#the lighting in the first thor film is still so funny to me

[unityrain24]

out of all the thor movies, i think tdw definitely had the best hair/makeup. I was about to say best costuming to, but thor 1 had some pretty fucking awesome costumes. Tdw just had better lighting so you actually see the costumes

[heliads]

hi, lisa!!! how are you?

i read your last wanda imagine and i just loved it so much, it was stuck in my head all day and then i decided to watch descendants at night and i had an idea, so i figured i could come to you! i hope you like it!

here's what i thought, reader is nat's daughter, just like in the other one because i loved it, but she's still in high school and so is wanda, they're like 17/18 and reader is a huge disney/musicals fan, she made everyone in the compound watch all disney movies with her, and when nat took her to a broadway show for the first time it was the best day of her life, she's that kind of girl

and wanda is reader's best friend who obviously ends up watching all her favorite movies, so one night they're watching descendants for the 1000000 time and reader keeps talking about the "did i mention" scene and how having someone singing to her like that is her biggest dream, how she'd immediately fall in love, and wanda is like "oh, so that's what i gotta do"

so about a week later there's a school game or something like that, reader in on the cheerleader team and all the avengers show up to see her, and wanda surprises her by doing the descendants scene and singing to her and they get together because who wouldn't be in love after that?

and then nat comes to them and she's like "that was the cutest thing i've ever seen" and wanda is all nervous "so we have you blessing?" and nat goes "oh defitely yes" and then gets all serious "but be careful, i'll be watching" and wanda immediately takes her hands off readers waist, i think it would be funny lol

well, that's it! i saw you saying that you like details, so i tried my best! hope you like it and thanks <3

i do love details, and i love this!! i would kill for descendants

masterlist

For once, everything in Wanda Maximoff’s life is going well. It’s late on a Saturday night in the Avengers complex, and she’s crowded into a couch that’s long since outlived its use-by date. The thing is threadbare, all but falling to pieces beneath Wanda’s fingers, but it’s somehow the most comfortable piece of furniture in the entirety of the building, so it stays.

There’s a movie playing on the TV screen in front of her, one of her favorites. Wanda could close her eyes and jam her hands over her ears, yet still be able to quote the script word for word until the end credits begin. Wanda’s a firm believer that this is the best way to watch a movie, where you can have a conversation the entire time and still know exactly what’s going on with the plot.

Her sentiment is clearly shared by the girl by Wanda’s side. Y/N L/N watches the characters race across the screen and sighs fondly.

“Listen, I don’t care what the movie critics think,” Y/N says, “Descendants is the pinnacle of film. I have literally never felt so satisfied in my entire life.”

Wanda laughs. “Didn’t you say the same thing last week about Teen Beach Movie?”

Y/N grins back at her. “Yeah, and I’ll say it next Saturday about High School Musical. I’m an easy person to please, Wanda. All I need are 2000s haircuts and terrible songs.”

Wanda snorts. “I thought you loved the songs, and now you’re calling them terrible?”

“Well,” Y/N says languidly, “I can admit that they’re not, say, the most lyrically gifted. They’re just fun, alright?”

Wanda leans back against the couch cushions, watching the light from the latest scene play upon the darkened ceiling. “You don’t have to tell me twice. Honestly, I feel like we as a society need to give Disney movies more credit. Even the other Avengers like them.”

Y/N giggles, remembering the past team movie nights they’ve shared. “How could I forget? I think Thor had a fundamental change in his personality when he saw Frozen, and I know for a fact that Tony hurried off to his lab for like a week after we played Big Hero Six for him.”

“Tony was actually onto something, I think,” Wanda says offhandedly, “I remember stopping by his lab one day and seeing all this stuff about medical assistance droids. I legitimately thought he was going to make himself a Baymax until Pepper said he couldn’t use that much plastic. Still, I can hardly blame him for wanting to make at least some part of that world real. These movies are my favorites.”

Y/N slumps back beside her, their heads almost inches apart. There’s a faraway look in Y/N’s eyes, making Wanda wonder if she’s here at all or picturing herself back in the scenes of Auradon Prep. “Same here, Wanda. Same here.”

She goes quiet for a moment, gaze still trained upon the ceiling. Wanda lets the voices from the TV fade into background static, using Y/N’s distraction as an excuse to stare at her as she’s been trying to avoid all night. Wanda knows the planes and curves of Y/N’s face like the back of her hand. Even if she tries to convince herself that she isn’t infatuated enough to stare like a lovesick fool, Wanda knows better. This night proves it.

It’s just, well, Wanda isn’t used to things being as good as this. It’s easy to pretend that her life has always been perfect when she’s trapped in perfect bubbles like this evening, when if you squint you could almost believe that Wanda’s a normal American teenager and they’re all just fine, no questions asked. If you close your eyes and let the music wash over you, Wanda is blessedly normal and there would be nothing to stop her from loving Y/N as she wishes she could.

The problems, of course, come once Wanda opens her eyes and remembers where she is again. She’s not on the picturesque isle of Auradon from Descendants, nor is she a fairy tale character. There are no morals to Wanda’s story, only the time-learned lesson that no matter how hard you try to fight for your cause, you’ll never win unless you cheat.

This, though? Tonight, lying side by side with the girl she likes? Wanda feels like she’s been winning for quite a while. She and Y/N are on the breakthrough of something, some confession, and they have been for a while. Their smiles mean a little more than they did when they met, they let their gazes linger when the other pretends to not pay attention. Words have been on the tip of Wanda’s tongue for a long time now, but she’s never confident enough to force them out.

It’s silly to hold herself back like this, Wanda knows it. There’s no way that Y/N doesn’t like her as much as Wanda likes Y/N, practically all of the other Avengers have made it their mission to tell Wanda this at some point or another. There are no consequences to asking Y/N out except in Wanda’s head, yet she keeps hesitating.

The slow realization that Wanda may spend the rest of her life always on the outskirts of this grand truth stings at her, so she turns her attention back to the movie in the hopes of regaining at least a little bit of her good mood. 

On the screen, Mal is with her best friend, Evie, in the stands of Auradon Prep’s field, watching Prince Ben come alive under a love spell. With the way Mal and Ben argue in the later movies, Wanda always thought Mal and Evie had far more chemistry as a couple, but then again, maybe that’s just Wanda projecting her own feelings onto the nearest characters.

Y/N sighs contentedly as she watches the next song start up. “I love this song. Wouldn’t it be fun to have someone do that sort of thing to you?”

Wanda arches her brow. “What, bewitch you with a love spell and force you through magic to sing your heart out to the entirety of the school about how you think your feelings are R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S?”

Y/N laughs, shoving Wanda in the shoulder with a casual move that makes Wanda’s heart flutter in her chest. “No, you cynic, I want somebody else to care about me enough to sing their heart out to the entirety of the school about how they think their love for me is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. I just think it would be fun, you know? So many people are afraid to be seen with an Avenger that they’d never do something like that for me.”

Y/N’s voice trails off at the end, and Wanda hums in agreement. That’s the nice thing about maintaining a secret identity, at least in the public sphere: if high school isn’t hard enough, having a ton of people realize that you’re an Avenger would make it even worse. All the same, the teen Avengers have already been cautioned about staying away from relationships with non-Avengers. The stakes are just too high if anyone were to find out or be in danger.

“Sure,” Wanda says contemplatively, “I can see it. Plus, being in a movie would be fun. I think I’d love to live in a TV world. It would just be great to have everything work out all the time. You know your plot twists would always resolve themselves, and nothing could hurt you, not really. You’d be in control all the time, even when you weren’t.”

Y/N nods. “Exactly. Guess having someone sing to me like that would be the closest I’d ever get to that sort of world. It would be fun, though.” She repeats.

There’s a soft look on Y/N’s face, like she’s homesick for something that has never even happened to her before. Y/N must really want to have a song like that, Wanda realizes, and then a sudden thought occurs to her and she’s done it, connected the dots, had her own lightbulb moment. Wanda knows how to ask Y/N out, the other girl has practically spelled it out for her: a song.

Wanda barely even notices Descendants end, she’s too distracted thinking about just how she’s going to get this to work. She’ll need the proper setting, obviously, a sports game at their shared high school, but that’s easy enough to arrange, they’re in the thick of the fall athletics season.

The plan comes to fruition about two weeks later. Y/N is on the cheer team at their high school, the result of yet another plan to pretend that she’s actually got a normal life, and Wanda has shown up with the other Avengers to watch her perform at a football game.

Wanda is never able to fully understand how it is that the entirety of the Avengers team can show up at public functions with only hooded jackets, baseball caps, and sunglasses and still never be recognized. It’s the most terrible disguise ever, yet it works every time. Maybe it’s because it makes absolutely no sense for Steve Rogers to be commenting on high school football with Tony Stark when you could just have a family reunion in town with relatives that look exactly the same as New York’s hometown heroes.

Regardless, it works just as it always does. Wanda doesn’t need a disguise because she’s a student here, and she guides the Avengers to a spot in the stands where they can see Y/N’s cheer team well. They don’t know about her plan, but they’re about to find out.

Wanda shoots a surreptitious glance over at them. She’s not worried about their reactions, only Natasha’s. See, Nat’s all but adopted Y/N ever since the other girl showed up at the Avengers complex. 

Natasha still tells the story fondly, how they all filed into what was then the Avengers Tower one day to find a preteen girl waiting for them in one of the meeting rooms. She’d had her hands folded on the table in front of her, the perfect picture of business casual were it not for the blood streaking her from head to toe.

Turns out young Y/N had been forced to fight her way there through a pack of HYDRA agents after her for her inhuman gifts, but the Avengers didn’t know that, only that there was a nine year old covered in gore who had broken into their building without setting off a single alarm. Natasha claims that she’d loved the girl from that day forward, and Wanda doesn’t dare doubt it.

Basically, Natasha is fiercely protective over Y/N due to her status as the other girl’s parent. Wanda doesn’t think Nat would have a problem with her asking Y/N out, but you never know. However, she’s too far into the plan to back out now. All she can do is hope it goes well.

Wanda makes her move at halftime. The cheer team performs their usual routine, and after they finish, pause for a few moments’ applause before the music shifts to a new tune. Y/N looks confused, probably because she’s never learned these steps. Wanda watches panic flare across her face for half a second before Wanda heads out of the rows of seats, casually switching places with Y/N to guide her friend back to the stands.

An instant later, Y/N recognizes the song as Wanda knew she would: “Did I Mention” from the Descendants soundtrack, the song Y/N was talking about how much she would love to witness for herself. Delight replaces shock on her face, and Y/N’s beaming at Wanda so broadly that Wanda doesn’t spare a second to think about stage fright.

With the other cheerleaders as her backup dancers (it took barely a few seconds to convince them to help Wanda out, they were all delighted to take part in this), Wanda begins to sing along to the song. She’s been practicing for ages, watching that clip from the movie over and over to make sure she knows every word and step by heart. In fact, she’d go so far as to say that she’d make a better Prince Ben at this point than Mitchell Hope himself.

Wanda ends the song triumphantly, feeling more powerful than she’s ever felt before. Magic be damned, this was real and it was everything. Wanda’s living her TV dreams without having to switch a single reality. It’s wonderful.

This feeling only grows when Wanda sees the look on Y/N’s face: pure joy, easy and simple. Wanda walks off of the field to Y/N’s side, and finally asks the question she’s been waiting on all this time.

“Y/N, will you go out with me?”

Y/N’s laughing even as she answers back. “Yes, yes. A thousand times yes. Wanda, this was amazing.”

Wanda’s cheeks hurt from the force of her grin. “It was worth it for someone as amazing as you.”

There’s a sound of someone clapping from the stands, distinguishable even from the mass of applause coming from the spectators. Wanda turns to see Natasha emerging from crowds, looking proud.

“That was nice, kid. Really nice. Honestly, it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Wanda feels her familiar panic creeping back over her. “Does this mean we have your blessing?”

Natasha snorts. “You’re not getting married already, right? Yeah, you do. You two are sweet together. Still, be careful. If you break Y/N’s heart, I will break you.”

Wanda has no doubt in that statement. Belatedly, she realizes that she’s been hugging Y/N, and she quickly takes her hands off of the other girl’s waist. Wanda is very appropriate when she needs to be, and right now, she needs to not be broken.

Still, Y/N’s smiling at her, and that erases the last of Wanda’s doubts. The song was right after all, wasn’t it? This is ridiculous. Ridiculously good, just like the movie said.

marvel tag list: @mionemymind, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx, @rogueanschel, @thatfangirl42, @mycosmicparadise, @ellobruv, @caswinchester2000, @with-inked-solace, @sher-lokid7, @amortensie, @23victoria, @watchreadfangirlrepeat, @gods-fools-heroes

requested by @maximoffgxrl, i hope you enjoy!

[handsomelyhiddleston]

Stormy Sleepover - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

I haven’t written in like, years. I previously wrote for Colby Brock at @colbybrocksmolder and someone asked me to write for Tom so I figured I’d give it a shot. 

I hope you enjoy! 

_________________________

“Did you hear there was a storm coming?” one of your PA’s, Andi, asked you. You were in charge of making sure the cast all had assistants and that their life on set ran smoothly. You’d been working with these guys since the very first Thor movie.

“I got a notification on my phone a few hours ago, but this building is so big I doubt we’d know if it had actually hit yet.” You pulled up your weather app and clicked on the “!” checking to see what the “alert” was. “Oh god” you said, shocked to read that most of the county was already out of power.

“I told you, call me Chris.” Behind you, Hemsworth was chuckling leaning over to read what you were looking at on your phone.

“Ha, ha.” You laughed at his cheesy joke. “But seriously, has anyone been outside in the last few hours?”

Looking at your phone, Hemsworth shrugged and headed towards one of the truck bays.

In front of you, you watched Evans and Tom training with each other. There were various scenes in this movie involving water and a big thing the trainers had been working with them on was safely landing in water. It sounds funny, but you can break bones or knock yourself unconscious if you land wrong.

“Bad news” Hemsworth yelled out, getting everyone’s attention. “This building has been running on generators. There’s no power in the whole lot.” He dramatically shook his arms, flinging rain water on you and Andi.

“No wonder this water has gotten so cold” Evans added, shivering. “It’s usually warmed, but It’s ice right now.”

You sent a text to the director who was in a meeting with the writers. You received a text back fairly quickly. “Let everyone know we’ve got 6 more rooms at the Hyatt Hotel a few towns over for those who don’t have trailers on the lot. Tell everyone else that it looks like the power won’t be fixed until tomorrow afternoon. There’s a whole line of downed power lines that they can’t get to until the storm stops. The generators only run lights and a few outlets and it looks like they’re going to die soon too. The 16 seater van is outside with a driver to take people to the hotel.”

“Looks like we’re done for the day.” You said mostly to yourself, with Hemsworth and Andi hearing you.

“Everybody in.” Hemsworth hollered out so you wouldn’t have to yell.

“Thanks.” You shot him a smile.

“Any time” he replied, flinging his long wet hair towards you.

“I take it back.” You laughed, moving to stand on your chair.

“I know that not everyone has a trailer in the lot yet as we haven’t actually started filming, so for anyone that doesn’t have a home here there’s a van outside that will take to you the hotel that has power nearby. It’s already super chilly in here, so I imagine it’s freezing outside.” You spoke so everyone could hear you.

“Can confirm.” Hemsworth said, starting to shiver a bit.

“There’s umbrellas near the catering tables and there’s a bunch of old hoodies and jackets in the extras costume bay. Make sure you’re warm and dry before you head to the van.”

Everyone that didn’t have a trailer on set left once they had their instructions.

“As for the rest of us, we have to hunker down in our trailers until this passes. I have solar power and full solar batteries on my trailer so all of you are more than welcome to come crash with me if your trailer is too cold or you need electricity for anything.”

You, Hemsworth, Evans, Tom, and Scarlett were the only ones on set that had trailers so far.

“It can’t be THAT cold” Evans joked, grabbing his bag and heading towards the door.

“Scarlett went to her trailer a few hours ago” Tom shared. “I only got here last night so I don’t even have my trailer set up. Are you sure you’re okay if I go grab my bag and come steal some of your space?”

“Absolutely” you smiled at him. “And if I know Scarlett, she’s already in my trailer. I don’t think her trailer was even hooked up to power yet. Her’s was the newest one on the lot.”

“Thank you, darling. I’ll go grab my bag and check Scarlett’s trailer on my way to yours.” Tom replied and then jogged towards the door.

Andi left to catch the van once you passed your notes from the day on to her. “Be safe. Don’t worry about making it back tomorrow. I will email you any further updates I have for assignments.”

“I’m going to head back to my trailer and see if I have any cell services.” Hemsworth shared after everyone else had started leaving. “I know my wife probably has all of the weather and accident alerts on for the whole county and she’s probably worried.”

“Be safe.” You said, taking his offered hand so you could step off of your chair safely. “I’ll grab the satellite phone in the emergency kit and take it to my trailer just in case we need it.”

“It looks like you may have a full house tonight.” Hemsworth Joked.

“You’re welcome to join the insanity.” You teased, throwing your hoodie on and grabbing the satellite phone.

When you made it to your trailer, you were pretty soaked. Even with the umbrella, the rain was insane.

“Thank God you didn’t leave.” Scarlett startled you.

“I knew you’d already be in here.” You laughed. “Tom is on his way. His trailer is like yours. We didn’t even get a chance to get them hooked up before this crazy storm hit.”

“Oooo Lover boy is coming.” She teased.

“Oh, shut it. We’re friends, Scar. That’s it. We’ve never been more than friends.” You started stripping out of your wet clothes and slipped on a pair of soft black sweatpants and your favorite hoodie. It was dark green with “Mischief” written across the front. There were gold horns painted on the hood.

“I’ve known your friend almost as long as you have and the way he looks at you…I’m just saying. I think there’s something there.” She teased, gathering your wet clothes and putting them in a laundry bin that was tucked under one of the beds.

You both turned to the door hearing what sounded like a woman screaming bloody murder. “Let me in” Evans yelled, banging on the door.

Scarlett opened the door while you grabbed a towel. She laughed at him, seeing him drenched head to toe. “It was unlocked, tough guy.”

“You hit an octave I don’t think I can even reach, Cap” you teased, throwing him the towel and going back into your PJ drawer for an oversized t shirt and a baggy pair of sweats.

“I was wrong. I was so wrong. It’s fucking freezing in my trailer and I didn’t realize that the water would be cold because the power has been out for so long.” Evan’s teeth were chattering as he stripped out of his clothes, trying to dry off.

“I think I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen you naked, Evans.” Scarlett laughed, handing him the clothes you picked out for him.

“Thank god you aren’t seeing the front. It’s so cold I think my manhood has retreated fully into my body” Evans replied, throwing the clothes on and drying his hair with the towel.

Both of you laughed. You started brewing a pot of coffee and turned your water kettle on for tea. “Well, Scarlett already claimed the couch.” You mentioned. “Why don’t you take the regular bed so that if Hemsworth joins, you two can bunk together. It’s queen size so it should fit you both comfortably.”

Evans crawled into bed, wrapping himself in the blankets and trying to warm up. “Where will you sleep?”

“The dining room table and benches turn into a bed.” You replied. “It’s a full size, so almost as big as the one you’re in.”

“Did you hear that?” Evans perked up, trying to look out the tiny window he could still see through from the bed.

You and Scarlett quieted down. Getting louder you could hear Hemsworth yelling “NO, I AM THE GOD OF THUNDER!” every time lighting would strike and the sky would boom.

“Looks like it’s going to be a full house tonight.” Scarlett laughed, opening the door. “Get your godly ass in here, you crazy Australian.”

“He’s clearly the superior Chris” Evans joked. “Are you fucking crazy?” he asked as Hemsworth stepped into the trailer.

“Possibly. Probably.” Hemsworth laughed, trying not to get water all over the floor.

Scarlett grabbed the towel Evans had used to dry off and put it down on the floor by the door. “Here you go.”

“Much appreciated.” Hemsworth replied, dropping his duffle bag. “Can I change in your bathroom?”

“It’s all yours” you said. “Do you need clothes or did you bring some dry ones?”

“I brought some. I also brought some fun. I’ll show you after I get out of my sopping clothes.” He answered, leaving his shoes by the door and stepping into the bathroom.

When the bathroom door clicked, you heard a knock on the door. “Tom, come in” you hollered.

Tom was wearing a long poncho with an umbrella. He had a large bag with him and when he got inside he kicked his shoes off, putting them by Hemsworth’s shoes. You grabbed his bag from him, putting it by the second bed you had just finished setting up. He closed the umbrella and pulled his poncho off, his black sweatpants and black hoodie bone dry.

“You make the other two look like heathens.” Scarlett laughed. “They showed up soaking wet and screaming.”

“He is a gentleman.” You gave him a smirk, causing his cheeks to blush ever so slightly.

“Is there even room for all 5 of us?” he cleared his throat and laughed.

“Absolutely” you ushered him towards you. “Evans and Hemsworth are sharing that bed. Scarlett has the couch. I just set up the extra bed right here, for you.”

“For us” he replied with a stern look. “I know you too well, darling” he smirked. “You’re going to offer to sleep on the floor by the couch and I won’t have any of it.”

“Tom, it’s fine. I have a sleeping bag and…” You tried to ensure him you’d be okay, but he interrupted you.

“If you try to sleep on this floor I will walk back to my freezing trailer so you can have the bed to yourself.” The stern look softened as he pulled you into a tight hug. “You know you don’t always have to be the one to make the sacrifice. Plus, I promise I don’t talk in my sleep or have crazy dreams. I’ve even been told I’m quite comfy to cuddle with.” He dropped his eyes to yours, smirking.

“Oh, if I must.” You teased him, kissing his cheek as Hemsworth finally came out of the bathroom. “Scarlett knows where the laundry bin is.” You pointed him towards the hamper full of wet clothes.

“Do I smell coffee?” Evans sat up in bed, looking towards you. “Come cuddle, buddy” he laughed opening his arms for Hemsworth who let all of his body weight drop on Evans. “Jesus Christ, you’re a brick.”

You laughed, pulling down mugs from the cabinets and making everyone coffee. “Coffee or Tea, Tom?” you looked over at him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed you two would share.

“Tea, my sweet. But let me help you.” He stood and started grabbing sugars for everyone’s coffee, asking how many they normally added.

“There’s pasta in the crock-pot as well if anyone is hungry.” You announced.

“Food?” Hemsworth’s head shot up and he crawled off of Evans.

“God, men are so simple.” Scarlett laughed, grabbing the coffee you handed her.

“You are not wrong.” Evans added, asking if he could help with anything now that he wasn’t freezing to death.

“I think we’re good.” You replied, dishing up some pasta for Hemsworth and Evans and passing them off to the boys. “Scarlett?” you offered her food, as well.

“Actually, I’m craving something sweet.” She answered.

“I’ve prepared for this one” Tom answered, going to the large bag he brought with him. “It took me so long to get here because I walked to the catering room to grab some snacks. I’ve got a whole tub of cookie dough that probably needs to go in the refrigerator soon, a tub of sour sweets, and what looks like a large cherry pie.”

“Pass the cookie dough this way” Scarlett answered. “This man has his priorities straight”, she laughed.

After everyone had sat back on their beds, dug into their food, and warmed up with their coffee or tea, Hemsworth remembered his bag. “Since we are most likely going to be stuck in this trailer until tomorrow afternoon, I brought a different kind of treat.” He picked up his bag and started pulling out bottles of alcohol and putting them on the counter. “Anyone opposed?” he asked.

“What a G!” Evans laughed, crawling out of the bed to help Hemsworth make drinks. “What kind of mixers do you have, Y/n?”

“There’s some cans of soda, some energy drinks…there’s some juice…and then we’ve got coffee for that Bailey’s I see” you answered.

Tom was smirking next to you as the Chrises started making a make-shift bar out of what they had available to them.

“We’ve got to get this started with a bang” Hemsworth said, handing everyone two shots each. “The first one is to us having a great night reunited with our make-shift family.” He smiled at everyone and downed the first shot, everyone else following suit.

Evans spoke up after. “The second one goes to our incredible, gracious, and always prepared host. To Y/n!” He downed the second shot, everyone following his lead. Except for Tom.

You shivered as the second shot went down your throat and looked over at Tom who was still holding his full shot glass, sitting next to you on the bed. He had a small smile, giving you a look you couldn’t place. Quietly he spoke to you “I’d like to add a few things to his toast, but I think it may take a few more drinks to find the right words.” He downed the shot and took a sip of his tea to wash it down.

“Who wants what?” Evans asked, making everyone a strong drink.

For the first few drinks, everyone just talked and caught up. It had been a while since the group had been on a press run or a film set together.

“Y/n!” Evans spoke up.

“Yes, Cap?” you answered, starting to feel the alcohol course through you.

“Truth or Dare?” He smirked. His eyebrow raised like he was challenging you.

“Truth.” You answered, staring him down.

“Hmmm…Have you dated anyone working on any of these movies? Cast or crew?” He asked, finishing off his drink and standing to make another.

“I haven’t” you answered truthfully.

“Wait, let’s not do truth or dare, lets do truth or shot.” Scarlett suggested, wanting to get a few answers out of you and Tom.

“I like it.” Evans said, grabbing everyone’s shot glasses back and filling them so he could hand them out as needed.

“I answered, so I’m in the clear. Hemsworth has a higher alcohol tolerance than we do so I need him to catch up. Who is an actor in the MCU you hope you never have to work with again?” You asked, hearing Tom chuckle next to you.

“I can’t answer that!” he laughed, taking the shot Evans handed him.

“That’s the point.” You laughed.

He laughed, handing the empty shot glass back to Evans. “Fine, fine. Tom. In our last interview panel together, they kept asking you if you were seeing someone and you answered no. You then said that you were interested in someone, but that you hadn’t done anything about it. Who is she?”

“Oh no.” Tom laughed, feeling the alcohol a bit himself. “I think I need to take a shot. Are all of these going to be so hard?” He grabbed the shot that Evans passed off to him.

“I think you guys just need to not be pussies and answer the damn questions” Scarlett laughed, shooting you a look.

“Right?” Evans laughed, taking the empty shot glass from Tom.

Tom scooted a bit closer to you when he handed off his shot glass. “Okay, Evans. If you had to marry one of your on screen romantic co-stars, who would it be?”

“Oh, come on! It’s gotta be Scar Jo! The one and only.” Evans laughed, putting his hands over his heart and giving Scarlett a loving look. “We’ve been in movies together damn near my whole career.”

“We would annoy the hell out of each other.” Scarlett laughed.

“It’s true. We’re practically siblings. Okay, Y/n” Evans rubbed his hands together like he was plotting. “Favorite actor you’ve been able to work with ever.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a very specific question you want to ask, but instead you’re asking questions trying to fluster me?” you shot him a look, trying not to blush.

“Hey, I’m just playing the game.” Evans laughed, picking up a shot to let me know I didn’t have to answer.

“Keep your shot. I’ll answer this one. It’s definitely Mr. Mischief himself over here.” You pointed your thumb to your side at Tom, trying not to blush.

“No, there has to be someone cooler than me.” Tom blushed, hiding his glee by taking a sip of his tea.

You looked at him, summoning the strength of the drinks you’ve been throwing back. “You should give yourself more credit. You’re amazing.”

You stayed in the moment for a few seconds, just smiling at each other. “I think it’s your turn”, Tom said, putting his arm around your shoulders.

You blushed, realizing you had just been staring at him. Leaning into his side, you asked “Okay, Evans. Have you slept with any of your MCU co-stars?”

“Oh shit!” Scarlett laughed, standing up and handing Evans one of the shots.

“Yeah, yeah.” He laughed, downing the shot. “I’ll pick on someone else this time.” He filled up everyone’s drinks while thinking of his next question. “Okay, Scar. Who is the most attractive man in the current MCU?”

“Oooh, good question.” Scarlett thought about it, going through the movies outside of the Avengers. “I have a few different answers.”

“Explain.” Hemsworth replied.

“Well, There are a few people I find attractive for different reasons, I guess.” She answered.

“How about you share this list and we decide if you still need to drink for not picking one person?” You laughed.

“Well, Hemsworth is an amazing dad. Like, you look your happiest when you’re in the messiest, most chaotic situations with your kids. Most dads are the opposite. They’re trying to escape that.” Scarlett explained her first answer.

“Valid points made so far” Evans agreed, leaning against the counter.

“Hiddleston is the fucking epitome of a gentleman. You’re literally everything women want.” Scarlett turned towards tom, making him blush.

You quietly spoke “She’s not wrong” in Tom’s ear, feeling him pull you tighter to his side in response.

“You’re too kind”, Tom answered to her, downing the rest of his drink.  

Scarlett looked to Evans. “I think I have to go with…Idris Elba.”

“I want to be mad that I didn’t make your list, but that man is truly a god.” Evans responded.

The game started to wind down as it got later into the night. Seeing everyone kind of calm down and get settled, you walked around making sure everyone had what they needed.

“Anyone want water so you don’t wake up hungover?” you laughed, pulling some water out of the fridge.

“Here!” “Please!” you handed water bottles out to everyone.

“I’m not setting an alarm for the morning. It’s super late and I doubt anyone is going to be back on the lot before dinner time anyways.” You said, grabbing you and Tom each a water bottle before turning off the main light.

You turned on the small light above your bed so you could sort out your sleeping arrangements. You grabbed your toiletries bag and pulled out a make-up wipe, trying to clean your face since you didn’t really get to do your nightly routine.

“Can I use one of those?” Tom asked, realizing he hadn’t been able to wash his face either.

“Come here” you said, scooting against Tom so you could run the damp cloth over his face. He watched your gentle movements, feeling you run the cool cloth across his skin.

“Thank you” he said, kissing the back of your hand before scooting back in the bed and laying down.

You put your bag back and drank some of your water before crawling fully into the bed and turning off the light. “Are you good?” you asked, turning to face Tom in the dark. You could feel his hand reach out and settle on your arm.

“I am” he answered, running his hand down your arm, to rest on your hip. “I want to finish your toast” he whispered, scooting his pillow closer to yours. “What Evans said was true, but you’re so much more, y/n. You’re beautiful and incredibly intelligent and there is not a single person I look forward to seeing more than you.”

“I think you’re drunk” you replied, knowing that if the light was on your face would be bright red.

“I am” Tom chuckled. “I still stand by what I said.”

You reached forward and ran your hand up Tom’s chest until you felt your fingers graze the side of his face. “I’m going to have to thank Hemsworth for getting you tipsy” you laughed, teasing Tom. You scooted closer to him, feeling him wrap his arm around your back and hold you against him.

“I couldn’t have waited much longer to tell you anyways” Tom replied. “I was just nervous you didn’t feel the same. We’ve been such good friends for so long…”

You interrupted him, capturing his lips in a kiss. “I’ve wanted to do that for years” you said, connecting your lips in a second kiss.

“Oh, thank god.” Tom said, a little louder than intended. “Can I call you mine?”

You laughed, trying to stay quiet. “Please, do.” You answered reconnecting your lips.

Tom rolled to hover over you, deepening the kiss.

“Fucking finally!” you heard Scarlett call out, making Tom collapse on top of you in laughter.

“Right?” Evans added. “It’s been ages.”

“Fair warning, I am telling this story at your wedding” Hemsworth said.

“I think our friends are happy for us” Tom said in a much quieter voice, flipping the two of you so that you were laying against his chest.

“I mean, I’m pretty happy for us” you replied, snuggling into his warm chest.

“Me too, love. Get some sleep” he said, running his hand up and down your back as he felt your breaths even out.

[vyeoh]

Review of Thor: Love and Thunder

Spoilers below!

first of all, keep in mind this is based on one viewing that I just did so I probably missed some stuff

the trigger warnings: major character dies of cancer, scene depicting hanging, scene depicting severed limb

The good :

the CINEMATOGRAPHY. Omg the movie was BEAUTIFUL which is expected because Marvel but goddamn the lighting is amazing, and there's a scene where they're in black and white and its so cool

Its still very much 80 rock and roll! Lots of Guns n Roses, the music is banging

The movie is very funny, once again as expected. The humor is similar to Ragnorok

I did enjoy that they gave Jane more agency; at the end she is given total control over her own health and treatment, and chooses to have "one last adventure" rather than remaining in treatment and having the chance to live. I'm not terminally ill myself, but based on my experience with family members that were and also chose to forgo the possibility of living longer to enjoy the time they've got, this is a thing that resonated with me.

Thor adopts a child at the end and I do hope they continue down this route because he seems like a genuinely well written model for fatherhood

Korg is back! :D

The bad:

The movie once again focuses on Thor and Jane's relationship and they get back together kinda?? And then she dies at the end and its supposed to be this message of choosing love over revenge and it just didn't really hit for me. This may just be a me thing tho, since I never found their relationship and marvel relationships in general very compelling. The message didn't really feel earned because I didn't feel like I was really ever shown that they loved each other, the movie just told me and I was supposed to go along with it

The pacing felt a bit odd to me as well. There were several places where I felt as if there wasn't enough buildup to events (such as Jane becoming Mighty Thor, or the aforementioned romance)

The antagonist is once again the parent of a dead child which like. I was fine with in Dr Strange because we also got the story of Wanda and therefore I felt like she wasn't meant to be seen as evil ever, but rather that movie as a whole was an exploration of grief and the possibility of what might have been and Stephan and Wanda were narrative foils through their grief (which. i also have thoughts tm about Christine but that's not relevant rn lmao) . However in this movie this guy's just straight up evil and massacres people because the god he believes in left his daughter to die so he's sworn to kill all the gods AND massacre their followers apparently??

Don't go into this movie expecting representation. This is a massive queerbait; the most we get is a background lesbian couple (which idk if they're even a couple bc they're implied to have kids together I think? and nothing else), Valkyrie kisses a nameless woman on the hand once, Valkyrie and Korg have a discussion about Korg's dads and Valkyrie's alcoholism due to her dead girlfriend, and then Korg gets a boyfriend?? a mate?? at the end and they have a son via rock people breeding habits? Don't go into this movie expecting anything because you're not gonna get it

conclusion: I enjoyed this movie, though that may have been because I went in with no expectations. Def not one of my top 3 mcu films and def not as good as Ragnarok. However, if you want a light turn-off-your-brain fun film it's great! I'm very sad that Mighty Thor isn't a reoccurring character, but contracts and all that so I get it. I wish Marvel would stop putting romances as the central focus of their plots- they're not good at writing them and they're not compelling.

Rating: 6.5/10 - solid watch to have some fun and marvel (lol) at the cinematography, but nothing game-changing or perspective altering in the writing department

[the-desolated-quill]

WandaVision: ‘Subverting’ Good Television - Quill’s Scribbles

(Spoilers for the first five episodes)

Hey everyone! Well... it’s been a while, hasn’t it? The last time I wrote a proper review or Scribble, people still thought the COVID crisis would be over within a month. The poor saps. But I thought that as a special way to mark this year’s Valentines Day, we could take a closer look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s shittiest power couple in their new Disney+ show WandaVision.

The first of many MCU spin-off shows that nobody asked for, broadcast exclusively on Disney’s totally unnecessary streaming platform, WandaVision is about everybody’s favourite whitewashed Nazi experiment and her red sexbot boyfriend as they try to fit into a suburban sitcom neighbourhood without arousing suspicion.

Yes, you read that correctly. The MCU has a sitcom now. My life is now complete.

Sarcasm aside, I was legitimately curious about WandaVision because of its unusual setting. And considering one of my most common criticisms of the MCU is its total lack of creativity, anything that’s even a little bit subversive is bound to attract my attention. Of course ‘subversive’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good.’ I could hand you a canvas smeared with my own shit and call it subversive. That doesn’t necessarily make it good art. And that’s exactly what WandaVision is. A canvas smeared with shit.

So lets split this critical analysis/review/angry bitter rant into two distinct chapters. The first focusing on the plot and setting, and the second focusing on the characters. Okay? Okay.

Chapter 1: Bewitched

Critics seem to be utterly enamoured with the whole sitcom gimmick, and it is a gimmick. As far as I can tell from the episodes I’ve seen, the sitcom setting serves no real purpose whatsoever other than to make the show ‘quirky.’ Which I wouldn’t mind, believe it or not, if the show was actually funny. There’s just one problem. It’s not.

Now in some ways describing why a sitcom doesn’t work is often futile because comedy is largely subjective. What I find funny, you won’t necessarily find funny and vice versa. With WandaVision, however, I won’t have that problem. I can demonstrate to you precisely why WandaVision, objectively, isn’t funny. And it all comes down to one simple thing. The stakes. Or rather the complete and total absence of stakes.

The show makes it very clear from the beginning that none of what we’re seeing is real. The cheesy theme song, the era appropriate special effects (mostly. It’s actually very inconsistent), the joke commercials, and, in the case of the first two episodes, which are in black and white, the appearance of red lights and objects in Scarlet Witch’s general vicinity. (Gee, what a mystery this is).

Basically Wanda has brought Vision back from the dead and created this sitcom world for them to inhabit. I’ll explain the stupidity of this in Chapter 2. The point is none of this is real, and that has a negative effect on the comedy because the very nature of comedy is suffering. Take the plot of the first episode. Wanda and Vision have to prepare a dinner to impress Vision’s boss. If they fail, Vision could lose his job and the couple could be exposed as superheroes. If this were a normal sitcom, it would work. The stakes are clear and it would be satisfying to see the two struggle and overcome the odds. But here, we know it’s not real. If it’s not real, it means there’s no stakes. If there’s no stakes, it means there’s no suffering. If there’s no suffering, there’s no comedy.

It would be one thing if the unfunny sitcom stuff lasted for like the first ten minutes or so before making way for the actual plot, but it doesn’t. Oh no. It doesn’t even last for the first episode. Out of the five episodes I’ve watched, four of them are almost entirely about these unfunny, objectively flawed sitcom homages, each set in a different time period. The fifties, the sixties, and so on. And what’s worse is that nothing that happens in them is plot-relevant. That gets relegated to the last five minutes of an episode. So you’re forced to sit through twenty five minutes of boring slapstick and puns in order to catch even a whiff of actual story. Which begs the question... who is this for exactly? It can’t be entertaining to Marvel fans, who have to slog through all this pointless shit so they can figure out what the fuck is going on. Comedy fans may get a kick out of the sitcom pastiche at first, but after four episodes, surely the joke would wear thin. So why is it in here? Clearly someone in the writer’s room absolutely fell in love with the idea of doing a Marvel sitcom, but nobody put in any time or effort to figure out how it would work in context.

I cannot stress enough how bad the plotting of this series is. As I said, the vast majority of a thirty minute episode is about shitty sitcom plots that aren’t funny and don’t have any impact on the story, only to then tease you with a crumb of actual plot in order to keep you coming back for the next instalment. Admittedly it’s an effective strategy. I was more than ready to quit after Episode 2 until that beekeeper showed up out of the sewer (don’t ask. It’s not important). WandaVision essentially follows the Steven Moffat school of bad writing. String your audience along with the promise that things might get more interesting later on and that all the bullshit that came before will retroactively make sense by the end. Except, as demonstrated with BBC’s Sherlock, that doesn’t work. And even if it did, it wouldn’t justify wasting the audience’s fucking time. And that’s what the majority of WandaVision is. A waste of time.

The only episode that doesn’t follow the sitcom format is the fourth episode. Instead it basically exists to explain all the shit that happened before. The shit that the audience, frankly, are smart enough to figure out for themselves. Wanda created the sitcom world as a way of coping with the loss of Vision, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, we got it. Thanks. It doesn’t advance the plot or anything. It’s just a massive info-dump. But by far the lowest point was when Darcy (by far the most annoying character in the first Thor film and is just as obnoxious here) was sat in front of the TV, watching the sitcom and asking the same questions we were. Not even attempting to look for answers. Just reiterating what the audience is thinking. Like this is an episode of fucking Gogglebox.

In the end it becomes apparent why the series is structured the way that it is. It’s to hoodwink people into subscribing to Disney’s stupid streaming service. If you think about it, there was no reason for WandaVision to be a TV series other than to lure gullible fans in with a piece-meal story buried in a mountain of crap. This isn’t a TV show. It’s what is cynically known in the world of big business executives as ‘content.’ They’re not interested in entertaining the audience. Instead they crave ‘engagement’, which isn’t the same thing. Watching WandaVision is like staring into the void, waiting for something to happen, while Disney charge you for the privilege.

Chapter 2: I Love Lucy

So the plot sucks balls. What about the characters? Surely if Wanda and Vision are likeable at least, it’ll give us something to cling onto.

Well as I was watching the first episode, it suddenly hit me that I couldn’t remember anything that happened to them in previous films. I knew Vision died, but other than that, I couldn’t tell you significant plot details or their personalities or anything. Not a great start.

See, up until now, Vision and Scarlet Witch have been little more than background characters. So already there’s an uphill struggle to get us invested in their relationship, especially considering we haven’t actually seen that relationship develop. In Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Scarlet Witch is killing people because she’s pissed off about Tony Stark killing people (you work that one out) until all of a sudden she stops and joins the good guys because the script said so. Vision meanwhile is introduced as a convenient deus ex machina to beat Ultron and gets no real personality other than he’s a robot. Captain America: Civil War comes the closest to giving Wanda a story and personality of her own as it’s her actions that cause the Sokovia Accords to come into effect, but she never gets any real growth or payoff as the film is heavily focused on Cap and Iron Man’s penis measuring contest. And as for Vision, all he does in the film is accidentally cripple War Machine. No real character or arc there as such. And then we have Avengers: Infinity War, where Wanda and Vision are now sporadically in love and on the run until that pesky Josh Brolin, looking like a CGI cross between Joss Whedon and a grumpy grape, comes along and rips out Vision’s Infinity Stone to power up his golden glove of doom, and the film treats this like a tragic moment, except... it isn’t. Because we haven’t really had the time to properly get to know these characters and see their romance blossom. So instead it just comes off as hollow and forced.

WandaVision has the exact same problem. Apparently Wanda was so distraught about Vision’s death that she broke into a SWORD base, stole his corpse, brought it back from the dead... somehow, and then enslaved an entire town of people to create an idyllic lifestyle for her and her hubby while broadcasting it as a sitcom to the outside world... for some reason. Putting aside the dubious morality of it all, it’s impossible to really sympathise with Wanda or her supposed grief because we’ve barely spent any time with her. Had the Marvel movies taken the time to properly explore the characters and show us their relationship grow and develop, this might have had more emotional resonance. But no, it just happens. In one film they barely speak to each other and in the next they’re a couple. No effort to explore how they feel about each other or any of the problems that may arise trying to date a robot. It just happens and we’re just supposed to care. Well I’m sorry, but I don’t care. You’re going to have to try a little bit harder than that I’m afraid. What’s worse is that, thanks to the whole fake sitcom thing, it’s impossible to really become invested in Wanda and her plight because the show has to constantly keep us at arms length at all times in order to keep up the pretence that this bullshit is somehow mysterious.

Looking through the WandaVision tag, it amuses me how many people say that she’s acting out of character. And yeah, her actions are a bit of a head scratcher. Why would an Eastern European’s ideal life be an American sitcom? Why a sitcom? Why kidnap an entire town? Why keep changing the decade? None of it makes sense, but you’re wrong for thinking that Wanda is behaving out of character for the simple reason that Wanda has never actually had a character. In fact, ironically, Wanda mind controlling an entire town and forcing them to do her bidding is probably the one consistent thing about her as she did this in Age Of Ultron. In interviews, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany described how they used actors like Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick Van Dyke as influences, which is really funny because they’re straight up admitting they don’t have characters and even now they’re still not playing the characters, instead emulating the work of far better actors.

As I was watching the show, it became abundantly clear that not only do Marvel not have the faintest idea what they wanted to do with these characters, but they also straight up don’t give a shit about these characters. Wanda in particular has had a rough time under the tyrannical regime of the House of Mouse. First they cast Elizabeth Olsen, a white woman, to play a Romani character, then systematically erasing her Jewish roots, even going so far as to put a cross in her bedroom in Civil War, and now the character is being butchered even more by forcing her into an American sitcom housewife role that she apparently willingly chose for herself, which is laughable. I mean say what you like about Magneto in the X-Men films, at least they actually depicted his Jewish culture. At least they recognised his Jewish background was important (though not important enough to cast a Jewish actor apparently). Wanda’s steady cultural erasure over the years is incredibly insidious and judging by Olsen’s comments in interviews, where she called Wanda’s comic book outfit a quote ‘gypsy thing’ unquote, it seems nobody has an ounce of fucking respect for the character or the culture she’s supposed to be representing. (and to all those kissing her arse saying it was a slip of the tongue, she has been repeatedly called out for using the slur in the past, so at this point I’d describe her behaviour as wilful ignorance)

If you want further proof of how much Marvel doesn’t seem to care about Wanda, look no further than her brother Pietro, aka Quicksilver. At the end of Episode 5, Wanda brings Pietro back from the dead, except it’s not Pietro. It’s Peter Maximoff, the Quicksilver from the X-Men films played by Peter Evans, who coincidentally is not Jewish or Romani either. So Quicksilver has the dubious honour of not only being whitewashed three times, but also twice within the same franchise. But should we really be surprised at this point? It’s Marvel after all. The same company that whitewashed the Ancient One in Doctor Yellowface and claimed it wasn’t racist because Tilda Swinton is ‘Celtic’. But now I’m going off topic. My point is that this isn’t a simple case of recasting an actor like Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as the Hulk. WandaVision actually acknowledges the recast in-universe, which makes no sense. Why would Wanda bring back her brother, only to make him look like a different person? We the audience may be familiar with this version of Quicksilver, but she isn’t. That would be like me bringing my Grandad back to life and making him look like Ian McKellen. He’d be perfectly charming, I’m sure, but he wouldn’t be my Grandad. 

If Marvel really cared about the characters or narrative consistency, they would have brought Aaron Taylor Johnson back. Instead, now they have absorbed 20th Century Fox into the hellish Disney abyss, they use X-Men’s Quicksilver as a means to keep viewers from switching off and so that people will write stupid articles and think pieces about whether the rest of the X-Men will show up in the MCU. It’s like dangling your keys in front of a toddler’s face to distract them from the rotting corpse of a raccoon lying face down in the corner of the room.

And it’s here where I decided to stop watching the show because fuck Disney.

Epilogue: One Foot In The Grave

You know, I am sick and tired of the so called ‘professional’ critics bending over backwards to praise these god awful films and shows when it’s so clear to anyone with a functioning brain cell how bad they truly are. WandaVision is without a doubt one of the most cynically produced and poorly structured TV shows I’ve ever seen. Its riffs on classic sitcoms are pointless and self-indulgent, the writing is terrible, the characters are unlikable and unsympathetic, and it’s entirely emblematic of what the entire MCU has become of late. And it’s only going to get worse as Disney drowns us with more ‘content’ to keep the plebs ‘engaged’. In short; pathetic.

[lunaajade]

Everything You Need to Know about “Shadow and Bone” on Netflix (*UPDATED: POSSIBLE LANGUAGE OF THORNS ADAPTATION INFO)

 Since it’s recently been confirmed that we’d be getting S&B content in a few days (finally!), I thought I’d compile and summarize as much info as I could to refresh everyone’s memories! Please spread the word/share this post to those who aren’t up to date! (I’ve seen some people online who are worried about how it’s going to turn out, and I’d like to be able to hopefully reassure those people)

Now, there’s a LOT of stuff, so there’s always the chance I missed/forgot something. This post will be split up into categories based on type of info, so here we go! I went back and listened to/watched both of the big live streams (NYCC and the S&B Charity Competition), went on the Grishaverse Reddit, etc. to find as much (extra/bonus) stuff as I could. (If I missed anything/got something wrong, please feel free to leave a comment!)

Update: A lot of people have been asking where it was confirmed we were getting content soon. I found out from one of the update accounts I follow.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

General/Key Info About the Show

-This first season will be adapting both “Shadow and Bone” and what has been dubbed a “Book 0″ (most likely meaning prequel/backstory/set-up) for “Six of Crows” -In relation to the above point, the timelines are being brought together for the show. (Normally in the books, the two series are set two years apart)(We don’t know how exactly or what this means for the story, but I have a really interesting theory that I thought up in relation to this, message me if you’d like to hear it.) -Leigh acknowledges and understands that some of us have doubts and are worried about the show, but she has publicly assured us (numerous times) of how much she loves the show and cast, how well she thinks the crew/writers did in bringing the Grishaverse to life, etc. See a later point below in the Facts/Tidbits section -The first season will have 8, one-hour long episodes -Alina has been made half Shu (half Asian) for the show! Leigh stated that was decided on after she and Eric had a lengthy discussion on Alina’s character. -The main cast (as in confirmed to be in all episodes) is comprised of Jessie Mei Li (as Alina), Archie Renaux (as Mal), Ben Barnes (as the Darkling), Freddy Carter (as Kaz), Amita Suman (as Inej), and Kit Young (as Jesper) -Wylan and Nikolai are NOT in the first season. (Nikolai didn’t appear until the second book, and Leigh confirmed that at this point in the story, the Crows had not met Wylan yet.) -Other cast members include Danielle Galligan (as Nina), Calahan Skogman (as Matthias), Daisy Head (as Genya), Sujaya Dasgupta (as Zoya), Luke Pasqualino (as David), Julian Kostov (as Fedyor), Simon Sears (as Ivan), Zoe Wanamaker (as Baghra), and more! -The Darkling will also be called “General Kirigan” in the show. From what we know, The Darkling will be the “enemy” to Ravka (so in essence, General Kirigan is his alias/fake persona (what he’ll most likely be referred to for most of the show), and no one knows that he’s actually their enemy. (Meaning it’ll most likely a super big moment when they learn their general was actually the Darkling in disguise)). -The show was shot on location in Budapest, Hungary. (And additional filming took place this past fall in Vancouver) -In order, the 8 episodes are titled the following: “A Searing Burst of Light”, “We’re All Someone’s Monster”, “The Making at the Heart of the World”, “Otkazat’sya”, “Show Me Who You Are”, “The Heart is An Arrow”, “The Unsea”, & “No Mourners”.

Other (Fun) Facts/Tidbits About the Show

-Upon seeing Jessie’s audition, Leigh loved her audition/portrayal of Alina so much that she apparently stated that she wanted her to play Alina or she’d be out of the project. She was sent five auditions to watch, Jessie’s was the third, and she said she didn’t bother watching the rest of them. -Leigh stated that she and Eric Heisserer (the creator of the show) said they were on the same page from the first meeting. All other past meetings with producers and companies about possible adaptations had left her with a bad feeling, but she said they’d had the same ideas about inclusion, story, staff, etc. She said she’s loved the respect he’s shown towards the work (and, in a way, to us the fans) -Netflix apparently also has the rights to adapt “The Language of Thorns” , though we’ve gotten no info on that adaptation yet. (UPDATE: I just watched a Leigh Bardugo event from Feb 2019 (a few weeks after the show was first announced, I think): As of  that day, she said that she thought that they were going to use LoT more for "texture” (IMO that might mean worldbuilding?) in the show. And I don’t know if she was talking about LoT specifically because she was very vague, but she said that there were certain things in the show that she thinks readers will be really excited about. Again, this was over a year ago, back when they were still in pre-production and stuff, so don’t take my word for it. Besides this, I couldn’t find anything else relating to a possible LoT adaptation. Maybe they’ll have the stories from LoT appear as actual folk tales told in the show, and that’s the “adaptation”? IDK. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHnw8Ygw5c&t=1906s)) -Leigh is an exec. producer on the show! I’m no expert, so I don’t know how much say/power she had in the process, but she definitely had some. -There is a RAVKAN edition of the “Shadow and Bone” book that Leigh says makes a cameo in the show! -Jesper’s guns had custom etchings done on them by a Hungarian antique gunsmith! (And they were so good that Leigh and Eric said that it looked like it belonged in a museum--they were also described to be quite heavy!) -Eric Heisserer is the creator of the show, he is an award-winning writer, well known for “Arrival”, “Bird Box”, and more. (If I remember correctly, Leigh said that he’d reached out to her about making the show!) -A DeKappel painting (maybe the one owned by Van Eck?) was confirmed to be in the pilot episode. -Pekka Rollins and Tante Heleen have been confirmed to be in the first season, but their casting has (up to this point) not yet been revealed. -Bo Yul-Bayur is confirmed to be in the show! (Though Kuwei has not) -Leigh will have  a cameo in (I think) Episode 5! She will be wearing a Materialki kefta and will be opening a door, if I remember correctly. -A lot of the crew was also extremely passionate about the project and fans of the books -The “Lives of Saints” book that was published in October is an actual book/prop that is appearing in the show! -I’m personally fine with Mal, but Leigh says that Archie is going to change everyone’s minds with his portrayal! -The costume designer for the show is Wendy Partridge, known for her work on “Thor: The Dark World”, “Pompeii”, and more!  -The composer for the show is Joe Trapanese, known for composing for “The Greatest Showman”, “Straight Outta Compton”, “Lady and the Tramp”, and more! At the NYCC Grishaverse panel, they revealed a little bit of the score (”Grisha Theme”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxIEbsHKJA 

Fun Cast/On Set Stories/Facts

-The cast all loves each other, and are all extremely passionate about this show, which is great! (Leigh said that on her second visit to the set, she heard them singing together) -Leigh says that Ben Barnes once snuck up behind her on her first day on set and scared her by whispering “Fine, make me your villain” -Freddy’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows”, but most specifically the first line of chapter 2 (”Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason.”) -Jessie would apparently come to set on some of her days off to support the cast and crew! -Sujaya has stated that her favorite Grishaverse character is Nikolai! (#Zoyalai) -Freddy has become famous/popular with the fandom, one of the reasons being because he often comments on posts/live streams asking something along the lines of “What was it like working with Freddy Carter? xoxo” -Danielle loves Nina and her journey in “King of Scars” -According to a Tweet, Freddy and Leigh said that there had been a scene with “a very pesky gate”--Freddy said that it “wouldn’t be proper to tweet the expletives [he] used that day” and that he thinks he “scarred” Amita and Eric. -Amita’s favorite thing about Inej is her silence, and her favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows” (as of May, where we learned this during a live-stream, she said she’s read it three times and listened to the audiobook twice.) -There was a waffle truck on set on the last day of shooting! -Calahan says that if he could play any other Grishaverse character, he’d want to play Nikolai! -While she did work with the trainer to get more physically fit, Amita learned most of her knife techniques by herself! -Leigh said she cried a lot while on set! (She said there was one scene they were shooting that she has a very clear, vivid memory of writing many years back--based on the context of which she was talking about it, if I had to guess, I’d guess she’s describing the Winter Fete.) -Leigh also said that on one of her first days on set, it was funny/weird to see all the extras in First Army uniforms chilling on their phones, drinking coffee, etc. -One of Calahan’s favorite character dynamics in the books is the dynamic between Kaz and Matthias -There was a moment where Amita was fully in costume and doing amazing, graceful knife work, only to trip and fall when she’d finished. -Amita and Jessie and Sujaya were best friends on set. -Sujaya loved everything about playing Zoya. (Especially her confidence) -Leigh says one of her favorite props was Kaz’s cane, especially because of what it meant to her and the story. -If he could be any Grisha order, Calahan says he’d want to be a Corporalki -Calahan loves Matthias’s journey/arc. -Kit’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Crooked Kingdom”!

Links

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X65iI1YXrbU (NYCC Grishaverse Panel) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHou5rVs6o0 (S&B Talent Show Charity Live Stream ft. the S&B Cast!--the IG video got taken down because Archie deleted his IG account and switched to a new one) -https://www.netflix.com/title/80236319 (”Shadow and Bone” on Netflix!) -https://twitter.com/shadowandbone_ (Official “Shadow and Bone” Twitter!) -https://www.instagram.com/shadowandbone/?hl=en (Official “Shadow and Bone” Instagram!) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRh-Pmbynww (Annoucement made by cast when filming wrapped! (can be found on the social media accounts, but here’s a link to YT)) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bpY8uLtyB4 (A S&B Cast Crack video by HeartPhantom--it highlights a lot of the inside jokes and memes that we’ve gotten to witness among the cast, and also just generally shows off how hilariously chaotic everyone is (this cast is the definition of chaotic good, lol))

[plainlo-inthemorning]

A Loki TVA / Lokane fic that snatched a tempad. Rating T.

Previously: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 (of 6)

Shine a Light, part 4

This time around, he feels but the faintest glimmer of surprise as he steps out of the doorway and onto a busy sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan.

A few people stop dead in their tracks when the door materializes out of thin air, but the throng of commuters headed to and from Central Station is so dense, Loki’s appearance goes mainly unnoticed.

Dull resignation washes over him.

The tempad is officially broken. Its coordinates locked onto this little planet where, in his own timeline, he has known nothing but defeat.

Without bothering to look for a newsstand, he reasons there’s a strong probability it’s the year 2014. It would seem the damn gadget is slowly counting backwards, while refusing to take him anywhere else in the universe.

Above his head, a billboard flashing on the side of a high-rise building confirms his suspicions.

Incredibly though, the tempad still not out of “juice”. The battery life seems to be making a mockery of his failed attempts to direct the itinerary.

Taking a step out of the moving sea of people, Loki sees little in way of construction sites along the street.

On his timeline, this would have been two years after his attack on the city with Thanos’ army, but if that ‘highlight’ of Loki’s less than acclaimed villainous career took place in this reality as well, the mortals have effectively tidied up after him.

He tries not think of the countless faces frozen in terror that had looked up at him.

Of the lives lost because of his crazed ambition to prove himself - and to destroy something of Thor’s.

Almost if Loki had been transformed back into the chronically jealous five-year-old child who once stole his golden, annoyingly joyful, perfect brother’s favorite model toy - a grey wolf made of clay - and deliberately let it roll down the steps of the throne when their father (his NON-father) had been away.

The toy had broken into pieces and Thor had been inconsolable. Gripped by immediate remorse despite his initial intent, Loki had tried to fix it with his budging magic powers. Only for the wolf to melt to a sticky puddle on the stone floor.

Thor had wailed so loudly, a passing servant had thought him seriously injured and called for their mother, and Loki had been made to apologize, his usually pale cheeks burning scarlet. Then he had been grounded for the remains of the day.

The humiliation had stung, and so had the regret that his magic had failed him.

Not for the first time, the anger had turned, unwarranted (Loki knew then too), towards his brother.

From then on, it had just gotten slowly worse and worse and more malicious right up until that horrible moment of rage no more than a few days ago (a week?), when Loki had driven one of his daggers into Thor’s side on top of the Stark tower.

And twisted it.

The mix of bottomless sadness and shock in his brother’s blue eyes had cut through Loki’s heart with such force he might as well have sunk the blade of his other weapon into his own chest.

But instead of abandoning his pathetic scramble for power and hold Thor, instead of attempting to heal the wound with his magic that has become so formidable in adulthood, Loki had let the poison drown the remains of his sanity.

Of course, shortly afterward, the green monstrosity had effortlessly and repeatedly smashed him into the concrete floor of Stark’s living-quarters until Loki had thought he heard every bone in his supposedly immortal (right!) body break and his skull crack open.

To the outside, it had surely been a suitably entertaining show of retribution, but as he had lain there in the crater of rubble, unable to utter a moan, it was as if all the anger had been knocked out of him.

The link to Thanos’ ungodly servant had been severed and Loki had felt more like himself than he had in a long, long time.

When Thor, looking grimmer than ever, had dragged him to his feet in front of the ragtag band of ‘heroes’ and cuffed him, Loki had found himself strangely elated, on the verge of giddy.

His legs had been so shaky from the beating that Thor had had to hold him by the arm so he wouldn’t fall, and Loki had felt the heat of his brother’s huge hand penetrate the many layers of his own armour.

For a few delirious seconds, Loki had wanted nothing more than to lean against his brother’s strong frame and just close his eyes.

Instead, he had started cracking jokes until Thor had slapped the muzzle on him, as if he were some dog (that gesture had embarrassed him more than anything that had gone before). Unable to keep up his sarcastic commentary as they rode the elevator down, Loki had fleetingly wondered if he was suffering from a psychosis or actual brain damage.

Now, standing on the street so close to where it happened, the memory oozes fresh guilt.

But he redeemed himself.

In his mind, Loki goes through the TVA reel once more to remind himself of the images of his brother later in life, smiling at him.

Right before the end came.

If he is to spend the rest of eternity on Midgard - or at least until the multiverse crumbles - he will try to find solace in the good his future self managed to accomplish.

For Thor and, in another, brighter reality, for her.

The riddle of her part in his life now remains unsolved, but as hard as Loki tries to release the ghost wrapped in his arms, it merely squeezes itself closer to his chest.

He could try to find her here, on this timeline.

She will be with Thor, that much is certain, but since the reel of Loki’s fate had shown him only his own path, he knows not whether Thor and Jane shared a life on Midgard, or somewhere else, up until the brothers reunited (for lack of a better word) on Asgard.

What would Loki even say to her?

That, while at the bureau that controls all space and time, he saw her face on a roll of film of his supposed life, and now he aches for her more than anything? That on an alternate timeline a few hours ago, she kissed him?

Thor would not approve of that exchange.

Also, with Loki’s luck, Thor might be a frog in this reality.

He could still try to use the tempad to transport him to Svartalfheim and his own life’s story, seeing as he is now only year from where he feels so strongly he must go.

But finding the proper timeline is like shooting an arrow into the endless vastness of space and hoping it’ll hit the right comet.

He realizes that now.

An arrow.

Somehow, somewhere, on two timelines no less, variants of him had …

Loki’s head jerks up.

The tower.

It’s a desperate idea at best, but from the (very) little Loki knows of his character, Stark’s superior technical skills go hand in hand with an endlessly hungry, inquisitive mind. And pride.

Much like Loki, Stark is a man who needs to be the smartest man in the room. And like Loki, he probably is, most of time (in fact… no. Don’t go there).

Maybe Stark will listen.

Perhaps he can even help make sense of the tempad if Loki can somehow win his trust and appeal to his curiosity and (he winces a little) heroism.

Was it not Loki’s actions who had helped Stark “realize his best potential”, as his TVA file put it?

He spots the imposing structure further up the street, noticing the huge “A” at the top (is that new?), and sets off towards it at a brisk pace, darting in and out of the crowds on the packed sidewalk.

Here goes nothing.

As he reaches the large glass doors he briefly experiences a dizzying deja-vu, when suddenly a man’s voice calls out to him.

A frighteningly familiar, agitated voice.

… With a particular brand of anger bubbling underneath, that Loki had hoped he’d never have to witness up close ever again.

//

“What the hell are you doing here??”

His dark, curly hair has a few more streaks of silver. The checkered shirt is slightly crumbled, the glasses a bit askew. He clutches an armful of papers to his chest.

And he’s wearing a furious expression although, thank the Norns, a mortal complexion.

For now.

“Didn’t Tony explicitly tell you not to come here?! Are you that intent on causing everyone to lose their shit again?!”

Worry is all over Doctor Banner’s screwed up face.

“Seriously, Loki, is this funny to you? Clint is actually in the building right now and, in case Tony didn’t already inform you, he’s made it very clear that he’s quitting the team if you were to stroll through the front door!”

The Avenger has started shaking, his eyes wild (too wild).

This is heading in the wrong direction fast.

Mustering all the calm in the world despite his racing pulse and the nauseating sounds of bones breaking echoing in his head, Loki puts on his most courteous and, he dearly hopes, un-cocky charming smile.

“Bruce, please relax. I assure you, I’m not here to cause trouble. Not for you or anyone else.”

“Right, you just happened to be in town and wanted to stop by for coffee? Loki, this …”

Loki gently interrupts him.

“I merely came here to have a conversation with S- … Tony. Perhaps you could let him know I’m here? I promise you, I will not set foot inside. In fact - “

Loki adopts the form of one of the security guards he can see pacing inside the foyer.

“… I’m not even here.”

Bruce jumps a little and clutches his papers even tighter.

“Oh god, I hate when you do that, man. If you think showing off that trick makes anyone any less nervous around you…”

“Doctor Banner - Bruce. I have something …”

Loki searches for the words, quickly trying to decide on how much to reveal to the man-beast who’s now looking at him with urgent expectancy.

He sighs and bets it all.

“Okay. Bruce, what I’m going to say will sound mad.”

The man scoffs.

“Coming from you, I’d expect nothing less.”

Bruce shakes his head and looks to the sky in exasperation.

“Please - please - don’t tell me you’ve gone and changed your mind about the whole not conquering Earth business. Really, Loki, none of us understand how transforming you into ‘an asset’ became Tony’s pet project over this past year, or why Fury went along with it. But I’m sure both are going to be pretty damn disappointed if their new alien BFF decides to embrace his inner psycho again.”

Loki almost chuckles. It’s all too ridiculous.

“I won’t … embrace my inner ‘psycho’, I swear.”

“Then what?”

The God of Mischief draws in a deep breath, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Or rather, the security guard’s nose.

Then he surrenders to the absurdity of the situation.

“Bruce, I kindly beg of you, is Tony here? Or … (is there hope?) Thor?”

Bruce still looks at him with deep disdain, but his immediate anger seems to have subsided.

“No, Tony’s out of town. Took Pepper somewhere on holiday. They’re not to be disturbed for at least a week. Her words. And Thor … I should think you of all people know perfectly well why he’s not likely to hang around at the time being. Jeez, you guys and your endless family soap opera … I can’t even.”

Naturally, the universe again blankly refuses to extend any hands to Loki and his doomed quest. Sadly, once again, he is not surprised.

Wait - what?

“What do you mean, ‘soap opera’?”

Bruce looks like he’s about to throw his hands over his head and all the papers with them.

“Oh, come on! What is this?! You want approval? Confirmation of your little victory? Doesn’t the very lovely embodiment of that currently walk around in your apartment or wherever it is you live now? Loki, I’m done here. You have to leave. Bye.”

To hell with Stark – Loki wants to grab Bruce by his shirt collar and shake the little man till he explains what in all of Yggdrasil he’s talking about.

But he cannot afford to tempt the beast. Quite literally.

“Then … can you and I go somewhere to talk? Bruce, you’re a man of science. This is science … related.”

Loki feigns a smile.

Bruce sizes him up. No doubt considering whether to let the other guy continue the conversation.

Then his shoulders drop.

“Okay. Okay. For a creepy megalomaniac, you somehow tend to end up with some very cool people defending your case. Just know that those people are absolutely the only reason, you and I are still talking. Ugh, I’m too nice … “

Bruce casts a glance over his shoulder into the foyer, appearing to consider their options, when a man exits the glass doors – and shuffles up to them.

“Bruce! How nice to see you. You look well.”

The old man (those eyes …) grins warmly and pats Bruce on the back, then looks from him to Loki and back again.

“Everything alright out here? Is there a security issue?”

Bruce composes himself and smiles back.

“Hi, Lee, good to see you too. All fine. Earl here was just updating me on, eh, the new security procedures.”

He shoots Loki a stern look.

“Ah, yes”, Loki nods seriously. “Doctor Banner had some trouble operating the intricate open and close mechanism of the doors. The elevator doors, especially.”

He can’t help himself. It’s somehow both immensely tragic and life-affirming.

“Oh?” The old man raises an eyebrow (he looks … but he’s not quite …something is off).

“Will I have to get a new security card? I rarely come in these days, but in case …”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary, Lee. Because, because … like you say, you’re hardly ever here, so …”

Still smiling awkwardly, Bruce waves a dismissive hand, almost dropping the stack of papers (the man’s a terrible liar, Loki thinks).

“Speaking of”, Banner continues, “you must be enjoying retirement up there, huh, Lee? Must be nice to live by the sea. Good … air quality?”

Loki sighs inwardly.

The dog sniffing at his ankles looks up at him.

He stares down at the round, fluffy thing as if seeing it for the first time.

Which he is and he isn’t.

The old man is saying something to Bruce about the countryside, when he notices the dog wagging its tail at Loki’s feet.

“Oh, he likes you. You’re lucky, he normally doesn’t care for strangers. No, you don’t, do you Fenris”, the man coos.

Under coats of thick white fur, the animal looks eagerly from owner to Loki.

“Okay, well, I’ll be off,” the old man says, finally. “Come see me sometime, Bruce. My neighbor actually just put his house on the market, in case you’re looking for a weekend retreat…”

He nods at Bruce, then at Loki who barely notices. The dog whines unhappily at being dragged away.

It’s the same timeline.

Of course, it is. The tempad has locked itself on a sequence.

But why the different locations …?

“Yes, thank you, Lee. Take care now. Earl, shall we?” Bruce signals to Loki to follow him round the side of the building.

“We can continue our discussion about the security issue in the garage”.

//

“So, let’s hear it. Tell me what you came to say, so I can tell you why it’s a catastrophically bad idea.”

Bruce sits himself across the small table from Loki and dumps the stack of papers in front of him. The top sheet is covered in coffee mug rings.

They are in an anonymous, windowless office somewhere below the vast tower parking lot and numerous in-house repair shops.

The place is a gigantic maze and Loki has just shut himself in a tiny room with the very monster that turned him into ragdoll. The deep slash on his forehead has only just healed.

He does not fear many beings in the universe, but the mild-mannered doctor’s alter ego makes the hit list with the worst of them.

Ignoring the way the hairs on the back of his neck stand up (why did this seem like a good idea?), Loki drops his disguise and takes a seat on the cheap plastic chair. Not much of that flashy Stark glamour down here.

“Okay.” Loki takes out the tempad and puts it in the middle of the table.

He is not quite sure where to start, so he decides to begin with the purely technical aspect.

Bruce might appreciate being given a few ‘scientific’ details before any mentions of giant smoke monsters and alligators.

In fact, the fewer magical creatures and castles in the sky, the better.

“This is called a tempad. It’s a device that makes it possible to travel anywhere in time. You type in your destination, and a doorway opens. I did not make it myself. It was, er, given to me by a large and very powerful organization … in space.”

Bruce is leaning forward to get a better look at the tempad but makes no attempt to reach for it.

As he’s says nothing, Loki continues.

“This is where it gets, uh, weird, but try to believe me when I tell you, I’m not the Loki you know. I’m from another, similar timeline and -“

“Stop.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just stop, Loki.”

Bruce is leaning back on his chair again. He looks tired.

“I don’t know if you’re supremely bored of domestic bliss already, or just being your supremely annoying self, but I won’t engage. You’re not Loki but a time-traveler from space? Yeah, it’s -“

“No, Bruce, I am Loki. Trust me, I know this seems -“

“Trust? You wanna talk about trust again?” Bruce takes out his phone.

“Okay, we can do that.”

He taps a few buttons, then holds the phone to his ear.

“What are you doing?” Loki’s voice has a sharper edge to it than he intended.

The Avenger stares him down.

“Oh, I’m just calling someone. This guy I have in my contacts under God of Lies”.

Please, no …

Briefly, Loki considers whether another variant of him – the one he encountered at the house by the ocean, most likely – would actually be of more help.

Or if he, the variant, would try to kill him.

It was one thing reasoning with and trying not to get killed by Loki variants who at least understood the concept of variants, but how would he have reacted upon being confronted with a twin before the TVA?

No, not a twin … Because this variant has her.

None of the variants in the Void – the grown-up, human ones – had mentioned versions of her.

Either this variant has successfully taken out every Minute Man ever sent by the TVA to arrest him (in which case, Loki concedes, he may be the superior Loki), or this whole timeline has only just blossomed at the opening of the multiverse.

Why else would he, who apparently also gave his phone number to Bruce Banner, get to live a life so vastly different from the typical arc of a misguided Jotun prince?

Loki feels light-headed.

On one hand, he wants to know everything there is to know about his double, on the other, he fears what and who he might find.

You don’t belong here. Find your own timeline. No more Lokis.

Focus. Explain.

He raises his one hand in a placating gesture.

“Give me a little time to try and explain this, Bruce, and then, then … You can call whoever. Call everyone! But please just -“

“Oh, what do you know,” Bruce puts his phone down, “there’s no answer. What a surprise.”

He crosses his arms.

Loki inhales and tries again, speaking as evenly and as calmly as he can while his frustration mounts:

“There is no way of telling you all or any of this without it sounding utterly ludicrous, so you’ll have to hear me out. Five minutes uninterrupted from now, okay? Yes, we’re talking time travel, but compared to what’s really at stake, even time travel is a pretty basic technicality. Also, I promise you, in a few years’ time from now, the concept of time travel won’t seem all that laughable to you and Stark in particular. Provided this reality exists in a few years’ time seeing as -“

Bruce sighs dramatically.

“Yes, okay, so”, Loki continues, “Two years ago, I attacked New York, right?”

“If you’re about to roll out some outlandish excuse – another one! – I don’t care to hear it.”

The other man is narrowing his eyes as a fresh look of undistilled loathing creeps into his features.

So it did happen on this timeline as well.

“No, it’s not that. Or, I mean, let’s save that. When you captured me, in my timeline, I escaped from the lobby with the Infinity stone. I know it seems impossible from your end of events but - “

“Impossible?”

Bruce gives him a strange look Loki can’t quite interpret.

“Yes, S… Tony dropped the briefcase with the Infinity stone, and I picked it up and -“

Bruce pushes his chair back. The plastic scrapes loudly against the stone tiles of the floor.

“Loki, I can’t. I thought I had the patience to at least indulge you but turns out I don’t. I can’t tell if you’re losing your mind, but either way, you’ll have to take it – this, whatever it is – up with Tony instead when he gets back. Maybe bring that sweet lab partner of yours along if you’re going to talk time travel. With her field of expertise, I’m sure - “

“WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!”

Without thinking, Loki slams both his hands into the table. Papers go flying and Bruce staggers backwards.

Horror dawns as Loki realizes his error, but it’s already too late.

Bruce doubles over in spasms and a deep, much too deep, growling sound escapes his lips. He grips his head with his shaking hands as if trying to contain the explosion within, and Loki feels his own brain go numb with panic as one of those hands triples in size and a sickly green hue rapidly spreads.

There is no way out.

Bruce is blocking the door and soon his bulk will be taking up the entire room. He falls to his knees, arms thrashing wildly and his shirt ripping across his back. The table sails over Loki’s head, one of the chairs lodges itself in the soundproofed ceiling, causing the panels of fluorescent light to flicker madly.

Are there no security cameras?!

There are screams, but they no longer sound human.

Loki has nowhere to hide.

He has to gather his magic around him, but terror is completely scattering his focus, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

It is a matter of seconds before the transformation will be complete and the monster attempts to tear him limb from limb. With no heroes to stop it.

Cold.

He has only consciously reached for it once before, but now the thought barely registers before ice rushes through him as if by instinct. Bruce is not the only one with an abomination lurking under the surface.

He doesn’t have the casket of his birth father, but he has strength.

There is no time to consider if it’s enough or nothing at all. No time for crippling self-loathing or shame.

In front of him, the Hulk lifts its crazed, bloodshot eyes to meet his.

The green creature cannot stand upright in the office, and the first fist goes through the ceiling with the force of a wrecking ball. The next lashes out at Loki, who dodges it just as his own skin turns a deep, brilliant blue.

Little black ridges and markings rise on his arms and face and though his sight doesn’t falter, he feels the instant his eyes go from green to bright red. The fabric of his clothes chafes his new skin and waves of adrenaline surge through his body. Multiple foreign senses come alive and drown his fear.

But he has not a breath to spare to get used to his true form before the Hulk shoves him against the wall so hard, the bricks shift against his side as if they were made of a child’s building blocks.

The impact makes him gasp for air, yet the pain … the pain he can manage.

He just has to last long enough get out of here. And the cold is crystalizing his focus to let the magic flow easily, powerfully through his hands.

His blue hands.

If he had used this when …

Loki pushes himself off the wall (out of it) and almost collides with the Hulk (there’s no space left to maneuver in) who, instead of smashing its way out, seems hell-bent on squashing the only living thing in its line of sight first.

Loki swiftly crouches down on one knee, puts his palms together and, faster than the blink of a brilliant crimson eye, conjures a rotating orb of ice and chaos energy that explodes in a blinding flash of white light as he hurls it square into the monster’s chest.

The Hulk falls back, breaking through the wall to the parking lot on the other side and crashing into a row of cars, while a sheath of ice spreads from its chest and up its neck. The being that is not Bruce howls and claws at its skin, but the smooth ice thickens and as it reaches the head of the beast, it slides right into its eye sockets – and momentarily blinds it.

It will probably only last seconds but it’s all Loki needs while the Hulk shakes its head furiously.

He makes to flee when he spots the tempad on the cracked floor.

He can’t leave it.

As Loki dives for the gadget, the Hulk simultaneously knocks itself in the face with both fists, splintering the ice into a rain of tiny spikes. With a roar to match the sound of a spaceship engine taking off, the creature lunges.

Loki’s fingers close around the tempad.

He feels a buzz.

The door appears in front of him.

He doesn’t stop to think before throwing himself through it.

The Hulk punches into empty air.

Part 5

[rainydaysketches]

Family Movie Night Gone WRONG!! (Not Clickbait)

(So. Guess who discovered FrostIron the other day? Anyway, I’m operating under the headcanon that Loki was being controlled by Thanos during the attack on New York, and that Thanos has since been dealt with by Carol. No more giant grape ballsack-chin titan to worry about. Also sorry about the title I couldn't think of anything better.)

If you had told Tony back in 2012 that in five years, the Avengers would be divided, half of said Avengers would be on the run, Asgard would be destroyed, he’d be dating Loki of all people, and have joint custody over a teenager who just so happened to be Spider-Man, well, he would probably have punched you in the face with a metal clad fist and sent you to a psych ward.

But that was exactly where Tony found himself, in the newly repurchased Stark Tower’s penthouse, with Loki and Peter on either side of him on the couch while they watched a Star Wars film that Peter had been demanding they watch together for the past week. Tony and Loki occasionally pitched in with a, “that’s not how that works” when it showed something about science or space that wasn’t accurate. Peter just told them to shush with a laugh each time.

It was nice.

About halfway through the movie, Tony heard Peter’s stomach growl, and that made him realize that he was pretty hungry himself. He told FRIDAY to pause the movie and the lights came on. Loki offered to pick up some Chinese, and Peter and Tony readily agreed.

Peter ran off to use the bathroom after Loki teleported away, and Tony decided to grab another cup of coffee before either of them returned.

Before the coffee could even finish brewing, the elevator dinged. This gave Tony pause, because Loki seldom used the elevator, and no one else was in the tower today. Happy and May were on a date (much to Peter’s equal disgust and happiness), Pepper was in Hong Kong, Rhodey was on a short weekend vacation to visit family, and Thor and Bruce were in New Asgard.

While Tony was wondering who could be in the elevator, the doors opened. He brought his hand up near the arc reactor on his chest, ready to activate his suit if need be.

The first person to come out of the elevator was Rogers, followed by Wilson, Maximoff, Romanoff, and Barton. Tony felt his jaw drop, along with the hand hovering near the arc reactor. Rogers caught sight of Tony, in his sweatpants and Star Trek t-shirt that Peter had gotten him for his birthday, standing with his mouth hanging open in the middle of his kitchen. Rogers smiled. Tony didn’t return the sentiment.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked, which, in his opinion, was a perfectly reasonable response when someone walked into your living room, acting like they owned the place. Knowing Rogers, he probably thought he did. The smile fell from Rogers’ face, and the others behind him tensed.

“What do you mean, Tony? We got pardoned,” Rogers said, with the gall to sound confused.

“Okay, but why the hell are you in my tower?” Now all the rogues looked confused, and they were looking at him like he’d grown a second head.

“We were pardoned,” Romanoff stated, “So we came home.” The others nodded.

“Home?” Tony scoffed, “Home!? You gave up your chance to call Stark Tower ‘home’ when you betrayed my trust.”

“Come on, Tony,” Barton tried, “We were pardoned, and the first thing we do is come and see you, and this is how you repay us?” Tony picked up on the blatant guilt tripping, and it may have just worked if he’d done it before he met Loki or Peter, but not anymore.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, be before he could get a sound out, a soft voice spoke up behind him.

“Dad?”

The universe just loved to fuck with Tony Stark, didn’t it? He spun around to face Peter, turning his back on the rogues, because even if they literally stabbed him in the back, Peter would always be more important.

“Hey Pete. How about you, uh, sit on the couch while I sort this shit out.” He waved vaguely in the direction of the rogues. He heard an indignant sound come from someone behind him, but he chose to ignore it.

Peter looked wary, and he subtly made a web-slinging gesture with his hand. Tony shook his head minutely in response, to which Peter nodded and headed off to the couch.

When he turned back to the rogues, who were standing stock-still. Tony contemplated congratulating Peter for shocking the Avengers this bad later, but figured once Tony told him about it, Loki would do it for him, so he decided not to.

Barton was the first to break the silence. “You have a kid!?” Tony, just now remembering his coffee, grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself some. He took a deep, long drink before he sighed and answered.

“Yeah, what about it?”

The team was shocked into baffled silence once again.

“We just… didn’t peg you for the type to want a kid?” Wilson said, the first time he’s spoken since they all got here. Tony almost didn’t hear the sharp intake of breath that came from the couch.

“I’ll have you know, that kid is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I’d sooner let my company go bankrupt than lose him,” Tony told them, loud enough that Peter could hear him, even without his freaky spider-hearing.

The rogues unabashedly gaped at him.

Rogers shook himself out of his stupor first.

“Tony, how long have you had a kid?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe that Tony could possibly care for a child, which a younger Tony would have agreed with.

“About a year and a half now, right?” Tony looked to Peter for confirmation, and Peter nodded at him with a thumbs up, which was actually a lot more encouraging than it should have been. “Yeah, a year and a half ago I adopted him.”

“It’s still joint custody!” Peter called out with a devilish grin.

“Stop being a smartass, Peter!” That only caused Peter’s grin to get wider.

Before anyone else could speak, there was a bright flash of green light in the middle of the living room. Tony felt relief flood through him. Loki was back.

The rogues drew their weapons. Rogers grabbed the shield off his back, red magic danced around Maximoff’s fingers, making Tony take a few steps back with unease, Barton knocked an arrow, and Romanoff just suddenly had a knife. Wilson migrated to the back of the group, because he was in civilian clothes and didn’t have his wings.

The five of them stiffened when Loki began to speak. Tony did the opposite and relaxed.

“So, they didn’t have any more chow mein, which is ridiculous, because they are a Chinese restaurant, how could they just run out of chow mein?” Loki ranted while he rifled through the bags, most likely checking that everything was there. “Also, they kept saying that they ‘were closed’ and asking ‘how did you get in here,’ which, rude, but they did give us three free egg rolls, so-” Loki finally looked up and took in the scene unfolding in front of him.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tony shot Loki a look that hopefully conveyed his thoughts of, “please, for the love of god, help me.” Loki got the memo, but chose to roll his eyes and drop himself on the couch next to Peter instead.

“Traitor,” Tony mumbled to himself, before refocusing on the rogues, who still had all their weapons pointed at Loki, and subsequently, Peter.

“Tony,” Rogers started harshly, “Why is Loki here?” He said Loki’s name with so much contempt that Tony physically recoiled from it.

“Um, because he wants to be?” Tony told them, but it sounded a lot more like a question than he intended. “And because I let him in.” he continued, trying to make it not sound like he was unsure.

“So you’ll let a supervillain into Avengers Tower, but not the actual Avengers?” Barton burst out, “That’s bullshit!” Tony needed to take a deep breath and a sip of coffee before he could respond to that remark.

“Okay, first of all,” Tony shot a glance at Loki who was smiling bitterly at his lap in that way he did when he was feeling self-deprecating. “Loki is not a supervillain now, nor was he ever. And second, this is Stark Tower, not Avengers Tower, and you need to get it through your skulls that I will not welcome you back here. In fact, you are trespassing on private property as we speak, but I’ll let it slide if you leave. Right now.”

Tony could practically see the gears turning in everyone’s heads. It was as if they couldn’t even follow the simplest instructions.

“Tony,” Rogers began, and Tony internally groaned. He just wanted Rogers and his rogues gone. ”Loki is manipulating you. But you don’t have to do what he wants. Come with us, we’ll keep you safe.”

Now it was Tony’s turn to have gears turning in his head.

And when he finally figured out what Rogers was talking about, he burst out laughing. The rogues looked awkward, just standing there watching him laugh his ass off, and that only made him laugh harder.

“Y-you, pfft- you think h-he’s manipulating me?” And that was all that Tony could say before he fell into another fit of laughter.

Peter and Loki found this funny too, because Peter was trying - and failing - to stifle his own laughter and Loki had a fond grin on his face as he looked at Tony.

After a minute or two, he’d finally calmed down. During his laughing fit, the rogues had lowered their weapons slightly, but Maximoff’s magic had only grown and glowed brighter. “Loki is not manipulating me, nor is he controlling me, or doing anything else to me. So drop it.”

Maximoff’s stance shifted slightly, and she lunged at Tony. Before he could activate his armour, she had pinned him to the ground and put her fingers on his temples. He tried to struggle, but she was either surprisingly heavy, or she was holding herself down with magic. Most likely the latter.

More red magic gathered at her fingertips, and Tony felt his eyelids drooping shut, no matter how much he fought to keep them open. When his eyes fully closed, a searing pain seemed to stab him in the brain, but he was unable to scream.

A second later, the weight was thrown off him, the pain was gone, and he could open his eyes again.

Loki and Peter had both gotten off the couch and tackled Maximoff off of him. Peter had her pinned to the ground, even as she was thrashing about. Loki held out his hand for Tony to grab and Tony gratefully took it so Loki could haul him up.

Even once Tony was back on his feet, he didn’t let go of Loki’s hand. The rogues looked warily between Tony, Peter, and Loki, and raised their weapons once again. Tony let out a grumble and turned so he could drop his forehead on Loki’s shoulder. Loki used his unoccupied hand to comb his fingers through Tony’s hair. Tony gave an appreciative hum.

Peter managed to get off Maximoff without any serious injuries, so he went and stood next to Tony on the opposite side Loki was. Tony smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

Tony then glared at the rogues, Steve and Wanda especially. The former was helping the latter off of the floor, both glaring at all three of them. Romanoff stepped in front of Rogers and Maximoff, holding her hands up in faux surrender.

“How about we all calm down and talk about this?” She tried.

“Get out of my tower,” Tony growled, clutching Loki’s hand like a lifeline. Loki squeezed his hand back just as tightly.

The rogues must have realized how much of a fruitless endeavor this was, because they all backed off, though reluctantly. They all crowded back into the elevator and told FRIDAY to bring them back to the ground floor. The AI didn’t reply as she usually did, just shut the doors and brought them down.

Tony slumped in exhaustion.

“Okay, that’s officially too much excitement for what should have been a relaxing movie night.” His comment startled a laugh out of Peter, and Loki even let out a chuckle.

They all went back to their spots on the couch, this time with Chinese food, and started the movie back up. None of them stayed awake long enough to see the end.

[musette22]

You Make My Heart Skip A Beet

You Make My Heart Skip a Beet

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes (Stucky)

Word count: 3.8k

Rating: Teen and Up

A/N: Based on this lovely prompt by @greyhoundsgirl​. I have to be honest here, I’ve never actually seen Top Chef though so I thought it would be safer to make up a new fictional amateur cooking competition which I’ve titled Chef Wars :p 

No warnings to speak of, apart from maybe for awful food puns, but it is a bit of a cracky piece, and it’s in Sam POV (poor guy). Hope you enjoy!! 💗 Huge thanks to the amazing @rainbowsandcoconut​ for brainstorming, food puns and awesome beta’ing, as usual 😘

Read on AO3

Summary:

“I made soda bread.”

Steve lets out the 6’2” supersoldier equivalent of a squeak. “Oh, I love soda bread,” he says eagerly, rolling forward on the balls of his feet like he does when he gets excited. “My mom used to make it all the time when I was growing up.”

The tips of Barnes’s ears turn red, and he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, “I know.”

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

When Sam and Steve had first been approached about being guest judges on an Avengers-themed special of Chef Wars, they’d spent a full fifteen minutes jumping around the common room in the Tower like a pair of overgrown kids on a sugar high.

Guest judges. On Chef Wars.

It so happens that Sam and Steve watch Chef Wars religiously. In fact, Steve even mentioned this in passing in one or two of his more recent interviews when asked how Captain America likes to spend his downtime, which is probably how the show’s executives had thought to invite them in the first place.

Sam’s love for cooking and cooking shows was passed down to him by his mother Darlene, and he, in turn, passed it on to Captain America – though if you’d told ten-year-old Sam that, he would’ve thought you were nuts. Poor Steve isn’t exactly the culinary sort of guy himself, but once Sam started turning up on his doorstep three nights a week to keep him company and make sure he didn’t sink further into depression, he’d slowly started to enjoy the shows Sam insisted on watching with him. Sam figured the familiarity of the actions and the low stakes of an amateur cooking competition would be perfectly suited to someone trying to integrate into a new century, while still being just exciting enough to hold the attention of an adrenaline junkie like Steve.

And he was right. So now, every Thursday night, the two of them chill on Steve’s couch, yelling at the TV and pretending they‘d do a better job of it than the contestants. Which, to be fair, Sam probably would, but Steve decidedly would not. What Steve lacks in culinary skills, though, he more than makes up for with his crazy supersoldier metabolism, rivaled only by the Other Guy and sometimes Thor, once he’s cracked open the mead. Steve can eat, and he does so with relish.

So needless to say, when they got the invite, they’d both jumped at the chance. Who wouldn’t, when presented with the opportunity to do the thing they did every Thursday night for funsies, but this time for realsies? And after weeks of giddy anticipation, today is finally the day.

Filming day.

The whole thing had gotten off to an excellent start. The sun was shining, Steve had actually been whistling on their way to the studio instead of nervously drumming his fingers on the dashboard (something which got on Sam’s nerves like nothing else), and they’d been offered some quality Italian espresso when they arrived. The show got on the road as soon as they’d gotten a quick tour of the studio, and after lights, camera, action, the contestants were introduced one by one.

There is Bernadette, a Missouri housewife who turned out to be somewhat of a BBQ expert and who reminds Sam of his Aunt Jenna; there’s Bob, a big, burly dude from Kentucky who wouldn’t look amiss on a Pro Wrestling show but who ends up surprising them all with a surprisingly delicate edible flower-dish dedicated to his lovely wife; and Yulia, a tiny, fierce girl from Bulgaria with some mean knife skills who Sam suspects could very well be a distant relative of Natasha’s.

And then there’s Bucky Barnes.

Bucky Barnes is a thirty-one-year-old physical therapist from Brooklyn who’s looking to change careers and get into the restaurant business full time. He has that whole hipster vibe going on: long, meticulously conditioned chestnut hair in a messy top knot, designer stubble, sleeve of – admittedly awesome – tattoos on his left arm. His cool, blue eyes and sharp cheekbones give him a model-like appearance, and yet there’s something soft and disarming about him.

Steve certainly seems to think so, at least.

The moment Barnes came walking through those glass doors, Sam heard Steve suck in a sharp breath at his side. A quick glance at Steve’s slack-jawed expression told Sam all he needed to know, since the dude is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. He’d elbowed Steve in the side until he looked over and pretended to wipe some drool from the corner of his mouth. Steve’s eyes went wide as he hastily mirrored the movement, missing the joke by about fifty yards. Oh, boy.

From that moment onward, Steve’s brain seemed to have gone through a blender, turning it into a rainbow smoothie – which was pretty unfortunate, considering they were going to have to interact with the contestants in a way that was suitable for daytime television.

The thing is, Steve is not exactly what you’d call a people person at the best of times. He’s fine with someone he’s known for a while and feels comfortable with, but with strangers he’s just… a little awkward. Credit where credit’s due, Steve is one of the most loyal, sweet, funny and whip-smart guys Sam has ever known – and let’s not forget stubborn as hell – but he’s also very, very bad at social cues. It’s not his fault, of course. Steve had gone from growing up pretty isolated without any real friends to speak of, to suddenly spending years surrounded only by his army buddies, which wasn’t at all representative for how normal people interacted with each other (Sam knows this from experience).

While Steve’s many social faux-pas are an endless source of entertainment for Sam, he’s not a total asshole, and he has tried to help Steve practice his social skills. Unfortunately, giving him well-meaning advice like “just be yourself” seems to be a sure-fire way to ensure Steve will put his foot in his mouth somehow.

That’s why Steve prefers to put on his Cap persona for public interactions. When he’s Captain America instead of Steve Rogers, all he has to do is look commanding and sort of friendly and say bland things like “I’m very happy to be here” and “You did well, son” and no one would be any the wiser that beneath that righteous exterior, Steve was floundering and wondering when he could reasonably leave whatever social engagement Pepper had sweet-talked him into attending, and head home to the comfort of his armchair and his sketchbook.

For today’s engagement, Steve had wisely adopted this approach as well, and the fact that he was genuinely excited to be there helped to loosen him up a little – so really, it should’ve all been fine.

But then Bucky Barnes from Brooklyn walked into the room and turned his big, blue eyes in Steve’s direction, and Steve promptly seemed to forget who or what a Captain America even was.

So far, Steve has already missed his cue twice, and it’s taken Sam stepping on his toes to get him to focus. To be fair, though, Steve puts in a valiant effort to pull himself together, managing to ooh and aah in all the right places when talking to the other candidates – sheer dumb luck, if you ask Sam. But as Steve’s best friend and confidante, Sam sees right through it. He hasn’t missed the way Steve’s gaze keeps drifting in Barnes’ direction, and coupled with the blush creeping up the back of Steve’s neck whenever Barnes’s eyes meet his, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Cap has got himself a Manhattan-sized crush.

Now, most people probably aren’t aware that Captain America is also attracted to men, but Sam has a feeling that by the end of this episode, that cat will be most definitely out of the closet. Steve’s never purposely hid his sexuality; it was more of a question of it never having come up yet. It sure as hell has come up now.

And what makes this even better is that Barnes is just as bad. He stuttered his way through his introduction, very obviously starstruck at meeting Captain America, but also very obviously gay as hell for him, if the way his eyes lingered on Steve’s chest and thighs is any indication. Sam, for his part, is incredibly amused by it all. Not only does he get to be on the set of his favorite cooking show, he also gets to rib Steve, throwing in as many food puns as he possibly can – most of which go over Steve’s head because he’s too busy drooling over Barnes. Sam’s wit is wasted on his friends.

Then, it’s time to judge. In the first round, the contestants are supposed to make something which represents why they got into cooking in the first place.

Sam can feel Steve practically vibrate with nerves at his side as they walk up to Barnes’ station. Feeling magnanimous, Sam decides to have mercy on his muscly pal and take the lead on this one.

“Mr. Barnes,” he says, giving Barnes an encouraging smile. “Tell us about your dish, if you please.”

“Call me Bucky,” Barnes says, returning the gesture with a quick quirk of his lips.

Next to him, Steve repeats the name in a whisper, most likely unaware that he’s even doing it.

Sam has to bite down on the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking.

*****

Bucky’s confessional

“I grew up in Brooklyn, as the eldest of five kids. My dad left when I was fifteen, and while I was still in school, my mom had to work three jobs to provide for us all. She wasn’t home much, so it was kind of up to me to make sure dinner was on the table most nights.”

Bucky plucks at the seam of his black skinny jeans, lost in thought. “I think that’s why my specialty is comfort food. Nothing unnecessary, just hearty, nutritious food, y’know?” With a tilt of his head, he adds, “Although since all my siblings moved into their own places I’ve been cooking mostly for myself and my cat, so I’ve been experimenting with adding some twists to my tried and tested recipes.” He laughs, right hand clasping the back of his neck in a bashful gesture. “I’ve had… mixed success. Luckily Alpine has loved all of it. She’s my cat.”

“My first dish today is Irish soda bread with sage butter and Himalayan sea salt,” Bucky continues. “Bread was something we could never have enough of in our household. Five growing kids, y’know? And also, um...” A slight blush creeps its way onto Bucky’s cheeks, his eyes flitting around nervously. “Well, I guess you could say I used to be a bit of a history nerd growing up. I was super interested in World War II, particularly, uh, Captain America.” His blush deepens, spreading upwards from the neckline of his white t-shirt to the tips of his pierced ears.

“I, uh, I basically read every Steve Rogers biography I could get my hands on, which is why I learned to make things like soda bread because, y’know, Steve Rogers was Irish. Is Irish,” he corrects himself. Bucky’s eyes glaze over, taking on a faraway look. “Man, I couldn’t believe it when Cap was found a few years ago,” he marvels, “and alive. I don’t think I slept for a week after I found out.” He stares into space for a moment before shaking himself. He clears his throat, eyes refocusing on the person behind the camera. “Anyway, so when I heard that Chef Wars was doing an Avengers-themed special, I immediately applied because Steve – Cap, I mean- Captain America. Um. Yeah, so Cap mentioned in a few of his interviews that he watches Chef Wars, so I figured there would be a good chance he’d be watching this one too, you know? And then I got the email that I’d been selected and that he was going to be the one judging us, and I just…” Bucky trails off, looking a little faint, the blood draining from his face as quickly as it had risen.

“God, I just can’t believe I’ll finally get to see him in the flesh.” His eyes widen. “In person, I mean," he hastily amends. "And I’m excited about my dishes too, of course. I really hope Cap will like them. And the Falcon. Him, too. Yeah.”

*****

“I made soda bread.”

Steve lets out the 6’2” supersoldier equivalent of a squeak. “Oh, I love soda bread,” he says eagerly, rolling forward on the balls of his feet like he does when he gets excited. “My mom used to make it all the time when I was growing up.”

The tips of Barnes’s ears turn red, and he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, “I know.”

When Steve puts a piece of bread into his mouth and chews slowly, he sniffs, eyes turning a little watery. “It tastes exactly like my mom’s,” he says in a hushed voice, sounding like he can’t quite believe his taste buds. Sam pats Steve’s back consolingly, before scooping up some sage butter with his own piece of bread and taking an enthusiastic bite.

“Hmm, nice,” he says, giving Barnes an appreciative nod. “And the butter? You make that yourself, too?”

“You butter believe it,” Barnes replies, then immediately looks horrified, like he can’t believe he made a pun that bad on national television.

Sam cackles, holding out his fist for Barnes to bump. When Barnes has recovered enough to return the gesture with his left hand, Steve stares longingly at their touching hands, before letting his gaze trail over the tattoos on Barnes’ exposed forearm. Since he's not exactly subtle about it, Barnes catches him looking and gives Steve a tentative smile when their eyes meet. Steve chokes on absolutely nothing and launches into an impromptu coughing fit. “Crumbs,” he wheezes, thumping a massive fist on his massive chest, “wrong pipe.”

Sam just smirks at him, before turning back to Barnes. “That was delicious,” he tells him. “Can’t wait for your next dish, man.”

“Really, really, good,” Steve chimes in once he’s caught his breath. “Well done, Bucky.”

Barnes goes as red as a tomato, eyes trained on the floor as he awkwardly shifts from foot to foot. “Thank you, Captain.”

“Steve, please,” Steve implores.

Barnes bites his lip, looking up at Steve through his lashes. “Thanks, Steve.”

Sam's pretty sure Steve stops breathing altogether right then. Christ, it’s like there’s an electrical current running between the two of them, the air crackling with it. Thunderbolts and lighting, very very nauseating.

Sam claps his hands. “Right,” he says loudly, “moving on to the next contestant now… Yulia, what have you prepared for us?”

*****

By the time the second round rolls around, Steve has had a series of meltdowns and Sam has spent precious time he could’ve been exploring the set and taking pics for his mom on talking Steve out of a bathroom stall. Damn, he’s a good friend. It takes all of Sam’s VA-honed therapist skills to convince Steve that he’s doing fine, he’s not embarrassing himself, and no one but Sam has noticed Steve’s massive heart boner for Barnes yet. Sam actually isn’t entirely positive about that last one – or the first two for that matter – but Steve doesn’t need to know that. There are still two rounds to go.

In the second round, contestants are asked to make a dish that represents who they are as a person.

While the contestants are cooking up a metaphorical storm, Sam and Steve walk around their stations to chat with everyone some more, camera crew on their heels. Steve manages to get out at least three complete sentences, and Bernadette and Bob are too in awe of him to notice the few times he says something that doesn’t actually make any sense. Yulia has given no indication that she even knows who either of them are, and Sam can practically feel the relief radiating off of Steve. He guesses that’s part of why he and Natasha get on so well.

When they round on Barnes’ station, Barnes has just started seasoning his dish. There’s a checkered dishcloth slung over his right shoulder and a focused look on his face, which turns into one of low-key stress the moment he spots Steve and Sam coming towards him. Leaning his hip against the counter, Sam settles in to watch Steve make a fool of himself. He's not disappointed.

“Wow,” Steve says inanely, gesturing in the direction of Barnes’ hands. “That’s- you’re- you’re really good at that.”

Barnes pauses his turning of the peppermill to give Steve a slightly panicked look. “At… grinding?”

At Steve’s strangled cough, Barnes seems to realize what he just said, his bewildered expression morphing into one of abject mortification. The poor guy looks like he’d very much like the ground to swallow him whole right about now.

Honestly, these two deserve each other.

When they've finished chatting to everyone and it’s time to taste, Barnes is asked to explain his dish and how it represents him. He seems to have pulled himself together somewhat since their last encounter, his stance a little more confident now and his eyes only drifting to Steve’s pecs every other sentence.

“I’m a simple guy,” he tells them, somehow managing to make it sound genuine instead of cliché. “I enjoy the little things in life. I like taking care of people, making them feel good and comfortable, and I think that’s reflected in my cooking. I enjoy making comfort food, the hale and hearty stuff.” He licks his lips, meaningfully adding, “Although, don’t get me wrong. I do indulge occasionally. I’ve got my guilty pleasures same as everyone else, y'know?” That last part is directed at Steve, who nods dazedly, like he knows exactly what Barnes means. Gross.

“So I guess you could say you’re just… arugula guy?” Sam grins, cheerfully ignoring the growing sexual tension.

Barnes stares at him for a beat, and then snorts. “You know what?” he says, returning Sam's grin, “the s’more I get to know you, the s’more I like you.”

Sam has a very real moment where he thinks he might actually fall in love with this guy himself. It’s only Steve’s doe-eyed look that keeps him from proposing to Barnes there and then. Okay, and maybe the fact that Barnes is clearly smitten with Steve, and also Sam is straight and very happily dating Nat, who would not hesitate to gut him if he decided to elope with some pasty hipster dude.

Barnes’ dish – mac and cheese with black truffle and locally sourced cheeses and fancy cuts of bacon – is mouthwateringly good, and Sam tells him as much. Using appropriate words to do so. You know, like a normal person.

Steve, on the other hand, moans loudly around his bite and then, mouth still full, he blurts, “That’s exactly what I thought you’d taste like.”

In the painfully awkward silence that follows, Steve and Barnes blush so hard the combined heat of their flaming cheeks could probably power most of New York City. This time, Sam can’t contain his laughter. He crows as he gleefully slaps his thighs, and even some of the crew is hiding having a hard time staying professional in the face of such blatant dumbassery.

Shaking his head, Sam grabs Steve by the bicep and herds him towards the backroom. “Come on, Casanova,” he says. “Let’s get you some ice for those burns.”

*****

For dessert, Barnes goes all out.

He actually makes Captain America cake pops, shaped and decorated like Steve’s shield with blue, red and white frosting. Steve’s eyes almost bug out of his head when he sees them. Barnes explains how they’re “sort of an adult version” of normal cake pops, which makes Sam raise an eyebrow. He’s been on the internet. He unfortunately has seen adult versions of all kinds of Captain America paraphernalia. Fortunately, Barnes just means that his cake pops have some sort of liquor in the center, “for a punch, you know?”

The starry-eyed look Steve gives Barnes clearly conveys just how clever he thinks that is, and Sam surreptitiously rolls his eyes. No game whatsoever, either of them.

“I’ve never had a cake pop before,” Steve says, carefully picking up one of the treats and inspecting it curiously.

“Oh,” Barnes says, blinking at him. “Well, normally you’d eat them in one go, but these are a bit bigger than usual because of the shape of the shield, so you probably won’t be able to fit -”

The rest of his sentence sort of peters off into a stunned silence as Steve proceeds to stick a whole-ass giant cake pop in his mouth in one go, letting out an appreciative grunt as he chews and then swallows.

Barnes’s mouth goes slack. “Oh my god,” he breathes, his eyes glazing over, and Sam cracks up. Again.

The cake pops are actually surprisingly good, despite their garish (sorry, Steve) appearance, and then it’s time to retreat and deliberate. As was to be expected, Steve has a crisis of conscience.

“I can’t vote for him just because he made my mom’s soda bread and he practically raised his baby sisters by himself and he cooks for his cat and he has pretty eyes, Sam!” he laments, voice muffled into his massive forearms. Sam makes the filming crew promise not to air this bit. It takes some doing, but finally Sam manages to convince Steve that Barnes’s food was simply the best. Better than all the rest. He even does a little Tina impression to get his point across, and that seems to do it.

When they announce the winner, Barnes smiles so wide it transforms his whole face and makes Steve melt into a puddle of Gü.

Sam has to nudge Steve again to get him to say his line, since he’s too busy mooning over Barnes to notice the autocue changing. “Ah, yes!” Steve says loudly. “First prize is a substantial sum of money, sponsored by Tony Stark, which we hope will go towards opening your own restaurant–"

“… and a weekend stay at Avengers Tower, also sponsored by Tony!”

Steve’s head whips around to him in surprise. Sam winks at him. “Including a private tour of the premises by none other than Captain America himself. Isn’t that right, Steven?”

A beat of silence, and then Steve.exe starts back up. "Right,” he nods, drawing out the word. “Yes. That’s right.” Sam pats his arm. Good man.

Stepping forward, Steve takes Barnes’ hand and shakes it slowly. “Congratulations, Bucky. I look forward to seeing you again soon," he says, adding, after a quick, bracing inhale, “and maybe when you visit, I can make my mom’s stew for you? If- if you like?”

Sam feels a surge of pride. Look at Steve go, being something almost in the vicinity of smooth.

Barnes laps it up, beaming at Steve. “I’d really love that,” he says in a low voice, still holding Steve's hand. “I’m sure you’re delicious.” His eyes widen. “It’s delicious. The stew – not- not-" Abruptly, Barnes stops babbling, then seems to come to a decision. “Oh, fuck it,” he mutters, and pulls Steve towards him, crashing their mouths together in a scorching kiss.

Over the noise of the assembled crowd's whoops and cheers, Sam gleefully calls, “And that, my friends, is a wrap!”

[brainbuffering]

Denki Kaminari: Accidental Epileptic Icon

[ID: A digital drawing of Denki Kaminari from My Hero Academia. He has a bi grin on his face as he gives out two peace signs. He is wearing a Purple TShirt that says “THIS IS WHAT A DISABLED PERSON LOOKS LIKE” on it.] 

By this point I think I may just be becoming an Epileptic!Kaminari blog, but since the DVD/BluRay just came out I thought I'd cross-post from my Fandom Twitter about why I am so passionate about this headcanon.

There have been plenty of electricity based Superheroes in the past: Static, Black Lightning, Surge, and Thor to name but a few. What marks Denki apart though is the intense NEGATIVE side effects his power has.

There's a trap writers often fall into when creating disabled heroes, where the hero's disability actually grants them some immense power e.g.: Daredevil's superior hearing and reflexes. Denki's quirk does not make his life easier, but much like kids on meds, he's learnt to control it. Mostly.

When Denki releases a sudden and much too intense amount of electricity his brain short circuits, causing him to lose some level of brain function. His dopey expression and dropped gaze could be read as a variety of seizure types. I go with Absence, coz I'm a narcissist.

Not only this, but Denki's "Derp Mode" contains many of the symptoms of a Postictal State ("the altered state of consciousness after an epileptic seizure"). These include, but are not limited to: drowsiness, confusion and headaches. Again, sound familiar? Now, if I believed this was a DELIBERATE attempt at representation I'd be frustrated and a little insulted. There are problematic elements within his "Derp Mode", but when you're epileptic you take what you can get. Which is… overall? Not a lot.

Seriously, take a second to try and think of, say, three explicitly stated epileptic characters in mainstream media... Pretty tough, huh? Even Google can't really help you. Our representation is mostly limited to murder victims.

"How did he die?"

"Well, the super computer didn't like that he tried to turn it off, so it flashed lights at him until he had a seizure and died!"

This is an actual plot line from Elementary. Yeah. It sucks. Back to anime!

Denki's struggle for control is what makes him relatable. He has episodes during regular classes that detract from his learning. His friends make fun of his "derp mode", the period where he's the most vulnerable. These aren't NICE things, but they are all too relatable. He could be criticised for taking too many risks, and trying to use too much of his power at once without thinking it through. This is what we experts call "being a teenager".

From my personal experience, your teen years are when you start to really discover what your triggers are. You try to push yourself, find where your limit is and maybe even try to rebel against it. Perhaps with enough practice you can break those limits and be cured! (Spoiler: You can't be.)

Pushing limits could mean: not taking your medication, staying up late, watching films with flashing lights etc. So when I see Denki being too gun-ho about using his quirk- that's what I see: a teenager testing his limits and making mistakes.

But I also see him LEARNING from those mistakes. He pushes his voltage limit up slowly, testing it in a safe environment with support staff around. He has aids to help refine his technique and prevent overload. His level of self-control from Two Heroes to Heroes Rising is remarkable!

So that brings us back round to the film, and why I cried in the cinema, admittedly on my 4th watch. (I had a pass. I made the most of it.) The answer is: Kaminari knowingly and painfully pushing his limit to save the island. Specifically I am talking about the scene where the power has gone out across the island, and it is Kaminari's job to charge the emergency batteries Momo created to bring power back to mainframe units.

We see him and Momo struggling to produce these generators. They require more energy than they possess, but without them they're doomed. When Jiro suggests they take a break Denki replies "If I don't charge these [batteries] now I won't get to"

This hit home. I have been in that situation. I've had to pull an all nighter. I've had to wake up too early, too often. I've been so stressed that I can feel the tell tale signs of a seizure on the horizon… but I had to push through it. Once that feeling of an oncoming seizure begins there is no taking a break. There is no five minute gap, I have to complete my tasks, be it handing in coursework or stacking shelves, right then coz I'm gonna be flat on my bed in 10 minutes regardless.

That's what I saw in Denki, and in Momo. The familiar pain of knowing the worse is coming, knowing there's nothing you can do, but the pressure of the immediate task means you can't stop. All because, for you, pushing your limits has deadly consequences. For the first time we saw Denki's "Derp Mode" played as a consequence with little to no comedic element. This wasn't "Silly Denki thinking he can do it all! No he can't!" or "Look at his derpy face, how funny it is so make him suffer!"

Denki's loss of awareness was a sign that he had been acting as a hero. He'd given his all for his friends and the islanders. In his next scene we saw him attending a meeting in a Postictal State. He has nothing more to give, but he was still included in the group.

I've never really seen that before. I've never been given a chance to explore those feelings through media. It made me process my life and my choices. Through Denki's extraordinary situation, I was able to look at my ordinary life more clearly.

Denki was me. Denki was me age 10 missing things in class and thinking I was an idiot. He was me age 14, losing friends because they thought I was ignoring them. He was me age 19 at Uni, hiding under a desk during hand-in because my brain couldn't cope anymore. He was me age 24 realising I had to quit my retail job because I couldn't keep up with the long hours; my seizure count going from 1 a month to 3 a day. He's me age 26 crying as I write this.

Representation matters. Seeing yourself represented let's you understand parts of your life you never got to before. It helps you feel seen, like your struggles matter to other people. Denki isn't perfect, but he’s all we have. And I love him.

[aleator]

day 18 - bodyguard au (thor/tony)

Tony’s not used to people trying to kill him. Yeah, he’s a celebrity, but he’s a movie star. He doesn’t do the kinds of things that normally get people killed, even when he ends up starring in a fantastically bad film. But this is different. He’s due to testify in court for a trial that could put several important, big-name industry folks behind bars, and apparently that’s enough to get people trying to kill him.

He’d always thought having a bodyguard in his line of work was kind of cheesy, but there’s a first time for everything, apparently.

The guy he hires looks a little like a hippie but he comes with great recommendations, so Tony hopes those reviews are legit. It’s his life in this guy’s hands, after all. This guy’s very lovely, probably lethal hands. Tony shouldn’t be thinking about those hands as anything other than killing machines. But it’s hard. They’re nice hands.

At first it feels like he’s being followed around everywhere, which he is, so that makes sense. But it’s also really annoying. It’s like he’s hired someone to be his friend but neither of them actually want to be friends. His bodyguard, Thor, is a nice enough guy, but he’s painfully professional. He doesn’t even laugh at Tony’s hilarious jokes.

“Maybe your jokes just aren’t funny,” his agent, Pepper, says after he’s complained to her over the phone for fifteen minutes.

“Not true. They’re hilarious,” Tony reminds her. Even Pepper laughs at some of his jokes sometimes.

“If you hate having a bodyguard so much, why don’t you just go into witness protection or something?” Pepper suggests.

“I can’t do that, I’m in the middle of shooting a movie!” Tony protests. “You’re my agent, you know that.”

“I do know that,” she replies patiently. “But I’d rather you stop shooting a movie than someone shoot you. It’ll be hard to be your agent if you’re dead.”

“Probably wouldn’t stop you.”

“Nobody would blame you if you didn’t turn up to the charity dinner,” she says, which is probably the first time she’s ever told him not to go to an event. “You already donated the money, so we can still publicize that.”

“I’m not going to skip the charity dinner. That’s my first public appearance in weeks.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to have fun bringing your new bodyguard as your plus one.”

Tony sighs and realizes that yes, he’ll probably be stuck with just Thor as his dinner date. But at least he’ll get to be out and about having fun instead of hiding in his home.

At the dinner, people only want to ask him about the attempt on his life. Which sounds exciting, but most of what Tony remembers is the soft sound of a bullet whizzing by and then someone throwing him down onto the ground. It’s not very interesting to talk about. But society types can gossip about anything indefinitely, so he mostly just sits there and lets them prattle on while he nods occasionally.

Eventually he manages to escape and sneaks over to the bar to get himself something stronger than the champagne that came with dinner. As he’s nursing a whiskey a voice behind him says,

“If you want to leave, you can pretend I made you go.”

He startles, embarrassingly so, nearly spilling his drink. “Jeez, you can’t scare a guy who’s got professional killers after him like that!”

Thor steps out from behind him so Tony can see him, looking faintly amused. “My apologies. I thought you knew I was there.”

“Well I did not. Because you are strangely light on your feet for someone so…”

Thor smiles politely at him while he tries to think of a way to finish that sentence, and when he doesn’t come up with anything Thor just carries on with the conversation.

“I mean it, if you’d like to go. I can declare something a security risk,” Thor offers. “So you can save face or whatever you’re worried about.”

It’s a strangely observant and sweet offer, and Tony stares at him. Long enough that Thor shrugs and adds,

“Or not.”

“No! No, actually, that’d be great,” Tony finally says, knocking back the rest of his whiskey in one go and setting aside the glass on the bar so he can stand up. “Uh, oh no, I feel unsafe here in this public location. Bodyguard, help.”

And finally, for the first time, Thor laughs. Actually laughs at some dumb joke that Tony made. Thor’s smile widens as he laughs and Tony just about melts at the sight of it.

After that, Thor starts to soften. He smiles more, laughs at a few more of Tony’s jokes, and Tony feels less weird about having him around. He takes Thor with him whenever he goes out, but nothing perilous ever happens, so he starts to wonder if hiring a bodyguard was just going overboard. Maybe everything will be totally fine…

...were always famous last words.

The bastards try to get him one night as he’s coming out of a crowded nightclub. Nothing looks out of the ordinary to him, but as he’s waiting for someone to pull his car around he’s suddenly being pushed down to the ground. He yelps in alarm until he realizes it’s just Thor, then he shouts again more urgently as he sees blood on him.

The crowd is running and yelling, panicked, and people are trying to dive for cover or call emergency services. Thor is still draped over him, shielding him with his body, but Tony thinks that might be because he’s incapable of moving.

“Thor? Holy shit, Thor,” Tony says with increasing intensity as he shakes Thor’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy! Don’t do this to me.”

At some point in all the commotion the EMTs and cops appear on the scene, sirens blaring, and Tony and Thor are carted away in an ambulance. Tony keeps insisting that he’s fine, they need to worry about Thor, forget about him. Nobody listened, of course, and they ended up taking him to his own hospital room no matter how many times he insisted the blood on his suit wasn’t from him.

They check him over thoroughly, even though Tony’s antsy and restless. He keeps asking about Thor, but they only give him vague answers no matter how many demands he makes. What’s the point of being a famous movie star if nobody’s so awestruck at your presence they listen to everything you say?

Eventually they declare him fit to be released, which he could have told them from the start, and he immediately demands to see Thor. He apparently can’t even do that so he’s stuck waiting even more, feeling sick to his stomach.

He falls asleep in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs at some point. Pepper had arrived at the hospital sometime earlier, panicking even more than Tony had, insisting he should have gone into witness protection for real and that she’s canceling every plan of his until this trial is over, but she must have taken a Valium or something because she dozes off in the chair next to him eventually too.

Finally a doctor approaches them to let Tony know that Thor is stable and has requested to see him, which they’ll allow as long as he doesn’t excite Thor too much. Tony is up on his feet in a flash, following the doctor to Thor’s hospital room.

Thor is awake and sitting up in bed, which is a good sign. Tony awkwardly enters the room, hands clasped behind his back.

“The bullet didn’t hit any major organs,” Thor offers when Tony doesn’t say anything right away.

“What about minor organs?” Tony asks.

Thor laughs, but he immediately winces and clutches at his side as the action pulls on his stitches. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry,” Tony says, finally taking a seat in the chair beside Thor’s bed. He debates what to say for a few moments longer, then blurts out,

“I never would’ve hired a bodyguard if I’d thought they would actually die.”

Thor gives him an amused look. “Unfortunately for you, it turns out I happen to like you.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony points out, “You had to do that, I’m paying you.”

“To take a bullet for you? You’re not paying me that much.”

“Oh. Should I be?”

Thor laughs weakly again, settling back against his pillows with a weary sigh. “I did not take the bullet for the money, Stark.”

Finally it starts to click in Tony’s head, and he scoots his chair a little closer, cautiously reaching for Thor’s hand. Thor lets him take it, and they hold hands on the hospital bed.

“You’re okay?” Thor asks, trying to look Tony over without either of them moving.

“Yeah,” Tony says with a warm smile. “Thanks to you.”

[loki-hargreeves]

Loki x Reader - Wounds

Warnings: mild gore, close description of wound cleaning, blood, hurt/comfort, fluff, sexual tension, masochism/woundplay (very subtle), implied smut Word Count: 3,7K+ Summary: Loki returns from a mission, wounded. He pretends to be fine but the reader sees through that. She offers to clean his wound and the sexual tension between the two of them grows. At some point, they can’t ignore it anymore. Author’s Note: This was supposed to be a fluffy one-shot, but @godidontevenknowwhat​ kind of inspired me to choose the dirtier route. 

Loki was stubborn.

Perhaps it was in his secretive nature to keep his issues to himself, afraid that by asking for help he would appear weak or vulnerable. It wasn’t entirely Loki’s fault, Y/N knew that. His past was incredibly complicated, which resulted in Loki’s unusual stubbornness and unwillingness to accept other people’s aid. Trying to get close to him was like trying to boil water on an instant – impossible. It required a lot of patience and time, but in the end, it was worth it.

Today was one of the more difficult days.

Loki, who had recently joined the Avengers on several missions now that he lived on earth, returned from a dangerous mission. He claimed that he was fine, but the way he walked, avoiding putting his weight on his left foot gave it away. He was hurt and Y/N wasn’t going to let him ignore his injuries. Seeing him like that broke her heart a little bit. They had been close for months now. In her mind, they were clearly friends - if not more.

As the others stayed in the common room to discuss the mission, Loki retreated to his quarters. Y/N followed him closely, leaving the others behind. She hadn’t been on the mission as she had been busy in New York, dealing with politicians who wanted to stick their noses into the Avengers business again. It was more than just frustrating, but she didn’t want to think about it now. She was worried about Loki.

Once she found herself behind his closed door, she knocked on it three times. “Loki? It’s me, can I come in?”

She heard him sigh deeply before replying, “Come in.”

The door was surrounded by a green film of magic that turned the doorknob and opened the door to her. Y/N knew Loki possessed great magic, but it never failed to amaze her. Even something as simple as him opening and closing doors with magic was astonishing. She walked in and the door closed behind her. Loki was sitting on his bed, crouching forward as his large hand held onto his ribcage tightly. Despite how clear it was to her that he was in pain, Loki tried to act as if nothing was wrong.

“What happened?” Y/N wanted to know, walking further inside the large room carefully. The green curtains had been pulled in front of the windows, but the room was lit by candles and the ceiling light. Loki’s scent was so strong in the room that it almost made Y/N swoon, but she had a strong grip on herself. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of Loki, now did she.

“I knew you’d ask,” Loki chuckled, and his rosy lips curled into an evident smirk.

“You’re avoiding my question,” Y/N noticed that Loki didn’t continue to speak after that.

His smirk stilled and he tried to sit up straight. He couldn’t escape her watchful eye. “I might’ve stepped on an explosive-“

“Loki!” Y/N gasped, shocked to hear his opening sentence. “Are you alright?” Without giving it much thought, she rushed to his side. She took a look at him, trying to find signs of great injuries, but failed. It took her a while to recover from the initial shock. How was he still in one piece?

“I’m a god, Y/N. I’ll survive. Something as small as that explosive couldn’t possibly wipe me off the surface of Midgard,” He tried to reassure her that everything was alright.

Somehow, Y/N didn’t believe that he had escaped that without any harm whatsoever. She didn’t want him to be in pain, to suffer alone. “You’re hurt though,” She tested the waters.

Loki sighed, again. He didn’t want to lie to her out of all people. She had a funny way of finding out about the truth of most things sooner or later. Besides, being vulnerable around her wasn’t that bad. Loki had grown quite fond of her and he had to admit that he enjoyed the attention she gave him. At first, he couldn’t understand why she cared. He was almost infuriated by the affectionate words and gazes, but now he had learned to like that. Now he often found himself wanting more, but he never acted out on that wish.

Silently, he stood up from the bed, now standing close to her. She didn’t step further away from him as neither one of them minded the closeness. Loki raised his wrist, using his magic to discard himself of his heavy, battle clothes, leaving him in his emerald green robe and black pants. “The ceiling in the base collapsed and I got a splinter in my side. How unfortunate,” Loki played it off cool as he opened his robe, revealing his bare chest underneath.

At first, Y/N was taken back by the fact that Loki was slowly undressing himself right in front of her. His tones chest was only a foot away from the tip of her nose and she played with the idea of letting her hands roam over his body. Quickly, her focus shifted to the wound in his side. He had pulled out whatever had pierced his flesh, but it had left behind a nasty injury. He was still bleeding!

“Loki…” Y/N struggled to find the right words. Seeing him like that and knowing he must’ve been in pain hurt her. She wanted to make him feel better.

“Don’t worry about it. In two days, it’ll be impossible to tell it was ever there,” He explained casually.

“Well I’m not going to stand by and let you suffer for two days,” She told him. Y/N knew how to be stubborn too. “Let me at least clean it for you, okay?”

Loki narrowed his jade eyes, looking at her properly for the first time that day. He noticed that she seemed genuinely worried about him. Her eyes that were usually so full of joy and light were now glossy. Was she truly upset that he was in pain? He didn’t know what to think of it. Suddenly, Loki felt nervous. His cheeks felt warm as blood rushed to his face and he had to avoid her gaze. “If that’ll make you feel better,” He gave her his verbal permission to do what she pleased.

Thank goodness, Y/N thought as Loki surrendered to her help. “Just wait here, I’ll grab the essentials,” She told him as calmly as she could, focusing entirely on cleansing his wound.

Quickly, she turned around to go to his bathroom, knowing that there was a first-aid kit in there, somewhere. She could’ve sworn that the Avengers compound had more first-aid kits than anything else they could need. It didn’t take long until she found the little red box from the cabinet. She grabbed that along with a roll of toilet paper – If things got messy. Then she returned to Loki who was comfortably sprawled on his bed. He seemed exhausted. Poor thing.

Oh, what she’d do to rest by his side, to let her hands dance across his skin. Perhaps she could catch a kiss or two, or let her lips trace the skin of his neck…

Focus! Y/N told herself as she put the essentials on the bed and then crawled on the soft mattress herself. She sat as comfortably as she could next to Loki so that his wound was easily reached. There was dry blood surrounding it and it was beginning form a crust, but the wound itself looked painful and fresh blood coated it. To stop the bleeding, she grabbed a generous amount of cotton and pressed it on it, watching how the crimson red blood soaked the white material within seconds.

“Were you just going to let yourself bleed out for two days?” Y/N wondered as she sat there, hoping to avoid an awkward silence. It was rare between the two of them as they often found themselves lost in conversation. Somehow this moment felt different, more intimate.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” He shrugged. He couldn’t be serious.

The scars all over his torso let her believe that he was serious. Sure, he had lived much longer than any mortal and seen battles that didn’t compare to the mission he had been on. But it didn’t mean eh deserved to be in pain.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Y/N shifted the focus from the wound to the fact he was alive and considerably well. The thought of losing him, even if he was just a friend, was terrifying. It was quite unlikely due to his strength, but nothing was impossible.

Loki felt his tongue turn heavier by the second as he heard that. He appreciated her care, but he struggled to find the right words to answer her with. It had been so long since he experienced this, that someone genuinely cared about him. Most people stuck around him because he was royalty. Others tried to get closer to Thor via Loki. Y/N didn’t have any ill intentions.

“It would be unfortunate if I passed this early. I’ve still got plenty of people to piss off,” Loki joked after a brief moment of silence. When Y/N giggled in response, he felt a strange sense of pride. He liked making her laugh and listening to that sweet sound was like music to his ears.

             Eventually, the bleeding stopped so Y/N removed the cotton. Before she could close the wound, she would have to clean it properly. Unless Loki wanted water soaked on his bed, he had to move to the shower. “I need you in the shower for the next part,” She explained as she gathered the dirty cotton balls into her hands so she could throw them away.

“Oh, are you joining me?” Loki teased her, hoping to shift the attention away from him to her. Besides, he thought she looked cute whenever she was flustered.

“As a matter of fact, I am,” She rolled her eyes as the two of them made their way to the bathroom, which was far more elegant that Y/N had expected. It was clearly built while keeping the resident in mind, it looked like it could belong to a palace. The shower was huge, and it had a seat in the corner, built into the wall. It was perfect.

While ignoring her heart that was beating a little too fast in her chest, Y/N made Loki sit on the shower stool. She grabbed the showerhead and made sure the water wasn’t too hot or too cold. She was happy that the water supply in the compound was clean which made it so much easier to rinse wounds. Using alcohol was unnecessary, at least when it came to a wound like this.

Carefully, she placed the showerhead over the wound and washed away the dry blood. It only took seconds for the crimson wound to change into a fleshy colour, looking better already. The blood really made everything seem worse.

“Your clothes are getting wet,” Loki stated the obvious. He could’ve easily done this himself, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.

“So are yours, smartass,” Y/N smiled, calling him that jokingly.

Although the water wasn’t even that warm, the air in the bathroom felt hotter by the second. Y/N would’ve loved to get rid of her outer layer of clothes, but she refused to do so in the shower. Besides, her clothes got wet and it stuck to her skin awkwardly, not leaving too much to the imagination.

“Once I’m done with you, you should be as good as new,” Y/N assured him happily. A dry spot of blood refused to dissolve with the water, so Y/N put her thumb over his skin, ever so carefully rubbing the blood off. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him. She noticed how her touch made Loki’s abdominal muscles tense underneath her hand, which she ignored to avoid making things strange.

“Uh…that’s great,” Loki mumbled quietly. Why did her touch make him act that way? It felt like his thoughts were racing when her hand rested on his belly.

“I think that’s good,” Y/N turned off the waterflow and placed the showerhead on its rightful place. She stood up and looked at her soaked clothes with a smile, laughing as water followed her steps, forming a wet path.

Loki did not want that water on his bed, which gave him an idea. “You can borrow my clothes until you get your own. That is, unless you like to be wet and cold,” He didn’t think about his voice of words until it was too late. Damn. He hated how he felt like a young fool around her, thinking twice over a word as simple as ‘wet’. Yet, he did, and he couldn’t help it.

“I’d appreciate that, Loki,” Y/N brushed it off and returned his kindness with a smile.

It didn’t take long until they were both in dry clothes. Loki changed his robe and put on sweatpants, something he had grown fond of during his time on Midgard. The people sure knew how to make comfortable clothes. He left his robe open and lied down on his bed again so Y/N could finish what she had started.

She was wearing one of Loki’s many, surprisingly comfortable robes. She wrapped it tightly around her body and savoured the moment. Being wrapped in the silky material that smelled so strongly of Loki felt lovely. Would he notice if she borrowed it for longer than one night?

With clean hands, she grabbed tweezers so she could pull out the tiny splinters from his wound that she noticed while she was washing it. There were only a few of them, but she was determined to get them all out of his body.

“This might hurt,” Y/N warned him as she carefully began to work on the wound again.

“Maybe I like a little pain,” Loki hinted mysteriously, unintentionally making Y/N grow nervous again. He had noticed how recently his words captured her, made her avoid eye contact and sometimes she’d play with the hem of her shirt nervously. Making her flustered was fun, but he wasn’t too harsh on her. As much fun as it was, Loki couldn’t avoid the deeper truth behind it. She wasn’t flustered for no reason and he didn’t enjoy for no reason either.

One splinter was out. Loki had barely noticed it at all.

Y/N put the bloody splinter on his chest, too lazy to get up and throw it in the bin just yet. “I don’t understand how you step on an explosive, get buried by a ceiling and walk out of that in one piece,” Y/N wanted to talk about the mission.

“That’s where magic comes in handy,” Loki explained, wiggling his fingers playfully. “Besides, the ceiling debris didn’t weigh much.”

“What happened to the enemy?” Y/N wondered as she tried to pull out the larger splinter. It was harder than she imagined at first.

“They tried to escape, but we caught them by the entrance. Thor used his- ah!” Loki suddenly moaned in pain, which interrupted whatever he was about to say. Instinctively, his hand wrapped around her wrist. Y/N had pulled the splinter out and she figured it must’ve hurt him.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she felt guilty, “I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay!” Loki’s pale cheeks turned red, a rosy colour that spread to his ears as well. Was he blushing? Y/N found it much cuter than she should’ve, especially considering the situation. Her brain began to work in order to understand what happened and she concluded that he was either embarrassed or that Loki liked it.

Once her brain connected Loki with masochism, there was no turning back.

Little did she know that she was right. Loki liked that a little bit too much. He was unsure whether he should ignore what just happened or make her do it again. Her touch had been so gentle, so caring which already messed with his mind. When she insisted they would go in the shower together, Loki was almost baffled by disbelief. Seeing her in there, soaked by the warm water, on her knees right in front of him, his mind had gone to extremely sinful places.

Now this.

This made his thoughts somehow worse.

Loki hadn’t been joking when he said he liked a little bit of pain.

Their eyes met and Loki knew it was be delusional to believe they could move on as if nothing happened. His hand was still holding onto her wrist, but neither one of them was pulling away.

He cleared his throat, “It’s okay, Y/N.”

Gently, he pulled her hand back to his wound. It took every ounce of strength he had not to pull her onto his lap like he desired to do. Instead, he let go of her wrist and muttered, “Just…continue, if you’d like.”

Nervously, Y/N nodded and decided to finish this. Her hands were shaking now which made it harder to pull out the splinters. They both avoided each other’s gazes and a silence lingered around them.

It was quiet until Y/N was ready to wrap it up. “I need you to sit,” She explained while grabbing bandages from the small first-aid kit.

Loki did as he had been told and sat up. His wound already felt much better, but that wasn’t what he was focused on now. Y/N had completely taken over his mind, lurking in his every thought. He had felt strongly for her for a while now, but this intensified his feelings ten times. Her gentle touch, the intimacy of trusting her with his wound, the nervous touches… and the damn pain that she had accidentally inflicted upon him. It was so wrong, but it had felt so good.

He watched her as she placed a square piece of bandage over his wound and began to tape it down on his skin. Seeing her wrapped up in his robe made Loki feel strangely good. He felt possessive over her, but not in a delusional way. He was protective over her, he cared about her more than he dared to admit. Now she was wrapped in his scent. Anyone who saw her now could see that she wore something of his. Loki enjoyed that a lot. If he had the guts to take a risk, he’d ask her to be his as he would be hers. 

He stayed quiet as she grabbed a softer bandage and rolled it around his waist a few times, scooting closer to him so she could reach around his body. They were so close now. Loki looked at her flustered face, noticing that she was nervous by judging her expression, the way her eyebrows were furrowed together. 

Oh, how he wanted to grab her and kiss her. To smother her with his affection like she did with him. To show her that he cared, even though he seemed cold at times. He had fantasised about it several times before, but the urge had never been this strong before. He yearned for her. It felt like his heart tightened in his chest painfully every time they were close. He nearly lost his breath when they were like this. Loki was surprised by his own feelings. It had been so long since he last craved someone like he craved her.

“You’re all wrapped up,” Y/N was finally done with him. Gently, she patted his stomach, forgetting all about the intimacy. She was going to pull her hand away, already regretting that she touched him when it wasn’t necessary, when Loki grabbed her hand in his own. He had feared she’d pull hers away, but she didn’t.

Their eyes met, both full of questions that no words could answer. Only actions.

Fuck it, Loki thought. Their time together was too short anyway and he felt strangely confident as he did what he had wanted to for so long. Loki pulled Y/N towards him, almost making her lose her balance as she crashed against him. Her impact put pressure on his wound, but it only hurt a little bit which Loki welcomed. Their lips met roughly, and their teeth nearly clashed by the sudden force. As Loki tilted his head, the kiss got more comfortable. Their lips melted against one another and they both felt sparks igniting between them, on their lips and within their hearts.

It felt so right.

Loki tasted her and she was just as sweet as he had thought. He used his other hand to cup the side of her face, his fingertips resting against the back of her head. He felt her pulse underneath his palm, and it relieved him to know he wasn’t the only one whose heart was racing like a wild horse.

They pulled away after a moment, staring at each other curiously, almost in disbelief. Y/N couldn’t believe Loki kissed her. It felt magical. His kiss seemed to put a spell on her, or perhaps it was the burst of joy she felt when she faced him so lovingly.

“Thank you,” Loki smiled, overjoyed at the moment. He had to thank her properly for taking such good care of him.

“I couldn’t let you bleed out, now could I?” She laughed lightly and then glanced at his lips again, feeling like she needed to kiss him again more than she needed air in her lungs. So she did that, closing her eyes as their lips met again. This time it was expected and somehow even better.

Y/N got a boost of confidence from the kiss. She had a strange feeling that Loki wouldn’t mind her as she threw her leg over his lap, straddling him on his bed. Loki welcomed that, holding onto her body to keep her close. She couldn’t believe herself as she leaned her body seductively towards the dark-haired man and grabbed him by his waist, letting her hand linger above his wound. As odd as it was, he seemed to enjoy a little bit of pain. Touching him was so exciting and she wanted more. She longed for more as she felt Loki’s large hands on her body, holding her a little tighter than a friend would.

Loki didn’t want to scare her away from him, but he couldn’t control his body when she grinded her lap against his. Suddenly, his comfortable pants began to feel tight around him. Loki pulled away from the kiss, stopping himself before surely, he’d make her back away. “Y/N- you’re going to drive me mad!” He warned her seriously, yet he didn’t let go of her.

“So be it,” She shrugged, eyes darkened by lust. He was a fool if he thought she didn’t want him as much as he wanted her.

A/N: Well, well, well. You’ve made it to the end. I would appreciate your feedback! Thank you so much for reading this 💕

Reblogs > Likes

[dungeons-bat]

Sleepless Night (5th Chap)

Warnings: None.

The complete fic

———————————————

“What time is it?” - we have watched of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers. That's the whole phase one, in one night. “It’s four am, darling.” - He said. It was funny because Thomas did not want to watch this films, but we haven't even watched five minutes of the first Iron Man, and he was all excited talking about what he discovered about the films, and telling me random details about the character. “Don’t you want to go to sleep? It’s late, Sebastian’s party is later today.” - If we’re being honest, 1- I had totally forgotten about the party, just remembered now, but I’m acting if I knew. 2- I don’t want to sleep, but we have to pretend that we’re responsible. “Fine, but I need to be clear that we’re watching phase two tomorrow, or later today, and that’s out of discussion.” - He said. “Good night Thomas.” - I said, walking towards “my” room. “Night little one.”

It’s been an hour since I laid down in bed, I’m not able to sleep. I decide to go grab a glass of water, but when I step out of ‘my’ room, Bobby start to bark ‘fuck’ is the only thing I’m able to think about. “Hey buddy, let’s calm down, shall we. Why’re you barking?” - I hear Tom saying, that’s when I notice that his lights are on. Then he opens the door, looking for what made his dog bark. Damn, he is wearing his sweatpants, the same he was wearing before, but now he’s shirtless. What a view. “Oh, I thought you were sleeping.” - He says, “Not able to, I’m incredibly nervous. But I thought YOU were sleeping.” - I reply. “Also not able to, also nervous. What are you doing anyway?” - Why is he nervous? I’m curious now. “Oh, I was going to grab some water. I’m sorry to disturb you.” - But you can come with me and answer the question that I did not ask you, but still want to know. “Mind if I go with you, Isa?” - “Not at all” - I want you to. “So, why are you nervous, darling?” - I can ask you the same question. “It’s going to be the first time that I meet the other actors, I don't know what to do” - I tell him. “Oh honey, don’t be worried about that. They are going to love you. They are all nice, and you’re going to be best friends in seconds. Okay, maybe not best friends, but you got what I mean.” - It’s easy to say. “Thank you, really. But I don't think you’ll like if they become my best friends, because that means you’re loosing your place. Anyway, what about you? Why nervous?” - We got where I wanted. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m nervous because it will be your first time meeting the crew as well. I also did not know that I was your best friend.” - If you don't tell me, I would have never guessed. “Come on, I spend 12 hours a day with you, probably more, seven days a week, four weeks a month. Who else would be my best friend, Thomas?” - I did not think he was that dumb. “You got a point. But just to be clear, you’re my best friend too, darling.” - I have to admit that it is amazing to hear that, but also hurts a little, I can’t lie to myself, I really wish we were something else, if you got what I mean.

Another half hour goes by, and I’m still not able to sleep, I’m now I’m looking at the ceiling, maybe I should accept that this night there is no sleep for me. After a while I hear a knock on my door, it is obviously Tom, so I let him in. “I was not sure if you were awake, sorry to disturb you.” - He says. “Don’t worry about it, was bored and unable to sleep. Do you need anything?” - I ask. “Well, this might look incredibly strange, but can I sleep here?” - Wow, okay, it’s been a while since we became friends, and we are extremely close, we are also both adults. But it’s kinda hard to keep my cool, when a guy like Thomas William bloody Hiddleston is asking to sleep in the same bed as I. Fortunately, he has his shirt back. Or unfortunately if I may say. “Sure, come here.” - I tap the empty space on the bed. “Thanks, really.” - Then he lays where I was tapping, pulls the covers and turn to face me. His eyes were a bit more greyish than usual, but still bright blue. His hair was a bit messy, probably from trying to sleep and not being able. I feel extremely guilty because, if he told me the truth, I'm literally the reason of his insomnia. “Good night, little one.” - He says, after a while. “Good night TW.” - I turn my face to the other side, because I can't sleep looking at his gorgeous face.

[pocketfulofrogers]

When Gods Fall

Part 2

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader

Summary: Hoping to outrun the worst day of your life, you found home within the Avengers, in Tony. Now, your days are filled with lies and you can only hope your nights won’t bring back the tragedies of your life as you prepare to follow through with what may be the last decision of your very long life. 

In the middle of the night, sounds of you grunting and thrashing carry down the hall. Your body is caught and twisted in the sheets, and your forehead covered in sweat.

“No, Sol!” You scream and rush into the room. She lays still, her eyes cold and lifeless. You graze a tentative finger down her face and gently shake her. A trail of blood seeps from between her lips. “No, no, no.” You cry. “Please, please. Come back, please.”

You reach for her body to cradle her to you, the blood from her abdomen soaking your clothes, and wail into her neck.

“Oh, Gods, bring her back.” You sob.

You awake breathless and in a panic- the sheets constricting your body doing nothing to help your situation. The fact that Tony hadn’t awaken or come rushing to your side hurts, but when you sit up, you realize you’re in an empty room.

“Jarvis? Where’s Tony?” You ask once you’ve gotten control over your breathing.

“I’m sorry, Miss, Mr. Stark has requested he not be disturbed.”

You pull your knees to your chest. “That’s two nights in a row, J. What’s he really doing?”

“I’m sorry, Miss-“

“Yeah, I know. I’m not privy to that information.” You rest your forehead on your knees and groan. “He’s still mad, isn’t he?” The question is muffled.

“I think that’s a reasonable assumption.” Jarvis replies. You lay back down on your side, curl up, and try to fight back your tears. “Miss?” You hum your response. “Would you like me to contact him for you? Ask that he return?”

Yes. Right now, he was the only thing you needed but if he were to know that, if he were to see you like this, he’d disable every form of transportation just to keep you grounded.

“Thank you, but that’s alright. I’m sure he’s busy.”

**

“Alright, last one. I got three pancakes with blueberries, crispy bacon.” You hold out the plate and it’s only a few seconds before the grateful hands of Sam Wilson take the fresh breakfast.

He sticks his nose directly above the sticky sweetness and inhales deeply. “You are a god amongst men.” He drools.

“Goddess.” You correct him with a smirk and he salutes you with his fork.

“Something smells good!” Clint announces when he rounds the corner. “I have something for you.” He smiles wide and pulls a small trophy from behind his back. A golden little girl chasing after a soccer ball. ‘1st place’ written across the bottom.

“No way.” Natasha tries to say around a mouthful of eggs.

“Lyla’s team won the tournament?” You beam.

Clint’s nod mirrors the excitement radiating from you. “Award ceremony was last night. I was promptly instructed to show her favorite aunts.”

“We better be her favorites.” Again, Natasha’s mouth is full. She reaches for the trophy and starts to ask Clint questions about the game. He was very proud to announce that not only did she score four goals, he got each one on film.

Your excitement is cut short when Steve approaches you quietly from behind, and you groan internally.

“Can I talk to you?” He asks low, being mindful of the ears around.

Curtly, you nod and your shoulders tense. He can see the shift in your eyes, and that’s all he wants to know. Why were you playing this so close to the vest?

Thor told him that he was overacting, that you knew exactly what you were doing, but Steve wasn’t so convinced. Even if he was willing to agree that he was protective of you, saying that he was overreacting just didn’t sit right with him.

In all the years he had known you, he had never once seen you try to take on a mission solo. Tony was usually your partner, it didn’t take a genius to figure out why, but you had never turned down a volunteer. ‘I’ve been around a long time, Rogers. There’s a lot for me to show.’ You used to say.

For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why he was the only one who seemed to be pushing back.

“What can I help you with, Captain?” There’s a hint of disdain in your voice, but it doesn’t surprise him.

He holds a file out to you, but pulls it back when you reach for it. “Fury gave this to me. He told me it was the latest update for us. ‘Us’, as in you and me.” He raises a brow and suddenly you feel like a recruit getting reprimanded. “Which is funny, because I definitely remember you telling me you were going in ‘dark’ and ‘alone’.”

He waits for your response with that same look on his face, but you’re not sure you have one. So many stories you were juggling. He’s a revenge seeking inhuman, you’re not going in for combat, it’s a simple in and out take down.

Never had you been so careless, so scattered. Steve was so much more intuitive than the others gave him credit for and it was only a matter of time before he started talking to the rest of the team. When you drop your head into your hand and close your eyes, he thinks it’s the first time you’ve been honest in days.

He’d be right.

“Talk to me, Y/N. Whatever it is, you know I’ll help you.”

It’s his face, so honest and caring that does you in. “I can’t.” You whisper. “I just, I can’t.” He follows you when you grab his arm to pull him farther away from the group. “This is just something I need to do and I need you to trust me.” He looks out the window and doesn’t seem to have been swayed. You can almost hear the speech you’re about to get. “You can’t tell me there’s never been something you’ve been driven to handle yourself because it just means that much.”

Steve’s gaze snaps back to you. “That’s not fair.”

And it wasn’t. Bucky had always been a touchy subject with him, but you had promised to help him in his search. The amount of times Steve had left without warning for days though, was, well you had lost track.

He holds up the file. “Are you trying to tell me that this man is some long-lost friend that got dragged into something and needs your help?”

You frown. “Something like that. He won’t come willingly if he’s ambushed. It has to be me, and I have to be alone.”

His heavy sigh almost says as much as his eyes. “Why not just tell us?”

Tilting your head back, you try to stay as close to the truth as possible. “I will. Someday when I’m ready, but that time in my life? I’m not exactly eager to revisit it.”

“Look, I-“

“Ah, Y/N, there you are. I have something to show you.” Tony peaks around the corner. It takes him a moment to recognize the mood of the room. “Unless I’m interrupting something?”

Plastering a smile on your face, you turn from Steve. “Not at all, I’m all yours.”

**

Tony flits around his lab erratically, pulling up schematics and what seem to be prototypes.

“Alright, I figured I have better odds of figuring out time travel than I do changing your mind, so I’ve decided to stop fighting you.”

“Oh?” Not exactly what you were expecting. When he knocks over a picture frame of you and him in the Maldives, your curiosity merges into confusion. “Tony, when was that last time you slept?”

He looks back to you and smirks. “Probably about the last time you did.”

You face falls flat. “That would be the last time you slept in your own bed.”

He raises his hands. “I know, I know, but I think you’ll be a little more forgiving when I show you what I’ve been doing.” He gestures to your hands. “I know you have the fists of fury-“

“They’re just my hands, no name.” You interject to remind him again that he may be witty with nicknames, but he was terrible at giving your powers their own.

He waves you off. “Very badass. Now, I know you hate carrying around extra gear, but I made you a few things anyways and I’m hoping to guilt you into taking them.” He shrugs and throws the first one on a bigger screen next to you.

You examine the blueprint. “Brass knuckles?”

“Similar, a little bit. New stark technology, and material. Not only is it weightless when it conforms to your hands, it also conducts electricity very well.” He tosses it to you, but as you catch it, it wraps around your knuckles. “Already have another pair in the works for Nat.”

It felt as if it was barely there, even as you twirled your fingers, sparking the tips. “Fire proof?”

“Fire tolerable, I wouldn’t say proof.”

He lights up at your smile. “Alright, I like it. What else did that big brain cook up?”

“Well…” He beams as he shows you a sword, some kind of staff that does something too complex for you to understand, a shield, and a few different explosives.

“It’s impressive, Tony. Even for you. You didn’t have to do all of this.”

He shrugs. “This is my way of protecting you without being there.”

You look around, feeling slightly overwhelmed. It’s a declaration if you’ve ever seen one before. One of love, and support, and trust. It warms you soul and breaks your heart in one fell swoop.

When you turn to face him, a tear falls. “I love you. So much. You know that right?”

It only takes him a few steps to reach you and wrap his arms around your waist. The smile he gives you is almost enough to knock you breathless. “I do. Almost as much as I love you.”

**

Tony’s a worrier, this isn’t news.

So, when he walks you towards the Quinjet in silence and pauses just at the entrance, you begin to feel a little voice start to gnaw away at you. Stay, it whispers feather light. Don’t leave him. His sigh pulls you back, but he can’t seem to meet your eyes when you turn to him.

You grab his hand, rub the pad of your thumb gently over his knuckles. “Three weeks.” You tell him. “We’ve survived much worse.”

He frowns. “Two and a half and then I bring you home myself.”

You laugh, trying to imagine Fury attempting to reign in a very angry Tony, and press your lips to his cheek. “Two and a half it is.”

“It appears you have another goodbye to endure.” Tony nods his head behind you.

You sigh and make your way towards Steve. “It’s a little late to be talking me out-“

He raises his hands. “I come in peace. I wanted to catch you before you left so I could give you this.”

He holds out a necklace, a silver sunflower hangs from the delicate chain.

“Uh… Thank you?”

He laughs at the confusion prominently displayed across your face. “It’s a tracker.” He stops you before you can scold him. “Only when you activate it. Just push the center and it will send a signal here, we’ll come get you. The chain and the pendant are made of adamantium, so you’ll have to actually try to break it.”

“Oh.” You examine it closer. “That’s actually really nice of you without falling into controlling. You can learn.”

He rolls his eyes. “Tell me you know at least half of all of those new toys Stark sent you with have some kind of GPS?”

You glance back at Tony and smile. “I do. I’ll be leaving them on the Quinjet, you know I prefer my hands anyways. Hopefully I don’t hurt his feelings too bad.”

Steve still didn’t like any of this. A sinking feeling in his gut was telling him that something was going to go terribly wrong, but everyone kept telling him to just trust that you knew what you were doing and you weren’t going to leave Tony broken by doing something as stupid as getting yourself killed.

“Just promise me you’ll actually use it if you find yourself in real trouble.” His frown doesn’t disappear when you nod. “I still don’t like it.”

“I know. Believe me, no one does, not even me. But this is something I need to do. Thank you, Steve, really. Thank you for always looking out for us, for being a great, albeit pain in the ass, but still a great friend.” You embrace him and lean into his ear. “Keep him safe from himself.”

When you pull away, he looks alarmed enough that you’re afraid he’ll stop you cold. But you smile anyways, gesture to Tony behind you and laugh.

“You two try to keep each other out of trouble.”

**

Twelve days later, Tony is in the middle of cracking a joke at Steve’s expense when your mayday rings out over the compound’s intercom system- crackles static in the air above them. Your voice fades in, hushed and desperate. Tony can here the tears thick in your voice, but realizes it’s only one way when you don’t respond to the countless times he calls your name.

“Jarvis, get a trace!” He yells.

There’s a grunt from you followed by shuffling. You don’t tell them where you are, Tony thinks you may not know. There’s only an apology when you ask that they don’t come looking for you.

“I won’t be around much longer.” The calmness that emanates from your voice sets the whole room on edge. “It’s almost done. I’m sorry, Tony, I’m so sorry.”

“The feed is untraceable.” Jarvis tells them. Tony is sat frozen in his fear, listening to everything as intently as he can.

Another voice is picked up on your end. It’s inaudible, but the deep laughter that follows rings out wicked enough that Natasha feels a wave of nausea hit her. You grunt again and something with glass breaks during what they can only assume is a violent struggle.

Your scream is the last thing they hear before the line goes dead.

[popculturebuffet]

The Loud House Reviews: Ghosted!

Halloween Havoc returns! Lori is haunted by a ghost and brings in LIncoln and Clyde ot fix things.. only to find out he’s actually the beloved school mascot and must enlist Lucy and her crew of goths to help her. The bar from the overlook hotel, 1900′s disco, and Boris, the best loud house character i’d never heard of all insue. All hail boris, and prepare for full review with spoilers. under the cut. 

We’re back! I’m sorry this is a week late. This is both due to having a LOT going on.. as well as my own fault for pushign this review back to do a review of the first episode of Starkid’s “Nightmare Time”.. only to have to push BOTH back after I was unable to finish this weeks’ Ducktales on Monday because I ended up having to get off it so my mom, who works from home, can use it, and because AT&T is an utter nightmare we’re thankfully leaving, so if nothing else that will hopefully never be an issue again. 

TLDR: I kept putting this one off, didn’t realize this week’s episode was in fact on this week, and now I have to get 5 reviews done in the span of three days: I have this episode, this week’s loud house, the amphibia halloween special, and reviews of Ducktales “The Duck Knight Returns” and the first darkwing duck episode “Darkly Dawns the Duck”. 

I kid, this blog will end as I too hope to end.. taking rusty and Zach with me. But i got myself into this mess and i’m getting myself out of it. I will get these done even if it kills me.. my ghost can then take care of the two fictional children. ON with the review!

We open at Fairway University. 

I had to. Lori is practicing for the big tournament coming up.. which normally would have me super excited as tournaments are my shit... but we’re not talking two people beating the shit out of each other, wether it be for the sport of it, because their master told them to, because one of htem is a demon who will end the world, or because their loved ones will be murdered if they don’t beat people up as a team for demons, nor people playing card games for their grandpa’s soul, or a grudge caused by an abusive childhood that leads to a battle over gods inside trading cards, or because the school decided why not, or because you need to both keep your godlike dragon that’s also in a card and your friends safe, or.. you get the idea. I love Anime tournaments in what anime I have watched. Me watching or reading of those is like coke to me... a golf tournament however?

Yeah i’m not big into non-wrestling sports in general, let alone one where hte main action is a ball went really far. I mean it IS impressive a golfer can do that and accuratley no less, that’s some Hawkeye level stuff, it’s just not for me. I do HIGHLY enjoy mini golf, and mini golf episodes as both simpsons and gravity falls episodes on that are a good time. I mean any episode that gets flanders to say this is worth at least one watch. 

And thanks to fond memories of my grandpa using them to get around his carnival, yes my grandpa owned a carnival and yes it was great and yes he was a great man and I miss him every day, and carting me around in them. If it were street legal i’d have one. And finally I LOVE happy gilmore. While Adam Sandler took a turn, and hopefully Hubie Halloween is a sign that long national nightmare is over, that film still holds up and is still REALLY damn funny. And by this point your probably wondering what the hell my point is.  Well the hell my point is is that in light of me liking golf related things for weird reason despite praying for death but death won’t come at the thought of watching actual golf, I love fairway university. I love the fact that a golf based college is credible, I love the fact it goes so far in it’s theme that the text books are all golf related, the dorms are all weirdly golf themed, and students apparently can get an arnold palmer at any time of night. I also assume the dorms have on demand streaming for happy gilmore and caddyshack, and a genisis with a copy of lee carvillo’s putting challenge.  Back on the actual episode at long last, Lori is putting in some driving practice and facetiming bobby. The reason the tournament is so important is that she needs to beat the evil elf Malketh at golf or else Suryr will end all life... I may of been reading walt simsons’s thor lately but admit it you would watch that. No it’s more mundane than a fire giant trying to commit universal genocide: Being the only freshman on the team, as in that good, if she dosen’t do well, she might loose her scholarship. Granted I DOUBT they’d take it away after one game, but it’s understandable why she fears loosing it: She can’t afford college any other way. Her parents finances are spread among 11 kids who all live comofrtably and while every loud would gladly give things up so she could go to college still.. Lori wouldn’t accept it. She’d be grateful.. but she wouldn’t have her family be miserable for her sake, even if it’s her dream. This is her one shot for the career she wants and loosing this would destroy her. Even if she’d still have Bobby.  But Bobby is pulled away because his customers are annoyed.. and by customers I mean just Vito.. the rest seem fine despite the line, who complalins his spumoni is melting... because apparently he can’t just have bobby get him a fresh one as Bobby would be happy to do because he’s made of pure joy and it was nice seeing him. Though I do hope to see him in college himself next season. It is WEIRD having the casagrandes season 1 paired with a season of the loud house taking place months later.. and having the halloween episode for season 2 show up months ahead of season 2 itself. 

But soon Lori has bigger problems than Bobby having to go or crushing loss... after consulting the school gopher, because the dean apparently really loves caddyshack as ANY dean of a golfiing school should. I forgot to mention it above but I freaking love that movie too. Good stuff. Back on point, Lori soon gets stalked by a g-g-g-host! And nope this ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around.. nor is it a scooby doo esque scheme. This is an actual ghost. Represented by a ball of light but .. yup they went there. And look I get the show breaks from reality a lot: Luann acts like the silver age joker once a year and gets away with it, Lisa gets up to dexter’s lab esque shenanigans on an episodic basis, and Girl Jordan isn’t part of the group despite clearly sharing their intrests and being intrested in both lincoln and stella.  There are stretches in reality.. but mostly for humor or because it’d make a good plot. Most of the plots are grounded in reality: From Luna’s entire romance arc, with her insecurities and her and sam’s worries about each other, to Luaan’s nervousness about her first kiss, to Lincoln and friends having to learn that sometimes a girl dosen’t want to date you just because their nice to you, to Lynn learning not to be a dick and hten forgetting it overnight because this show hates me, the show grounds wacky shenanigans in relatable slice of life stuff. It’s what makes it and it’s sister show work so well. Grounding the exagerated comedy with likeable relatable characters. IT’s what works.  Why I bring this up is this and family bonding show a possible trend of the show getting into more bizzare stuff. A ghost here, a secret agent there.. it means the loud world can get as insane as it wants and the reason I bring it up is simple: Is that a GOOD thing. And my opinon, it CAN be if used right. With Family Bonding the fact there are Secret Agents is just.. casually mentioned. Like yup james bond esque spies exist and have weather dominators and an 11 year old just stopped them. It’s just.. treated like a normal thing when it’s not. Here.. a ghost showing up.. is treated like someone suddenly finding out ghosts are fucking real. Lori slowly comes unraveled a bit as the first few minutes go: She deals with seeing a ghost glow on the range, having the ghost drop books on her in the library, and having it serve her an arnold palmer.. in what genuinely looks like the bar from the overlook hotel from the shining. 

I get it’s a deliberate shout out, especially since it’s bartender is a ghost. But it just raises so many questions: Was it a concidence or did whoever put this bar in really love the shining? Did he want teenagers to murder their wives and children? Did he? Is this building haunted and not just by the genearl ghost that haunts everything? Did they take this from the overlook since it didn’t burn down in the movie? Does this mean shining and loud house are the same universe and by the same token so is community and the casagrandes? WHy is a tea with lemonade called an arnold palmer? But yeah after breaking down in her room Lori can’t take being stalked by a ghost and does what 80% of people in a paranomal activity film take too long to do and calls a ghost hunter. Specifically clyde! And to my shock this is apparently the first time the two have interacted since season 2! And it shows.. their on perfectly fine terms, to the point she has his number and they can talk like humans. I like it.. it’s subtle. Again wouldv’e appricated the episode where he got over here being more finte, but still, this is better than him either passing out in his own master roshi esque blood or trying to get her to leave bobby because bobby is a saint. The worst he’s done is break up with someone because her brother made his sister cry, when none of that makes any sense but he’s dumn and noble enough i’ll allow it, and telling sergio never to come back, which his show framed as a bad thing but really I would two after two minutes with him. 

She called Clyde because he’s the brains behind the outfit... but Clyde has her on speaker. Wah wah wah. Their watching ARRRGH! The ghost adventuers style show that showed up in an episode I never saw but read about. Wah wah wah indeed, but it was apparenlty made up. Why their still into it I dunno, but apparently argh ghost blasters ARE ACTUAL LASER GUNS. This show has gone enitrely off the rails and i’m fine with that. As long as it’s funny. But seriously who gives out actual proton packs I ask you your just asking for some kid to blast himself in the face. But yeah Clincoln McCloud is on the case. And while i’m still annoyed they didn’t bring at least two more friends to play ghostbusters, presumibly stella because she’s the compitent one and Zach because he could NOT belivie in something for a change and tha’td be funny. I know i’m beating a dead horse but it dosen’t HAVE to be all or nothing with their friend groups. You do know that right writers?

I mean I get only using them here as opposed to family bonding, but still, if you can use LIam outside of his episodes you can use the rest of them.. and I don’t even like Zach but he’d be in his element here. It’s not complicated but it is frustrating.  Anyways the boys and Lynn Sr arrive with Lynn Sr making a scene.. which embarasses Lori but i’m on his side here. His oldest went to college. She left the nest. It’s a lot. Plus she apparently hasn’t visted home yet so he misses his baby. Just accept it. She also asked the boys to be subtle about their ghost hunting which does not work at all. Lori you knew who you were asking for this. It’s like asking Sterling Archer NOT to be sarcastic, loud and slightly hammered. It’s part of the process.  Natrually hyjinks insue as our heroes chase the ghost with the most... on this campus.. and end up shaming him into leaving. Yes really. Clyde even says that’s what usually works on him. Oh Clyde.. if that were true you would’ve stopped trying to break up two people clearly in love with each other for your own benift, you twit.  So problem solved right, ghost busted, no more stalking and no lori turning into a monster and ushering in 80 sequels with no real resolution right? 

Yeah I mean this is a half hour special. Everyone at Fairway starts playing off, and it turns out because they realized the ghost was missing. Yes.. everyone knew the ghost was real. Thankfully given this is a halloween episode fairway isn’t some kind of rosemary’s baby, midsommar, herditary, paranomal activity , god a lot of movies use this death cult scenario. That we’re aware of Lori may just not be the target. The team captain takes Lori aside to explain things: They normally don’t tell freshman this until after their first game because the plot says so, but Fairway has a ghost. And again what makes this work is the guy does realize people might not belivie this and while normal for the students of fairway, it’s not normal for everyone and they might not belivie in it.  But no turns out the ghost is beloved 1900′s era Caddy, Shanks Bogey, who in the moment that cemented him as a legend singelhandidly helped Fairway to a big comeback in their first tournament ever, and was given a permanent positoin after graduation. Because they train caddy’s here too which makes sense. And now his ghost lives there too and still helps to this day. OR did anyway. Now why he coudln’t of told her this or why they don’t check to make sure one of the students dosen’t bring ghost hunters around or an exorcist or ash williams?

This episode already runs on nonsense i’m just going with it. Point is LOri’s hair’s falling out, more apparenlty, from the stress as she retreats into her hoodie.. Clyde gave her one to protect her because ARRRRGH! is really freaking shameless apparently. While LIncoln dosen’t know how to put a ghost back luckily Lucy has the mortuariy club over and LIncoln sends them over. Also Lori dosen’t want dad driving them, but Lincoln was on speaker which.. yeah Clyde I might get, the only person he’d probably want privacy with is his girlfriend, he and Lincoln have the exact same running crew but lincoln has 10 other people int he house who may eevesdrop.  But hell yeah, it’s my first Lucy episode on the blog and my first with her club period. For Lucy she IS one of the sisters I like I just haven’t checked out her episodes since season 2,a nd that’s my fault and something I intend to correct. She’s adorably, hilarious in her creepiness, and endearing in how she feels ignored at itmes.. because she is. They also ALL can apparently do her suddenly sneak up on people batman schtick as they all pop up on lincoln when he mentions a ghost. But yeah I love she has her own adams family esque group of goths, and that one of them is a Haiku from an earlier episode. While he and clyde hitting it off went nowhere it IS nice for the show to actually bring back an earlier character they entirely forgot about. It’s very rare for them. 

But yeah I already like these guys, arriving in coffisn and accidently sending my new faviorite borris flying.. a boy who talks like dracula, looks like an orlock and talks in the third person, though he ends up completing a cheer pyramid, because as an intentional joke or not, fairway , a school for a sport built on quite conversation... has a cheers squad. But hey we get boris talking about his hollow bones and cheering out of it so we’re good. 

But now the goth gang can get down to business. They try the obvious first a séance which.. yeah if bill and ted and beetlejuice have taught me anything, Seance’s can only end in friendly ghost murder. Granted unlike Otho I think Lucy knows what she’s doing, I just don’t want Shanks to die. This dosen’t quite work as while there is some bubbles it’s just Froggy 2 who apparently goes here when he’s not with adelaide. Good for him, getting some higher book learning. That’s rare for frogs. Though the faces on the Club are priceless as they are adorable. 

Plan B is to set out Shank’s faviorite food, Ferminted Bean Meal.. which yes is both to set up a fart joke and may or may not exist. He also liked pigs in a blanket, which is a good gag. Lori asks why theyd idn’t go with that I say they simply did because these are professional Goths, and they will always go for the weirdest option possible. It’s who you signed on for lori. You could’ve just called the fentons at the start of this but no, no crossover for us. And yes it’d be butch heartman free but as far as I’m concerned he can go fuck himself for, most among a LARGE pile of him being a jackass, promoting faith healing seminars that among serious illnesses.. include autisim, aka equating what I have to things like alhimers and cancer. No joke there just screw him, don’t screw danny phantom it’s great, moving on.  They intend for shanks to eat it but Lori’s teamates do instead as does the one club member who has weird hair that really unernves me. I get it’s supposed to be spider like but still, the rest of the club is really well designed, including him minus the hair. Why this why. They all get stomach poisoning and blame Lori for it despite, you know, eating strange food left in the middle of campus which is never a good idea, as it’s either someone’s elses or possibly spiked. What did you think was going to happen? Lucy’s last ditch effort is partying like it’s 1900. We do get the club and lori in top hats and canes with presumibly pocket’s full of miracles. So that’s neat. But it fails thanks to the cheerleaders coming in, boris very much included. Lori is desparing,.. until it turns out the disco ball which broke offers a mirror to the other side.. and thus where shanks is.. at the graveyard just off campus. Haiku finds this school creepy and wants to go there. Me too little sister, me too. 

Lori opts to go alone.. while this shit terrifies her, understandably, it was her mess and she needs to clean it up.. even though him not explaning himself to her or anyone else did this I don’t know if he can talk so fair enough. He can however caddy obviously as Lori gives him a heartfelt apology, and then plays a round, with him helping.. though apparently returning her ball also opens a doorway to hell. Go figure. Great gag though especially lori’s casual “that was disturbing”. He dosen’t give a sign he’s coming back though. Then we cut to the game.. with no real sign lori told anyone anything.. was.. was a chunk cut out of this episode or did they just run out of time? I dunno it’s jarring but the game is down to her, and Lori ends up in a sandtrap with the sun in her eyes. But luckily shanks returns! He llfts an umbrella for her. Again I think it’s less that he’s inconsiderate and more that he’s mute.. or maybe he’s just a jackass I dunno. We don’t know enough about him. Point is Lori wins, her scholarship is secure and her family is cheering her on.. well okay her family in terms of lincoln, clyde, because he counts dammit, and her parents the rest of the girls minus lucy are absent because they needed room for her club. Whose in the sun somehow. Lori wins, Boris does an exorcist head spin, and Lucy feels he’s lost to them. I mean.. he has to go home.. unless he dosen’t have one... which is probable. Man now I want a fairway spinoff even more.. I mean just give lori and bobby an off campus place, have leni and her two friends move in, maybe throw in carol and have boris living in a hole in the backyard and we’re good. Please nick, greenlight this. I will write it for you just give me the go ahead. 

Final Thoughts:

This one was okay. As I said the reality breaks are fine if their used for good reaosn, but I felt the episode put Lori though a bit much. She hasn’t been unsympathetic in so long, and she has a genuine heartwrenching reason to want to do well and is terrified of shanks. It’s not her fault no one told her. I mean that should be in the brochure “We have a ghost but he’s a casper ghost and not a gozer ghost so your good”. I mean the fact Jack Fenton HASN’T come blaring down the campus is only because he already did that and is banned from campus. that and he drove through the comisary.. like through both walls. The Fenton Van is thick.  Point is lori goes through a lot of pain and humilation for no reason. It also feels like a two parter put into one half hour: The first half has a problem that’s seemingly solved only to have a cliffhanger with Lucy coming in as the solution. That being said I aboslutely love the mortuariy club. Why they can’t repalce spider head with rocky I don’t know, but otherwise I love em. Especailly boris who i’m fine with him staying at fairway as long as I get that spinoff> The Clyde and LIncoln antics are just “ha ha their mech dosen’t work”.. when they still have rayguns as part of the merch, though I do appricate that them running out of power is set up: Their guns discharge as a running gag so it’s no suprise their out by the time our heroes need them. And Clyde’s line about shame and guilt “Just like me!” was gold. This dosen’t really have the missed opprtunity smell of family bonding or strife of the party, it did fine enough and the scene of lori and shanks playing golf was really sweet.  It really is just okay: Not AMAZING, but not terrible. I’ve seen much worse already this season, but the creative halloweeny premise, fun with the goth gang, and general weirdness of fairway make it a hole in two. Not a slam dunk but still fun. Just because an episode is mostly okay dosen’t make it bad.  If you liked this review follow for more, as I have weekly coverage of ducktales and loud house and ocasionally the casagrandes and later today should have, space and time permitting, reviews of the new loud house, the new amphibia, and later this weekend some darkwing duck. Until then stay safe, stay spooky and happy halloween. Play us out white stripes!

[buckys-little-hoe]

Always Forever 2 | Bucky Barnes x Reader

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Summary: The effects are beginning to show. Suddenly you need to be close to each other, every touch is like a drug, every insult is like a knife stab. Thor finally finds the solution to the problem - and that only complicates everything.

Warnings: There’s a penis and a vagina, oral sex (male receiving), petting, making out, unprotected Sex (You can't go wrong, if you shield your dong), cussing

A/N: Ladies and Gentelmen, here it is! My first smut-thing. Please tell me how you feel about it and how I can make it even better! Also, look at how beautiful this man is. *0*

—

With your teeth clenched, you sit far from Bucky. It's incredibly quiet. Too calm. There is usually a lot of discussion and laughing during dinner, but today it is different. Everyone notices the tension between you and Bucky. It's only been two days, but you're feeling the effects. You long for him, want to touch his skin. But you can't - it would hurt your ego. Bruce is working hard to find a solution, he's in the lab day and night. Even Thor went to Asgard for a few days to find an antidote. God damn, even Sam doesn't make fun of the situation. It's weird. The atmosphere is so uncomfortable and forced. Nobody dares to say anything.

You are hot, very hot. So you get up. The chair squeals and everyone looks at you. "I'm going to my room.”, you apologize yourself quietly and receive a single nod from your friends. You walk to your room as fast as possible, you just want to get away from this situation. You get to your room in seconds - a new record. With a sigh you let yourself fall on your soft bed. Slight stomach cramps affect you. You are two weeks away from your menstruation. So what is this pain?

Meanwhile, Bucky grumbles some apologize just so he can leave this strange dinner. He notices how the conversation starts as soon as he leaves the room. He rolls his eyes and makes his way to his bedroom. But he stops at your door. Something attracts him, almost like a magnet. His hand grips the metal and the spot immediately tingles. He should knock, but maybe you won't let him in then. Bucky doesn't need much, he just has to touch you briefly. He needs physical contact.

Without further ado, he simply enters your room. Your head is pressed into the fluffy pillow and he recognizes the sweat beads on your bare skin. You changed clothes, dressed shorter to escape the heat. You lift your head slightly and let out a tormented groan. "I know what you want, please just do it.", you say in a hoarse voice and he trembles. You need him as much as he needs you. He slowly approaches you and you laugh softly.

"I don’t bite."

"Normally you do."

Now you two laugh. He carefully settles down next to you. "I'm going to touch your hip now, Y/N.”, he warns you, because he's afraid that you'll change your mind and slap him. Once again you sigh annoyed.

"God, Bucky.”, you reply tensely and sit up. He feels just as bad as you, why doesn't he just touch you? You hug him quickly. Surprised, he falls back slightly. You sit on his lap and he gasps.

"Fuck Y/N.", Bucky groans. This makes your face red unintentionally. The tingling in your abdomen increases. Bucky cannot explain what the feeling is. He can finally breathe normally again and yet somehow he cannot. You feel his excitement at your sore spot and press your lips together. You try to inconspicuously rub yourself against it. Bucky leans his head back and sighs comfortably. "God- fuck ... Doll ... I can ... you don't have to ...", he tries to get a sentence out, but he doesn't. The feeling of your sweet pussy against him is too much. Four layers of clothes separate you.

"Shit, Bucky ... I need you.”, you moan softly, rolling your hips against his. His hands lift you by the waist. The friction feels so good. Your eyes close automatically and you draw your lower lip between your teeth. Breathing irregularly, he leans his head on your chest. Your arms are wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Come on, pretty girl. Cum for me. ”, he whispers, yet you can hear him clearly. The tingling feeling builds up more and more. With one hand you dig into the pillow. You rub against his erection faster. His moan turns you on even more. "It's okay, doll. I got you.”, he says and you gasp. Almost simultaneously you two feel the ecstasy. The feeling is more intense than ever. He had never had such a good orgasm, he will probably think about it forever. You cling to him and slowly ride your orgasm out. He carefully puts you on your bed and you fall back exhausted. There is a stain on your gray shorts and Bucky's orgasm can also be seen on his pants.

Without exchanging any words, he goes out and closes the door behind him. Your chest is contracting strangely. Somehow you feel used. You just put the blame on the potion. You definitely feel much better than before. You feel satisfied and satisfied.

Bucky goes away because he fears of getting too close to you. He doesn't want you to feel compelled to spend the night with him. You certainly don't want all of this and would rather have drunk the potion with someone else. The touch should definitely be enough for a few days. He can successfully avoid you.

—

Another two days pass without you running into each other. It helps that you avoid him like the plague. The team of course noticed your intense tension and puzzled over what might have happened. While Tony and Natasha are betting that you have finally gone one step further, Sam and Wanda assume that you only kissed. Steve didn't say anything about it. Clint just shrugged and said you were probably arguing again. Only Vision has no opinion of the situation. Bruce continues to work hard and Thor is still on Asgard.

In the early morning you enter the kitchen and notice the prying eyes. You yawn loudly and let the coffee machine run. Words can wait until another day, you decide and ignore your teammates. Even Bucky had decided to not say anything, but he is not the one who has to endure these looks. Damn asshole...-fuck! A sharp pain goes through your body. It's like you've burned yourself everywhere at once. Shaking your head, you take your cup out of the cupboard and wait patiently for your coffee. It's all the fault of this Dickhead..- Holy! What the hell? Full of pain, your hand clasps away from the cup. It falls to the floor and breaks immediately. Curved you hold on to the counter.

Steve immediately rushes to help and picks up the broken pieces. He throws these in the garbage. But as soon as he wants to touch your arm soothingly, this spot glows internally and you flinch backwards. He looks at you in disbelief. "Is everything okay, Y/N?", he asks in a calm voice. You stammer in confusion. "Are you hurt? Are you in pain?”, the captain interrupts your babble.

You shake your head slightly. "No, it's just- when you touched me ... - I don't know, Steve.", you answer visibly confused. Bruce, who has been standing in the door frame for a while, clears his throat loudly. Your head snaps to him and he signals you to follow him. You follow after the scientist like a dog. In his hand are chaotic handwritten documents. When you arrive in the laboratory, you sit down on one of the countless chairs.

"So, Y/N ...", he begins slowly and flips through the leaves. Then looks up with regretful facial expressions. "I guess you mentally insulted James?" You nod with your mouth open. ”The potion is causing it. He insults you, he is in pain. You insult him, you are in pain.”, the man with the seven doctoral degrees explains.

"But why did Steve's touch hurt me?", you want to know. With light red cheeks Bruce swallows hard.

“I'm assuming that there was an intimate act between you and James. You are bound to it by the potion, which means touching someone else hurts you. “

You look at him incredulously. "You're kidding me."

"Unfortunately, no. And it will probably happen more often in the near future. So if you ... Uhm ... well ... if you need contraception then ... - you know. "

You choke. You cough loudly and he hands you a glass of water. With a grateful nod, you accept the glass and drink large sips. He waves your thank you away. Your cough slowly calms down and you take a deep breath. "So... Just for your information. I'm on birth control. ”, you reply and he nods understandingly.

"Good. If you need anything, I'm here. Unfortunately, I haven't made much progress yet. I'm going to have to wait for Thor.”, Bruce says and you close your eyes for a few seconds. When you open it again, you notice Bucky in the door frame. You say goodbye to Bruce and use the other exit.

—

Peter laughs out loud when Sam sticks popcorn into his nostrils. With a snort, Natasha turns back to the television. Even Tony rolls his eyes and then focuses on the film again. You sit between couch end and bucky. Your other friends are sitting in the rows in front of you. It's been three days since the incident. The film is not really interesting, you can hardly concentrate on it. Instead, you'd rather look at Bucky from the side. His striking facial features have been stored in your brain since the first encounter.

Your first encounter had been like an explosion. Bucky was going to be extra nice to you. You were trained to be assassin since you were at an early age, you were tortured for mistakes. He wanted to bond with you, something so that you knew that you weren't alone. But as soon as you opened your mouth, he knew you didn't need any help. You have always had everything under control. He wasn't sure what he had imagined. A shy girl that shrugs away from every touch? Or that you were rather withdrawn and cool? But you were none of it. Naughty, rebellious and cheeky. You immediately gave your opinion about every single one of them. Bucky thought it was funny too, until you attacked him with your words. It's just your way of dealing with this.

You love control, it is important to you. As soon as you lose control, you feel like an easy target. No matter where you are, you check out the room for a few times to make sure that every escape route is clear. Bucky clears his throat and you notice that you've been looking at him for a long time. With red cheeks you turn your head to the screen. The former assassin swallows unobtrusively and slowly slides his hand towards you. A tingling sensation spreads when your hands are in contact. His skin on yours is like fireworks. It feels great. You forget that these feelings are forced. Were they? You are no longer sure. The truth is you never meant to hurt Bucky with your words. Of course it was your plan to make friends, but it was so difficult at the beginning. Even now that they all understood and forgave you, Bucky didn't want to hear anything from you. But now it was a must. Without his touch it feels like death. And you can confirm that because you were once declared clinically dead.

You blink and press your lips together. Then you wrap your hand around his. From the corner of your eye you can see how the corners of his mouth pull up slightly. Satisfied, you really try to concentrate on the film this time. But Bucky has other plans, he craves more. He releases his hand from yours. You turn to him in confusion and raise a perfectly plucked eyebrow. He lasciviously licks his lower lip. You automatically bite your lip and look away. Suddenly you feel his hand on your thigh. Like three days ago, you only wear shorts. At first you think he just wants to draw circles on your thigh, but his hand keeps working up.

There is a blanket on you, but the danger is too great for you. So you bend your other leg to raise the blanket a little. That way you avoid that the outlines from his hands can be seen. Bucky sees your reaction as a yes. His fingertips stroke your sensitive area. You hold your breath, unnoticed. Two layers of fabric separate his fingers from your pearl. He gently stimulates your clit. With your other hand, you claw into the couch. He slowly pulls your shorts and panties aside. You gasp quietly. Bucky looks at you warningly. You nod slightly and watch the TV. His fingers touch your entrance.

Meanwhile his body is pressed so close to yours that not a single sheet of paper would fit between you. He approaches you with his head and you can feel his hot breath on your cheek. "So wet for me, doll.", he whispers tentatively in your ear and kisses it lightly. Your abdomen tingles and you swallow hard. “Do you want to feel my big fingers in you, Y/N?”, he continues to whisper and you stop breathing.

"Please." You breath imploringly. Your legs shake slightly, your body implores him. You want to feel his fingers, you need him!

"Let's make a deal.”, he says, inserting only the tip of his finger. Your heart pauses briefly. Fuck you can't wait.

“Everything you want, just fuck me with your fingers, Bucky. Please.”, you agree quietly. Satisfied, he inserts a finger. With red cheeks you continue to look at the screen and bite your finger.

“Later you will blow my cock nicely. Tomorrow I'll fuck your brain out of you. You will cum all over my cock and shout my name, doll.”, he explains in a whisper and uses his thumb to massage your clit. You can only nod. “I'll widen your sweet pussy, Y/N. You will take what I will give you. ”

Your eyes become glassy and you put your head back. "Fuck, Bucky.”, you murmur excitedly. The chance of being caught only turns you on even more. He unexpectedly inserts a second finger. You hiss quietly. Shit, that feels so good.

"Holy shit, doll. You’re so tight. Are you sure you can take my cock?”, he secretly asks and your head shoots at him. Slowly he pushes his fingers out and in. The smacking sound is drowned out by the action film. You lick your lips breathlessly.

“Yes, sergeant. I promise.”, you say and you notice how his eyes take on a darker tone. He picks up a faster pace and always hits your sore point. Your vision blurs and you see white dots. "Bucky ... I ..." Your hand is clenching his thigh, but he doesn't care.

"Cum for me, babygirl.”, he whispers and you blink. Then everything becomes white for a short time. Happiness floods your body. Fuck, this is the best orgasm you have ever had. Bucky removes his fingers and looks deep into your eyes. Then he leads them to your mouth. Without thinking about it, you immediately put them in your mouth. As Bucky bites his lip, you suck and lick his fingers clean. You taste sweet. Like honey. With a soft pop you let his fingers out again.

"Good girl.”, he says smiling. You let out a soft moan. “Meet me in my room right away, doll.", he orders and with wide eyes you nod. He gets up and leaves after throwing popcorn at Sam.

The minutes pass by and you get up yawning. "This movie sucks.", you say, but nobody really seems to care. So you just walk out of the cinema room towards the bedroom. When you arrive in his room, he presses you against the wall and kisses you. You return the kiss in surprise. It tastes like passion. His hands move over your body. Then they stay on your hips.

Breathless, he releases his lips and looks at you briefly. Your face has a reddish tinge and you take a hard breath. "Shit.”, he swears, pushing you to your knees. You obey on your knees and immediately start working on his belt. The pants with boxer shorts are pretty fast on the floor. Fuck, he is huge. His tip is shiny from the drops of pleasure. He looks delicious. Hungry you lick your tongue gently over its tip. You taste his pre-cum. Bucky draws in the air sharply. He happily puts his head back and gathers your hair in his hand. Carefully you grab his huge cock. Then you put it in your mouth.

It tastes so good that you have to moan softly. The vibration around his cock feels like heaven and hell at the same time. You start bobbing your head. Bucky looks at you breathing heavily. “Fuck, you look so beautiful, babydoll. Your beautiful lips wrapped around my cock.”, he groans. You move your head even faster and do the same movement with your hand. Then you detach yourself from his cock. A thread of saliva connects your mouth to his dick.

"I want you to fuck my mouth, Sergeant.”, you say in a hoarse voice.

“Shit, Y/N. Gladly.”, he mumbles and grabs your hair with his metal hand. You put your hands on his thighs. He slowly introduces his cock back into your mouth. "Ready princess?", he asks you and you nod. He moves your head up and down quickly. Your eyes start to water, but you enjoy it. His panting makes you wet. After a few minutes, he stops, his cock still in your mouth. He breathes deeply. “I want you to just focus on your breathing now. Concentrate on breathing through your nose. Understood that?" You nod with reddened eyes. Slowly he pushes your head closer to him. His big cock goes deeper and deeper into your mouth until it's finally in your throat. You choke gently and tears run down your cheeks. Bucky enjoys the view. He loves how you kneel on the floor in front of him, your eyes and face red, his cock so deep in your throat that you have to choke and cry. You love his cock. You think he tastes amazing. Shit, he even can see the outline of his dick in your throat. He groans loudly and pulls you away by your hair.

Gasping for breath, you slowly calm down. Your saliva sticks to your chin. He removes his metal hand from your hair and slowly pumps his cock. Your sight turns him on. You still take some deep breaths. He grunts loudly and pulls you by your hair. He forces you to put your head back. You gasp excitedly. Bucky moans and finally cums. He squirts his cum all over your face and you let out a comforting sigh. It feels wonderful, just like you imagine heaven. With one finger you run your hand over your cheek to collect his sperm. Then you put your finger in your mouth and lick it clean. "Fuck, doll.", he moans and takes a deep breath.

—

What are you even thinking, Bucky wonders and looks at your outfit. You are wearing a white tight top with a deep v neckline and a pink short skirt. But you don't seem to care what others think. You don’t even seem to catch Steves greedy look. Suddenly you lock eyes with Bucky. His look seems a bit deadly and you swallow hard. Did you do something wrong? Not that you know.

"Why can't I joke about it?", Sam complains and you roll with your eyes. Why does he always ask the stupidest questions?

"Because this situation is not a bit funny, Sam." Steve sighs and pushes himself off the counter. You all stand together in the kitchen - looking for an answer. It will be days before Thor returns Bruce says.

"I would say that we should just wait for Thor's return.” Bruce says and Natasha nods in agreement.

"Then that is cleared up and I can finally go shopping?" Clint asks and Bucky grumbles softly.

"You can all go, Bucky and I have to clarify something else.”, you reply in a soft voice and ignore the tingling in your abdomen. You can't think of anything else right now, the only thing in your head is his cock. And damn, you need it so badly! Oral sex is no longer enough, you need more.

Your friends say goodbye to you and disappear. As if it had been agreed, Bucky closes the door behind them and locks it. You bite your lip and feel the anticipation. Without hesitation you run up to him and put your lips on his. His tongue gently brushes your lower lip. You loosen yourself briefly to see if all doors are locked.

“My dirty little girl doesn't have patience, huh? Are you longing for my cock so much?”, he whispers sensually in your ear and your body hair stands up. Your abdomen is contracting excitedly.

"Fuck, Bucky. I finally have to feel you.”, you answer breathlessly. Within a few seconds, your back is pressed against his chest and your waist is leaning against the counter.

“What do you need, doll? Tell me.”, he asks in a hoarse voice. You greedily rub your butt against his erection. But he grabs you by the waist and forces you to stop. “Come on, be a good girl for me. What do you need?"

“I need your cock inside of me. Please.”, you tell him with a brittle voice. He puts your skirt up. His hand travels up your thigh and stops at your core.

“I don't know if you deserve it, baby girl. You run around so freely and you look innocent at the same time ... You are only mine.”, he thinks out loud and puts a finger on your clit. Your breath stops. "Didn't you notice Steves look? He looked so hungry for you. Is that what you want? His attention?”

“No, I swear it! I just want your attention, Bucky!”, you reply honestly. He gently massages your pearl. You gasp.

“Good girl. Who do you belong to, Doll?”, Bucky asks in a deep voice.

"To you. Only you. ”, you answer without thinking. That's apparently enough for him because you can hear him opening his zipper. Slowly he brushes your clothed pussy with his cock. You whimper quietly. "Your panties are soaked ... Shit.”, he sighs and strokes your panties aside with his fingers. Once again he strokes your wet entrance with his cock.

"Please, Bucky.”, you moan.

"I'll treat you so well, Doll. I'll take care of you. You won’t even think about any other guy.”, he promises and pushes his dick inside you. You hiss, it's been a while since you had real sex. And Buckys cock is big and thick, something you've never had before.

"Shit, you're so tight.”, he groans, watching his cock slide in and out of you. You breathe irregularly and cling to the bar. “Look at you, Y/N. Taking me so good, while looking so pretty.”, Bucky moans. It's like you were made for him.

You have found hell and heaven. It's just a narrow line between the two, and that's exactly where you're moving. Both taste sweet. Every touch is heaven. Every word is hell. You two are unbearable. With eyes you kill each other every second, but a few minutes later you can no longer breathe properly, you feel a pull in your chest and you sweat. Every push into you is his personal hell. Something he always wanted, but only gets through the wrong way. He can't deny that he wanted to fuck you since the first time he met you. You had an innocent short dress on back then. It was all just physical. If you wouldn’t have been a brat, he would have already fucked you.

The sweat pearls roll over your body. His hand pulls lightly on your hair, your head lays on his shoulder and his lips caress your soft skin. His thrusts get hectic and hard, hungry for more. You can't complain, you enjoy it. Fuck, you deserve to be treated properly! Your eyes are glassy and your lips are shaped into an O. Again and again he hits his G-spot.

"Shit, Bucky!", you moan loudly and tears run down your flushed cheeks. You clench around his cock.

“You like that, huh? You like it hard. You want to feel every inch of me.”, he grunts into your ear. Your vision blurries. The climax builds up in you.

"I ... I'm about to cum.”, you say out of breath. Your walls hug his erection more and more, your thighs shake excitedly.

"I got you, doll. Cum for me.”, Bucky replies in a soft voice and plays around with your clitoris. Your view is covered by white spots and you whine loudly. Something explodes in you. You cum all over his cock. He also fills you up with his seeds. He slowly fucks you down from your climax. Breathless, you put your upper body on the cool counter and try to calm down. The orgasm was huge and intense. Even now, tears are still rolling down your cheeks. "Shh ... it's alright.", he whispers softly and runs his hand through your hair. Your breath slowly normalizes.

—

"Will it be a little quieter next time?", Sam asks, not looking up from his cell phone. Clint slaps him on the back of the head. With red cheeks you sit on the couch. Wanda, next to you, smiles encouragingly.

"He's doing a good job, isn't he?", Natasha says with a grin and you put your head in your hands with a sigh.

"Hello, dear friends!", a friendly voice calls and you look up with wide eyes.

"Thor!", you rejoice loudly and lure Steve, Bruce, Vision and Bucky into the living room.

"Hey buddy. Nice to see you again.", Steve smiles and sits down on one of the countless armchairs. The rest also sits down.

"Do you have a solution?", Bruce asks curiously and gets straight to the point.

"Yeah ... just I don't know if it’ll please you.”, Thor explains with a sympathetic smile. You frown. What will it be?

“Spit it out already.”, Sam replies with interest.

"The only solution to your connection is real love between you.”, Thor says, looking alternately at you and Bucky.

“Well, fuck."