#thank god he probably had his paternity leave starting after this bc i know i would need time off LMAO

[lesbianaelwen]

ohh my god i genuinely popped a rib laughing so hard at brennan carrying the carts out

[aethersea]

you know what, I never do these things, but actually I’ve decided I would like to get to know people better! I would like to partake of the mortifying ordeal! I would like to talk about myself for a bit!

ok for the next...let’s say five days I will answer any of these things that people tag me in, or any random personal questions you plop in my ask box. I don’t have an ask meme on hand but just....pick one you’ve seen recently, or make up questions of your own, and I’ll answer. (the answer might be ‘nope that’s private’ but I will answer.) (@ the anon who asked for book recs - I see you, I’ve been thinking of books all day, I’m going to give you SUCH a long answer, I hope you don’t regret your choices bc it WILL be full of gushing)

alright, let’s go!

🌻 Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Tagged by @booksandchainmail​

Last Song: I’m currently listening to “Falcon in the Dive” from the Scarlet Pimpernel musical on loop. I watched one or two Scarlet Pimpernel movies when I was just barely too young to fully get what was going on, and the story’s held an odd but deep-seated place in my heart ever since. A few years ago I found out there’s a musical and most of the songs are pretty stellar (go listen to “Madame Guillotine” if you like big ensemble broadway numbers, it’s a banger, the bit where he cries out for God has been running through my mind on and off for a few days now haha not like that’s topical or anything), so every once in a while I spend a few days listening to them a lot.

Sometime last year I read the actual book, and got super into the whole concept of the Scarlet Pimpernel for a while. I plotted out Pimpernel aus for several fandoms, I read the entire wikipedia article, and I went looking for bootlegs of the musical. I didn’t find one, but I did find a full radioplay-style recording of the script, complete with full musical numbers, and listened to it like a podcast.

Reader, I was so disappointed. The play adds some scenes, bc a lot of the dramatic tension of the novel comes from internal conflict and that doesn’t stage super well, and the very first scene of this play – a play written in the NINETIES – features our dashing hero rescuing some aristocrats from a French prison, and then saying to the person in the next cell, who begs for rescue but is not an aristocrat, “We have enough of your kind in England.”

Enough! of your KIND! What in the merry frickety HECK my dudes!! The book has some rather unfortunate™ takes but it is from 1905, it’s regrettable but sadly to be expected. This play is from 1997. It has NO excuse. This scene wasn’t even in the book! What! the heck!

I was so disheartened that I lost my excitement for the play, and a couple songs later I stopped listening. It occurred to me just a few days ago that you could actually stage that ironically, with the person in the cell giving the audience a “can you believe this” look, and then the rest of the play could feature assorted non-aristocratic ensemble members constantly looking at the audience like they’re on The Office. And hey, maybe that’s what they did, or something similar – maybe that was never meant to be taken as a cleanly heroic stance, and the play deals with it in a complex way. It’s possible. I wouldn’t know. Kinda doubt it though, based on song lyrics.

Favorite Color: red, probably

Last Movie: I watched that new lesbian christmas movie with my family for christmas, the one with kirsten stewart and the guy from schitt’s creek. it’s very sweet and good and kinda sad, and I really enjoyed it. it also incidentally has the best gay best friend trope in probably anything ever, bc it’s not a trope (I didn’t realize until several hours after watching that it technically fits), it’s just a guy who is the protagonist’s best friend, and they’re just all gay, and then when he Gives Relationship Advice as a gay best friend always does, it’s advice about how to deal with your partner’s hangups around coming out.

actually every part of the gay best friend trope becomes better when they’re just best friends who are both gay. the big dramatic gestures (in this case, driving some ungodly distance in the snow on no notice) go from “haha how kooky” to “queer man will do anything he needs to to rescue his queer friend from an isolating & potentially triggering situation”. the relationship advice isn’t “honey you deserve some self-respect, treat yourself”, it’s a deeply sincere reminder of the vulnerability that is shared across almost everyone’s queer experience, and look I could ramble about this for a long time before reaching a coherent point but I’m INTO IT, okay? I’m into it.

Last Show: you want me to remember what show I last finished???? impossible, cannot be done, it was a long time ago and the adhd has eaten everything that happened before last week. here, instead I’ll tell you about another movie I watched, late at night with my mom in cozy companionship just a couple days ago. it’s called Quigley Down Under and it’s about a cowboy who goes to Australia and kills a bunch of racists, 10/10 would watch again. it’s from 1990 but it feels much older, with the music choices and the cinematography of a 70s Western. the cowboy is great, honorable and fearless and kind, but the breakaway star of this movie for me is the woman who attaches herself to his side and refuses to leave. her name is Cora, and she’s crazy, in the sense that she’s not altogether tethered to reality, but this never for a second diminishes her agency. she’s fierce and clever and compassionate, and she basically never does anything she doesn’t want to in the whole movie. her arc is about overcoming trauma by taking charge of her own fear and facing it head-on, she is never belittled or dismissed by the narrative or the protagonist, and look she’s just so cool. I love her. she’s so vibrantly alive. her story could probably have been handled with a bit more nuance, but honestly for the 90s it’s pretty great. I’m no expert, but I found nothing objectionable in it, just a bit of heavy-handedness.

anyway the theme of the movie is that racism is evil and racists deserve to be shot, and this too could have been handled better (not a single aboriginal character speaks a single line of english in this movie), but it follows through on that message in every way, while still being a fun kinda campy cowboy movie. overall a very good time.

Currently Watching: started showing my sister Hilda the other day, and she’s liking it! I love that show, it’s so incredibly cute. can’t wait to see season 2

Currently Reading: lmao I wish. lately the brain has firmly rejected all attempts to read anything of any length. currently pending, bc I was halfway through them when my brain stalled out, are tano’s fic What Does Kill You Can Make You Stronger, Too, a Toby Daye book - I think it was The Brightest Fell, I got like half a chapter in and haven’t picked it up in over a month, the Locked Tomb series, and probably a few other things too. ooh! also a book called Making Sex by thomas laqueur, which is my fancy academic reading that I’ve been doing in short bursts for the past year or two when I feel fancy and academic. it’s about the development of the concept of biological sex and of gender in Western society, and it’s fascinating. has among other things introduced me to the idea that until quite recently, fathers were a matter of faith. the mother? yeah, you can watch the baby pop out, we all know who the mother is. but the father? how can you know? how can you really know? we have paternity tests these days, but for all of human history up until now, we've just had to take fatherhood on faith. (not to mention we didn’t even know what fathers were contributing to the production of a fetus. clearly it was something, since you can’t get pregnant without a penis getting involved, but we have literally not known what until the past few decades. and that is wild. it has colored ALL of human history, all of our conceptions of society and family and kinship and gender, all of it, and it hadn’t even occurred to me until it was spelled out for me in this book, and it’s just......wow.

Salty, sweet or savory: for christmas my sister and I made seven different types of cookie, most of them involving chocolate somehow.

Craving: no bc I ate so many cookies. unless sleep counts. or maybe pringles, it’s been many moons since last I had a potato chip and I miss them.

Coffee or Tea: no thank you

Tagging: @coloursisee, @krchy-tuna, @sam-j-squirrel, @xzienne, @mirandatam, @viciousmaukeries, @sepulchritude, @elidyce, and @navigatorsnorth bc it’s been a while since we’ve talked, and I’m super hyped that you’re married now. v happy for you!

[writingforloki]

Sparks fly - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Take a pizza ma heart. 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader.

Summary:  Y/N settles in to her new place at the Avengers tower, friends are made, pizza is ate.

A/N: Chapter 2 is here! it took a bit longer than I expected bc v unexpectedly I had a social life this week! So still not loads of Buck in this chapter, but I feel like we are still setting the scene. Also I love slow burn. Pls let me know what you think!! (ps my writing is a bit naff, I know this, I'm just getting back in to the flow after not writing fiction for about 6 years.)

here is chapter 1

~

After Sams comment broke the tension in the room, the rest of the introductions went pretty smoothly with everyone welcoming you as a new member warmly, although you knew that you had a long way to go and a group like this wouldn't trust you completely straight away, you'd seen what some of the members of the Avengers had been through and you weren't about to overstep your boundaries with them.

“So where's Y/Ns room then? I bet she's dying to take a load off and settle herself in.” The voice came from Bruce, who had smiled comfortingly at you and shook your hand warmly when you were introduced to him, it was almost as though he could feel the sense of anxiousness itching its way in to your brain, you didn't much like being the new kid.

“Oh yeah, its down here let me show you, I've already had your stuff moved up here and you can do whatever you want to the room.” Tony said walking ahead of you, turning to gesture animatedly while he spoke.

You followed him out of the meeting room and down a corridor, the chrome walls were all so uniform and every corner looked the same, you hoped you wouldn't get lost. Tony started to explain about the bedroom situation, telling you that he’d had to install more bedrooms when the newer avengers started to live at the tower, he explained briefly that not all of the team actually lived there full time but you all had a room, just for as and when you needed it.

“So your wing is part B of the permanent residents, so you have Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Sam, then you have Peters honorary room, you know really I didn't wanna give him a room because technically he isn't an avenger and he's too young to be hanging out with a group of freaky adults with a lot of personal issues, but he got all sad and thought we didn't want him around so he has a room in the permanent wing to visit but I usually kick him out back to his aunt's house when he becomes a pain in the a-”

“Hey Mr Stark!” A cheerful looking face popped around one of the doors, it was a face you didn't recognise but it was youthful and by the look on Stark's face, this must be Peter.

“Damn it kid what're you doing here? It's one pm shouldn't you be at school?” Tony sounded exasperated.

“Erm uh no Mr Stark it's the Summer holidays so I thought I'd come hang here for a bit, Aunt May wanted to clean and I just wanted to get out of her way you know!”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head “Right okay but remember you should come through the front door rather than sneaking in through the window, one because it’s freaky as shit when you just pop up and two because if there was an emergency, you could just be nappin away and nobody would know because you're supposed to be at school!”

“But .. it’s the holidays Mr Stark..” The kid trailed off looking confused.

Stark shook his head and shot him a look “So not the point but okay. So if we knew you were here, you could've been at the meeting and we could have introduced you to our new trainee member, Peter, Y/N, Y/N Peter.”

You waved at the kid, “Hi nice to meet you Peter, I get why you’d wanna come chill here, it's pretty cool.” You smiled and he smiled back at you opening his mouth before Tony glared at him and and told him to go home, pulling him down the corridor and leaving you at what you assumed was your door.

You pressed your thumb against the fingerprint activation lock and the door swung open to reveal your new home, the room was big, with a large bed on the back wall, a desk, a TV, chair and a small sofa, this was the nicest room you’d ever been in, it was devoid of personality and a little cold looking at the minute but you still had your personal items to set up and make it your own.

You turned and opened the wardrobe, it was already full of your clothes, that confused you, but you assumed tony had many people at his whim to do things like this for the team. Nearly everything was unpacked save a one box, so you brought it onto the desk and opened it, this was the box of your most personal things, photo frames, movie stubs, your jewellery box, you set them up around your room and put some bits on to the pin board on your wall, your head spun when you heard a gentle knocking on the door, it was Wanda, she was stood in the doorway, a soft smile on her face.

“Hey, how’re you settling in?” She asked kindly, her eyes scanning the room.

“Good so far, the rooms amazing, I'm just trying to put a few things around the room to make it feel more like home you know?” You cast your eyes down and perched on the bed. Wanda looked at you with sympathy in her eyes and came to join you.

“I know how you feel, it’s weird coming here, everyone's great and all but we all know what it's like to be the new kid, to have nowhere else to go, and anyone of us will have time to listen to you if it all becomes too much or if you just need a chat.” She spoke softly.

“Thanks Wanda, I really appreciate it.” You smiled at her lifting your eyes to hers before standing up and wiping your hands on your jeans, “So what am I actually supposed to do around here Tony mentioned something about having training to do but he got distracted with that Peter kid, what's his deal by the way, is he just like a relative of Tonys or?”

Wanda's laugh caught you off guard, “Peter? Did Tony not tell you? Of course he didn't, Peter is Spiderman, yeah Tony doesn't like him being around that much, he says its because hes annoying but really I know he just wants him to have a relatively normal life, I think he makes him feel all paternal.” she said her smile now stretched to a grin.

“Wait hold up, that was Spiderman?!” Your face must've looked quite a picture because Wanda started laughing. “But he's just a goofy little kid! He said he was still at school!!” You exclaimed, shock radiating off you, as the two of you broke into giggles at your reaction.

You didn’t know if it was the sound that brought him over or if he was just on his way for a visit like Wanda, but another knock on the door got your attention, when you looked up Steve was in your doorway, smiling fondly at the two of you.

“Hey we’ve just got pizza if you guys wanna join us?” he tilted his head slightly, making him resemble a puppy, even if you wanted to say no, you definitely wouldn't be able to.

“Pizza? Yeah I love pizza, pizzas great.” you shuffled over to Steve and Wanda followed you as you made your way down the hallway to a room you hadn’t been in before.

“So this is the kitchen / living area, we usually eat in here but we have another living room with more sofas that doesn't get used as much, one of us will show you that later.” He said as you rounded the corner in to the kitchen where there was about ten pizzas spread across the table.

Sam, Nat, Clint, Bucky and Bruce were the only ones left from the meeting, with Steve explaining to you that everyone else had other responsibilities to attend to away from New York.

“So I’m guessing Tonys not explained what you’ll be doing here training wise for the next few months?” Steve asked, he was usually the one who ended up designing the training and workout regimens for the newcomers anyway.

“Um no, I must tell you though, I'm a real beginner, I don't really have much experience with training and working out a lot, I mean I walk all the time, gotta get those 10,000 steps in a day, plus I don't like public transport that much and I don't own a car..” you trailed off as you felt yourself babbling under the pressure of all the people in the room looking at you.

Steve smiled kindly at you as you blushed at your own awkwardness.

“Don't worry about it, we’ll start you off slowly tomorrow, usually it would be me starting you out with boxing and a bit of light training but I have a mission for the next two days so it’ll actually be Bucky you're training with tomorrow.” He said picking up a slice of pizza and put it on his plate.

“Oh okay, cool.” You said turning to lock eyes with Bucky who was across the table from you, you smiled and he gave you a small one in return which you appreciated it even though it looked awkward and didn't really meet his eyes. Maybe he’s just shy, you thought to yourself.

“Don't worry, he’s not as scary as he looks.” Sam said elbowing him in the ribs making Bucky glare at him.

Suddenly you were aware that it was probably the apprehensive look on your face that made Sam say that. “Uhm no he’s not, I mean you're not scary, sorry did I look scared you're- you don't look scary, you look nice!” You gabbled on, afraid you’d offended the man. God you really did have to stop talking shit when you were nervous.

Sam let out a loud laugh and the rest of the team save Bucky joined in, who was now looking embarrassed but you couldn't help but see how the corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement.

As if you weren't already afraid enough for training, now with your lack of experience combined with embarrassment you were really dreading tomorrow.

~~~

If anyone wants to be tagged drop me an ask!

This fic is also on Ao3

[darlingfreddie]

Would you mind telling more of the story of how Toni and Lovi got Ale? You said that "there’s way more to the story, it was just the start!"?. I wanna know cause i really love Ale and his dads so much! XD

Okay buddy here go on to the next part!: 

So after realizing that the newborn does in fact resemble himself, Lovino is still in a state of panic and worry and is just like what are we gonna do?? i dIDN’T PLAN ON THIS. While Lovino is pacing back and forth, now in the living room, Antonio is sat on the couch cradling the baby in his arms and trying to get him to quiet down because he’s still crying. And Lovino just stops and glares at him and says, “Why are you rocking it back and forth, it’s going to get attached to you! Then it won’t ever want to leave.” And Antonio just gives him a little smile and says, “Well it is our baby right? I think it’s okay to give it a little love. Hm I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl.” He checks. “Yea it’s a boy.” and Lovino’s like, “Great now I bet you’re going to start coming up with names for him. Antonio we can NOT keep this baby!” and Antonio’s just like, “Well why not? The house is a little empty, wouldn’t it be great to have a little baby in it?” And before Lovino gets a chance to say anything, the baby starts crying louder and Antonio rocks him gently again. Then while Lovino is still in the middle of his melt down, Antonio says, “I think the baby might be hungry, Lovi you should go to the store and get him some stuff like milk and diapers.”

This makes Lovino freak out a little more because this means that the kid is staying. Milk and Diapers?? That’s like a commitment statement right there. But Lovino just wants to get out of the damn house so he can think for a second so he happily agrees and takes off. 

The whole drive to the store, Lovino can’t even think straight. Having a baby means responsibility and Lovino wasn’t ready for all of that yet. Damn it he had NO paternal instinct at all and had never even really taken care of a baby let alone one that was born just a few hours ago. But Antonio was so set on keeping it- him. So what was he gonna do?? Lovino was a (semi) good Catholic he went to church (every other year) so why was God™ punishing him with this whole stupid situation??

When Lovino got to the stores he’s like ‘what the FUCK am I supposed to get?? which diapers are better does it even matter what formula I get what the fUCK’ a retail worker sees him freaking out and she asks if he’s a new dad and he wants to tell her no but honestly it’s looking like he is so he tells her yes. She helps Lovino pick out what he needs (honestly she’s a saint bc Lovino probably would’ve got everything wrong) and then he heads back home even though he’s still conflicted about this whole baby situation. 

When Lovino walks in through the door with the stupid baby milk and diapers and even a bassinet bc this kid unfortunately needed somewhere to sleep, he can hear Antonio singing from the living room. It’s a lullaby and Lovino definitely doesn’t want to admit how sweet it was to hear that but he just thankful that the baby stopped crying. Lovino puts the stuff down and goes to make a bottle of this formula stuff which results in a mess left in the kitchen but can you blame him he has no idea what the hell he’s doing. So Lovino brings the bottle back into the living room and almost has to look away when he sees how happy Antonio is holding the baby it’s disgustingly sweet. While Antonio feeds the baby Lovino just watches and says, “So what the hell are we going to do with him?” And Antonio just shrugs, “Keep him I guess. I’m not sure we really have a choice. I mean if you don’t want him then... we can give him up to another country. I’m sure your brother wouldn’t mind taking him.” And for some stupid reason, Lovino’s heart sinks at that thought but he doesn’t want to tell Antonio that so he’s just like, “I guess.” Then Antonio, the absolute bASTARD asks Lovino if he wants to hold the baby and Lovino’s like, “Uhh I don’t know I’ve never really held a baby before.” But Antonio’s like “Don’t worry here I’ll show you.” So Antonio spends a minute or two getting the baby situated in Lovino’s arms. 

So now Lovino’s feeding the baby and starting to feel strange (like his heart is doing some weird shit that he hATES) and he actually likes holding and feeding the baby??? Why is he feeling like this all of a sudden?? But then something happens that makes him feel even more sappy. The baby opens his eyes after a few blinks and Lovino notices that the kid has such a pretty eye color which is definitely a mix of his and Antonio’s. And his heart is starting to melt what is happening???

A little while later, the baby falls asleep in Lovino’s arms so Antonio sets up the bassinet in their room for him. It’s weird because once Lovino puts the baby down in his bassinet, his arms feel empty and he feels empty and for some reason he just wants to hold the baby more. But of course he’s too stubborn to tell Antonio that. At one point, Antonio goes downstairs to get something real quick and Lovino takes the opportunity to observe the baby. The baby is sleeping peacefully, even drooling a little bit which Lovino MAY or may NOT think is cute. And he realizes that he has to be a man and own up to this, he has to take responsibility. No matter how scared he is, he knows he has Antonio there to help him and to be there for him so there’s no reason why they cant keep the baby. Besides, Antonio was right, the house was a little empty.