his way to his office once more. The end to this day couldn’t come faster.

     - Whoever’s waiting, send them in. - he said as he passed his secretary. 

     - Sergeant Barnes, she’s already in the office. 

     - What? - he turned around to face his secretary who usually was able to keep anyone and everyone at bay if necessary. - How did ... 

     - I have my ways. - the door opened from inside. - Besides, we are close. 

     - Anna? 

(...)

There was no way in hell she could ever re-write this. If she was being honest she couldn’t see a major structural or even content flaw in her work. Besides, none of the feedback she received was constructive, it didn’t help her figure out what to do to make it better. Although, her supervisor was quite clear there was no way of making it better. Perhaps her other supervisor would have a better idea or maybe some constructive feedback. 

   - What are you working on, squid? - she looked to Sadie who looked just as serious about her drawing as Y/N was about her thesis. 

Sadie ignored her, her tongue poking out of her mouth as she continued to make a mess of her crayons. Y/N sighed, smiling and ruffling the little girl’s hair as she got up from the kitchen table to grab them something to drink. Bucky had just pulled up on the garage so he’d soon be here for dinner so there was no use in preparing Sadie a snack. If she did, she just knew the toddler would use it as an excuse to have no dinner and munch on string cheese later on. 

   - DADDY! - she heard Sadie yell out. Good, it was finally time to eat. 

   - Let me look at your knee. - Bucky looked down at his daughter’s knee. - Are you okay? Does anything hurt?

   - No. Y/N gave me another thingie. 

   - Band-aid, Sadie. - Y/N walked to the dinning table were Sadie was showing Bucky her band-aid. - Can you give me a hand bringing the cutlery and dinner to the table? I need to go to bed early today, Buck. 

   - Yeah, sure. You go and wash you hands, Sadie. 

Sadie climbed down her chair and rushed to the bathroom while Bucky followed Y/N to the kitchen. He was in a surprisingly good mood considering he’d spent the whole day in meetings. Last time that happened, he didn’t even have dinner with them and instead went straight to his study, so this was a refreshing change of pace albeit a suspicious one. 

   - You’re happy. - she said as she took the cutlery from the cupboard. - Did you have a drink on your way in?

   - I actually have good news. 

   - You had two drinks on your way in? 

   - I met with Sadie’s mum today. She wants to meet her, we set up a meeting tomorrow. 

Oh. That’s why. 

She couldn’t explain her, but her heart felt unexplainably tight. 

   - Oh ... 

   - Don’t worry, I’ll get her from school, I know that you’re gonna be at Columbia tomorrow. 

   - I’m not worried about that. - she sighed. Part of her was screaming not to give her opinion but she and Bucky were friends ... or at least they were friendly, and it looked as if he was waiting for her to say something. - Don’t you think it’s a bit soon?

   - Soon? She gave birth to Sadie 2 years ago, I’d say a reunion is long overdo. 

   - I just think you should take it slow. She doesn’t have the best track record and if she leaves again, it might hurt Sadie. 

   - She’s ready, Y/N. - his tone shifted, turning avoidant. 

   - How do you know? She hasn’t tried to make contact in two years and what if she flakes at the last minute? How would we explain it to Sadie?

   - We? - he crossed his arms. - Last I checked she is my daughter and you’re the person I pay to watch over her. I explain things to her and I make the decisions. 

   - Sadie took some time getting used to me, Buck. 

   - You’re not her mother! 

   - You don’t need to speak to me like that. - she set the cutlery and plates down on the kitchen counter. - I worry about Sadie and I worry that you’re rushing into this because of your obsession with giving Sadie a mother. 

   - You should worry about keeping your job if you continue talking. 

Y/N’s mouth shut as she starred at him, eyebrows furrowed as if she couldn’t believe what had come out of his mouth. They hadn’t had the best track record together, at least from the beginning where they were constantly clashing against each other, yet he had never threatened her job. She always felt confident enough to give her opinion where it seemed relevant.

   - I am not hungry. Suit yourself. 

Bucky was left with the tray of lasagna and the dishes to put on the table. At least that. He wasn’t even sure if he would be able to find the dishes if he had too. Besides, she was overreacting. From his point, she had no right to talk about what was right and wrong when it came to Sadie’s mother. She needed a mother and if he could finally give her that he would. If he could give her a sense of normalcy, something that resembled the picket white fence, mum, dad, kid and the pet, he would. He’d do everything for her. 

   - Washed hands. - Sadie rushed into the kitchen, showing her dad her clean hands. 

   - That’s great, baby. Here take your plate to the table and I’ll bring the food. 

   - Don’t like lasagna. - she crossed her arms not to differently to how he had just done. 

   - What? You love when Y/N makes lasagna. 

   - Because of the song?

   - What song?

   - The lasagna song. 

   - Well ... - he kneeled to her height. - If you don’t eat your lasagna then I won’t give you the surprise.

   - Surprise?

   - Tomorrow ... - he tucked her hair behind her ear. - Tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from school and we’ll go to that coffee shop with the bunny cakes to meet your mum. 

   - I know my mummy, daddy. You’re being silly. 

   - She’s really excited to meet you. She even said she may bring some photos of when you were in her belly so she can see. 

   - I have a mummy already. 

   - Sadie, I know you really like Y/N but she is not your mum. 

[katatonicimpression]

🥺 - I'm Coming with You for the SamBucky ask.

Sambucky Prompt Game

Thank you for the ask! So, this is angst, and I mean angst angst.

I’m coming with you

“No, you’re not!”

Bucky spun back around to face Sam as he spit the words out.

“You’re turning around, running back to the ship and leaving with the others. Get the hell out of the blast zone in case I can’t defuse this thing.”

Sam stood his ground, long immune to Bucky’s attitude.

“I already told them to leave without me.”

To tell the truth, Sam was expecting an eye-roll and some complaining. He was a little shocked, then, to see Bucky’s face contort and redden. Maybe Sam had underestimated how scared he was. 

His mom did always say he had no natural sense of self preservation. Maybe that was true. It would explain a lot of things about him, his decision to date the Winter Soldier among them.

Bucky stepped towards him and pointed somewhere past his head.

“Get your wings out and start flying. Far as you can away from the bomb. Other side of this damn planet if you can. Go. Now.”

“There’s a very specific set of circumstances where I let you tell me what to do, and this isn't one of them.” Sam’s tone was light, flirting and joking but Bucky wasn’t having it.

He raised his voice and it came out haggard, strained.

“What is wrong with you? I’m giving you a chance to get out of here!”

“Yeah, and I’m giving us all a better chance of survival. I know this alien tech better than you do - which is not a lot I’ll admit - and you ca-”

“Sam. Go. Get going no-”

“No, I-” Sam started to walk past Bucky, heading towards the explosive before those squid things came back and started shooting at them again.

“Can you just for once do what I tell you?” Bucky was yelling now. He grabbed Sam before he could move any further.

He gripped him by the shoulders. Hard. Hard enough to stop him dead in his tracks. Sam knew that Bucky had the kind of strength that he couldn’t squirm out of if he tried, and just for a split second the implication of that ran through his mind.

“Buck.” 

Bucky let go, quick and suddenly like he only just realised.

“Why won’t you let me save you?” And the look on his face was devastating, confusion and terror blazing behind those blue eyes.

Sam didn’t know what to say. Why was it up to Bucky who lived and who put themselves at risk? Why does he get to be the one who refuses to lose the other? Why was this man’s only approach to talking about his feelings the one where he yells at Sam while their lives are in danger?

What he did know was that no matter how desperate Bucky was right now, Sam wasn’t going to let this become a fight. Not physically or in any other sense. 

“Neither of us are gonna need saving,” he said, instead. “I defuse the bomb, you cover my six. That way we have the best chance of success.”

“Sam.” Bucky was angry again, sensing his avoidance.

And whatever, let him sulk. Sam was not going to let this put any lives in danger. 

“There’s no version of this where I leave you to die, Bucky.” Sam was still quiet, but assertive. “And you can hate me for it, but save it til later. We’re doing this my way and we’re both surviving.”

Bucky stared at him, eyes still mad and wide, but he must know that they didn’t have time to keep arguing. That Sam had won. His expression softened a fraction as he looked at Sam.

“There’s no version of this where I hate you,” he said, which Sam didn’t expect.

“Good. Let’s go.”

[abarbaricyalp]

🥃

🥃: Date night/ drinks Thanks for this one! Strong lack of datenight fics in my corpus

Sam lifted his drink less than a second before Bucky crashed into the bar right where his glass had just been. He looked down at the sprawl of wood and leather by his feet and raised an eyebrow. Bucky was already looking up at him, blowing a napkin out of his face.

"Hey, handsome," he greeted with a grin. "You come here often?"

Sam snorted his drink back into the glass. "Uh, no, actually," he answered. He grabbed the offending napkin and wiped his face off. "But you are obviously a beloved regular."

Bucky untangled himself from the debris and shrugged. Glass and wood rained from his his jacket. "You'd be surprised," he admitted. "You stay right here, gorgeous. I'll be back in a second." And he took off into the brawl again.

Sam turned to watch, lounging back against the half of the bar that was still intact, but he didn't follow. They'd said they weren't doing this this time. A nice night out, removed from the job. But, having to balance an anniversary date and an inter-galaxy mission had landed them in a bar where they could get into too much trouble.

Sam would grant Bucky this: it wasn't acceptable to grab anyone’s ass while you were talking to them casually, no matter what planet you were on.

The trouble had come when Bucky had reached for the guy's hand on Sam's ass and discovered it was a actually a tentacle and the alien had sent Bucky flying across the bar with a shrug.

That's when all hell had broken loose.

To be fair, Bucky seemed to be winning and he wasn't even really bleeding yet. Luckily, the other patrons didn't seem to want to get into the middle of this. It was just Bucky versus three...snakes? squids? lizards? Sam couldn't really tell. They hadn't been part of the debriefing. This is why Sam said not to mix business with pleasure. Excepting the obvious venn diagram center that Bucky was.

Bucky had incapacitated one snakething and was busy stabbing another one's tail to the floor with a frankly ridiculous knife he shouldn't have brought on their date. He had thrown himself over its tail and was trying to cling onto it like the world's dumbest mechanical bull.

"Don't even think about it," Sam called out in warning to the third one as it loomed behind Bucky with a chair raised over its head. "Learn to keep your appendages to yourself and you won't find yourself in these situations."

Bucky had his mouth open for his own smart comment, but Sam psp'd at him and quieted him before he could say something to escalate the fight further. Bucky stuck out his lower lip for a second, but pulled a twin knife from a thigh holster that must've had some secret pocket from his pants. He got to his feet fluidly for someone dodging a writhing tail.

"Apologize," he said instead of whatever he'd been planning on. He flipped the massive knife around his hand and rolled his shoulders back. "Apologize and I'll call us square."

The snakething looked from Bucky with a scoff, then looked at Sam, took a step forward. Bucky held the knife at him. "Nah, you can do it from there."

The snakething bared fangs but it sat back on its heels again. "I'm sorry," it said to Sam. "I thought you may be interested. I didn't realize you already had..." At the glint of Bucky's knife, it amended, with a sinking step backwards, "I didn't realize you were otherwise engaged."

"The offense was not about me," Bucky said.

The snakething gaped a little and rolled its eyes. "I'm sorry I touched you without permission. I will ask in the future."

Sam nodded in acknowledgement. Mostly because if he had to keep a straight face for much longer, he wasn't sure he'd be able to. "I appreciate it. Everyone around you appreciates it," he added, just to be a shit.

Bucky flipped the knife again and had it tucked back into its holster before Sam even noticed. He wrenched his other knife from the second snakething's tail. "Put your friend under a heatlamp," he suggested with a nod towards the first one. "And mind your manners."

He had to step over table debris to get back to Sam, and he sat down heavily on the barstool next to him.

Sam let them sit in silence for a moment, then asked, "Long day?"

Bucky snorted and looked over at Sam with fond amusement. "You could say that," he agreed. He reached over the bar for a second glass and a bottle of green liquid. "There's a perfect bottle of pinot noir in our room," he said.

"Oh?" Sam asked. "So why are we here?"

"Well, you know I like to show you off," Bucky said with a grin. "Besides, it's supposed to be crystal for the 15th, right?" He leaned over the bar to grab an intricately carved, beautifully clear glass. "How's this?"

"You totally googled that before we left," Sam accused. "And this probably isn't even crystal."

Bucky shrugged. More debris fell from his shoulders. "It's the thought that counts."

"Well, I think we ought to get back to our hotel and pop that bottle." He curled his fingers in the zipper of Bucky's jacket and tugged him forward.

"That all you wanna do there?" Bucky asked against Sam's mouth.

"No it is not," Sam breathed.

Sam felt it when Bucky grinned again. "Happy anniversary, sweetheart."

When they finally kissed, all Sam could think about was how he'd give anything for another fifteen years of this.

[ooihcnoiwlerh]

Buck: [watching the news]some idiot tried to fight a squid at the aquarium Bucky: [covered in ink] maybe the squid was being a dick

[clintbartonruinedmylife]

Bucky, watching the news: Someone tried to fight a squid at the aquarium today!

Clint, walking in covered in ink: Well, maybe the squid was being a dick.

[pandagirl45]

Bucky seeing Tony being partial eldritch horror then going "Oh good God damn, I'm harder than diamond."

Tony fearing he is going to he outed by bucky because he saw him. Also the little weirdo saw him and his mom but didn't lose his mind. (Hint bucky mind is already messy). Tony freaking out about the government and magical government finding him out and coming for his ass.

Tony and Bucky unintentionally start dating. Tony momma says "you found a life partner now let him breed you."

Tony horrified and even more confused. He just found out he was a little different person age 8 when he got slimy and all tentacle. Jarvis is the true MVP.

Bucky questioning if he can get Tony a bouquet of fishes drenched in mercury because tony is into that. Squids especially. Bucky didn't pay sam to let him use his boat to get the pretty space god interest.

Bucky definitely isn't having questionable thoughts about what those teeth do.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

Jack must give the most all encompassing hugs what with that big ass wingspan he has. ARMS.

Oh my god, I just imagine him and that wingspan with any number of my ships, and it's all perfect. Like, he's basically a human scarf on Curt, and Curt loves it. Will just climb right between Jack's legs and flop against his chest and yank Jack's arms around his shoulders and cuddle right in. Loves it.

With Bucky, I feel like sometimes it's two giant squids trying to hug each other. They smack each other's arms and get tangled up, but they eventually get there and can just hold onto each other with their giant hands and arms.

With Chick, it's all about the waist lasso. Gets his arms around Chick's waist, and Chick can't go anywhere. Gets Jack a hold that lines up perfectly with his center of gravity. Chick gets wise to it and will dodge away or demand Jack put his hands where he can see them (around his chest or his shoulders) if he knows he does actually have to do something soon because he ALSO really likes when Jack lassos him.

[bulkyphrase]

Time Loops Rec List: 2024 Edition

It's Groundhog Day, which means it's time for my favorite Marvel time loop fanfics from the past year! See this post for the November 2022 and February 2023 picks.

(why I posted the first Groundhog Day list in November is a mystery even to myself)

god loves everybody, don't remind me by napricot (Gen, Mature, 70,381 words)

Summary: N'Jadaka didn't believe in the gods of his people. But belief was not a prerequisite of the gods' attention, and the blood of the Panther tribe ran in N'Jadaka's veins. Bast took hold of his soul in her mighty jaws and lifted it free of his body. She gave him a warning shake, just as she would a misbehaving kitten, and set him back. With one careful claw, she tweaked his path through time into a twisting loop. Wayward and abandoned though he was, N'Jadaka was still of her tribe. He could set things right, if given the chance. Erik gets a do-over. Erik gets a lot of do-overs. Or: Erik Killmonger's own personal version of Groundhog Day, only with a lot more murder, dying, trips to the ancestral plane, awkward family conversations, and divine intervention.

offer me that deathless death by canistakahari (@unicorncoalition) (Stucky, Explicit, 10,656 words)

Summary: Bucky dies for the first time in February of 1945, and then he dies again, and again, and again. It doesn't stick, but he can't find a way out, either. Also available as a podfic read by GhostCwtch (@ghostcwtch)

The rest are below the cut!

Exit Life by EiraLloyd (Stucky, Teen And Up Audiences, 11,346 words)

Summary: Bucky says, "Can I ask you a question?" and unravels his plans once again. "What is it?" "I don't— have all my memories back," he admits. "But there's this one day. I have… different memories of how it went. I don't— I think it's the same day. The same inn, the same train, the same mission." Steve feels cold. He feels colder than he did when he froze in the Arctic. "Do you—" Bucky hesitates. "Do you know why?" (Alternatively, the countless times Steve fails to protect Bucky from a guy in a metal suit and the one time he succeeds.)

Dead Man's Switch by emptydistractions, art by profoundalpacakitten (@emptydistractions12, @profoundalpacakitten) (Stucky, Mature, 20,335 words)

Summary: Steve has only ever wanted to help people. Maybe that's part of the reason why it nearly tears his heart in two the first time he watches Bucky die. He can't help but think of the 'what if's'. What if he'd been there sooner? What if he'd been able to stop it? By the five hundredth time he watches Bucky die though, the whole situation's really starting to lose it's charm. (Or: Bucky is stuck in a time loop, and Steve is accidentally along for the ride.)

Of things lost in time by erde (Stony, Explicit, 16,082 words)

Summary: The Time Stone beckons Steve with the promise of home. He ends up in Clint's farm, reliving the same day again and again.

The Last Time by mariana_oconnor (@mariana-oconnor) (Winterhawk, Teen And Up Audiences, 12,446 words)

Summary: Today has been strange and, considering the majority of Bucky's life, when he says strange, Bucky really means that. It's not one big thing that makes it strange. He's fought giant interdimensional squid monsters while standing on the shoulder of the statue of liberty. Things like that don't faze him any more. It's the little things that are making the back of his brain itch. All the little things that are starting to add up. It's that uncanny valley feeling: everything just a little left of normal, not enough for you to say exactly what's wrong, but enough that you know something isn't right. And he's pretty sure it's got something to do with Clint Barton.

ceaselessly into the past by shepherd (Stony, Explicit, 84,131 words)

Summary: Edge of Tomorrow/Live.Die.Repeat AU, following the movie. After earth is invaded by the Chitauri, Tony Stark is forcefully drafted into the military for a suicide mission. It ends up with him being inexplicably caught in a time loop that always seems to end with him dying horrifically. And, of course, the day was a Thursday- he had never gotten the hang of Thursdays. (please regard the tags for warnings- there are more explicit warnings inside)

double back by flowermasters (Sambucky, Explicit, 12,560 words)

Summary: Sam gets stuck in a time loop. In 1943. Things could be worse, but they could certainly be better.

Reason Number Four by hannahsoapy (Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Teen And Up Audiences, 3,309 words)

Summary: On Monday, at 4:37pm, Phil dies in Clint's arms. And at 4:39pm, and 4:44pm, and 4:57pm... it's been a lot of Mondays.

[agentkikirogers]

Steve enters the loft.

Bucky: *watching the news* "Some idiot tried to fight a squid at the aquarium."

Steve: *covered in ink and blood* Well, maybe that squid was being a jerk!

[disabled-characters-showdown]

Disabled Characters Showdown

Notes:

1.) Characters are listed below the cut because there’s a ridiculous amount of them.

2.) This is going to be a 128 person showdown. Because of this there are going to be a few adjustments from how we normally do our polls. First- not all characters will have character descriptions, because we have neither the time or inclination to do so. There still will be character images along with image descriptions, but that’s about it. Second- because of how many polls this is, the first round will be released in waves of 16 polls per day over the span of 4 days. The other rounds will not be impacted. Third- the first wave of polls will be dropping on the 28th.

3.) If you want to submit propaganda about any of these characters feel free to because otherwise you will get things like this: “Haven’t the faintest clue who this is, so you get no context.” You can also submit character images because most of them will be horrible due to us just pulling most of them from the fandom page.

4.) If you have any issues about any characters feel free to shoot us an ask. That being said, this poll isn’t really about who is the best representation. See more details here. If you are wondering why a character is on the list feel free to ask and we’ll tell you but we’re not gonna put on reasoning for all of the characters.

5.) We tried our best with some of the names, but also are not familiar with some of the characters on this list so if there’s any issues there please let us know.

Marvel:

Clint Barton

Maya Lopez

Makkari

Matt Murdock

Professor X

Nick Fury

Bucky Barnes

Madame Web

Stick

James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes

Daniel Sousa

Nebula

Jeri Hogarth

Jessica Jones

Phil Coulson

DC:

Barbara Gordon

Joseph ‘Joey’ Wilson/ Jericho

Destiny of the Endless

Freddy Freeman

Roy Harper- Young Justice

Animes/K-Dramas:

Jin Bu-yeon- Alchemy of Souls

Edward Elric- Fullmetal Alchemist

Might Guy- Naruto

Hatori Sohma- Fruits Basket

Vash the Stampede- Trigun

Yang Xiao Long- RWBY

Neopolitian- RWBY

Nunnally vi Britannia- Code Geass

Jean-Pierre Polnareff- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Ali Abdul- Squid Game

Naruto Uzumaki- Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha- Naturo

Yuuri Katsuki- Yuri!!! On Ice

Star Wars/Trek/Aliens:

Geordi La Forge- Star Trek: The Next Generation

Luke Skywalker- Star Wars

Anakin Skywalker- Star Wars

Kanan Jarrus- Star Wars

Shiro- Voltron: Legendary Defender

Keyla Detmer- Star Trek: Discovery

Alex Manes- Roswell, New Mexico

Commander Wolffe- Star Wars

Chirrut Îmwe- Star Wars

River Tam- Firefly

Saw Gerrera- Star Wars

Wrecker- Star Wars

Visas Marr- Star Wars Legends

Darth Traya/Kreia- Star Wars Legends

Fennec Shand- Star Wars

Tahl- Star Wars Legends

Darth Maul- Star Wars

Echo- Star Wars

Breha Organa- Star Wars

Non-Animated TV Shows:

Connie- The Walking Dead

Eileen Leahy- Supernatural

Joel Miller- The Last of Us

Christopher Diaz- 9-1-1

Aaron- The Walking Dead

Ben Scott- Yellowjackets

Fei- The Umbrella Academy

Ian Gallagher- Shameless

Sara Eriksson- Young Royals

Mateo Chavez- 9-1-1 Lone Star

Lucius Spriggs- Our Flag Means Death

John Silver- Black Sails

Prince Wilhelm- Young Royals

Theo Dimas- Only Murders in the Building

Books:

Adam Parrish- The Raven Cycle

Hearthstone- Magnus Chase

Dezi- The Sunbearer Trials

Katniss Everdeen- The Hunger Games

Ambrosius Goldenloin- Nimona

Lord Blackheart- Nimona

Genya Safin- Grishaverse

Peeta Mellark- The Hunger Games

Kaz Brekker- Grishaverse

Oscar Silva- Renegades

Erik- The Tea Dragon Society

Linh Cinder- The Lunar Chronicles

Wu Zetian- Iron Widow

Wylan Van Eck- Grishaverse

Nova Huang- Mooncakes

Percy Newton- The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

Jack Wolcott- Wayward Children

Ty Blackthorn- City of Heavenly Fire

Scarlet Benoit- The Lunar Chronicles

Carswell Thorne- The Lunar Chronicles

Adrik Zhabin- Grishaverse

Maedhros- The Silmarillion

Beren- The Silmarillion

Frodo Baggins- Lord of the Rings

Ettiene- The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Kate Rose- Cosmoknights

Alex Claremont-Diaz- Red, White & Royal Blue

Jack Zimmerman- Check Please!

Charlie Spring- Heartstopper

Movies:

Reagan Abbot- A Quiet Place

Jia Andrews- Godzilla vs. Kong

Carl- Up

Hiccup- How To Train Your Dragon

Toothless- How To Train Your Dragon

Gobber- How To Train Your Dragon

Hermann Gottlieb- Pacific Rim

Massimo Marcovaldo- Luca

Imperator Furiosa- Mad Max: Fury Road

Drago Bludvist- How To Train Your Dragon

Animated TV Shows:

Amaya- The Dragon Prince

Toph Beifong- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Teo- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Eda Clawthorne- The Owl House

Entrapta- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Finn Mertens- Adventure Time

Jewelstar- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Tallstar- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Villads- The Dragon Prince

Marcy Wu- Amphibia

Mr. Poolcheck- Gravity Falls

Principal Bump- The Owl House

Captain ‘Grime’ Grimothy- Amphibia

Ida, Bev, and Florabel- Kipo: Age of the Wonderbeasts

Ming-Hua- Avatar: Legend of Korra

Sol Regem- The Dragon Prince

Combustion Man- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Other Stuff:

Janice Palmer- Welcome to Nightvale

Nessarose Thropp- Wicked

Kotallo- Horizon Forbidden West

Norma- Dead End Paranormal Park

[azriona]

9. Guilty pleasure movie / 11. A genre you can’t stand

Hmm. I'm not sure I have a guilty pleasure movie? I mean, not a movie that I enjoy watching but would be embarrassed to admit. Look, I admit to having a crush on Captain Dubois from Madagascar 3 and I wrote what is essentially Bucky/Reader porn, not to mention Colin Creevey singing about how he's in love with the Giant Squid, there's really not much else I can be embarrassed about.

I mean, look at her.

The moment at 1:00 when she comes out of the flames? CHEF KISS. I sat there in the theater and whispered, "I love her. I love her. I love her." An act I repeat on every subsequent viewing.

Is loving her a guilty pleasure, because she's a cartoon character hell-bent on murdering every animal on the planet and would probably snap me like a twig with zero remorse while I say Thank you ma'am may I have another? Yes. Yes it is.

As for genres I can't stand: horror. Ironic, maybe. Take that as you will.