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polizwrites · 2 years

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WIP Update - 8 Jun 2022

A rather concentrated writing week – I touched 3 fics (2 WIPs & 1 new work) for a total of 2352 words, nearly 1900 of which were on one fic. @psychiccatpanda and I posted the fourth chapter of our WinterIronHawk ‘accidental demon summoning’ collab fic. I also posted my first @steverogersbingo fill - a crossover ficlet with last Friday @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt.

I’m sitting at 10 active WIPs (with a couple of maybe TBCs) with my current deadlines being the Steve/Tony/Bucky bingo, which wraps up the end of this month, as well as my A Warm Light ‘zine fic. I did sign up for the @starkbucksbingo - which is open for signups thru 22 June and the @tonystarkbingo which is open for signups through the end of June. (Yes - I like collecting bingo cards!)

On the crafting side, I have two Stuffed With Character commission slots open for July at the moment - am pretty busy with requests & prepping for a con!

See below cut for the WIPs (arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc) I am working on - feel free to send me prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding any of these projects (or any other WIPs I’ve got out there) – they really help feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

The Devil Is in the Details (Sign on the Dotted Line)

This is the WinterIronHawk ‘accidental demon summoning’ fic @psychiccatpanda and I had So Much Fun with! We ended up with seven chapters of Tony and Clint and Bucky shenanigans - kicking off with Ty as an Awful Boyfriend before bringing in a couple more members of the gang! Chapter 4 posted last Friday and we’ve got 3 more coming - so stay tuned through the end of June!

WinterHawk Bingo - Round 3 [WHB_R3] (Runs thru 31 May 2022)

Sixteen fills completed - I got my Row 1 and Column I bingos and I was satisfied with that - I don’t usually do as well with pairing bingoes as I do with single characters. Link to Masterpost, if you’re interested.

Stucky Bingo - Round 3 [SB R3] (Runs thru 31 May 2022)

Thanks in large part to the Round Robin fics from the Discord bingo parties, I got a technical blackout plus with 27 fills (24 original squares and three adopted squares). Link to Masterpost, if you’re interested.

A Warm Light Zine - Due 1 July

I got accepted as a writer for A Warm Light Zine - dedicated to 2012 Avenger era Stony and coming hopefully sometime this autumn! I was assigned the 2012 canon-compliant category for a 2-5k fic. While I can’t share much about it here, I do want to at least keep track of my word count. I pushed hard on this over the last week and made good progress - currently sitting at 2288 words, with one big scene left to go. I am hitting several of the 2012 Avengers tropes along the way - hope it’s reasonably well-received.

Steve | Tony | Bucky Bingo Round 2 [STBB R2] (Runs thru 30 Jun 2022)

Ten fills, and two WIPs. Taking advantage of the One Fill, One Bingo opportunity, and might get a Column G bingo as well. Will have to lean hard into this now that I’ve made good progress on AWL.

* B4 - Working Out - this came from a Bucky Barnes Bingo server party: Binging Avengers Exercises - the team posts their workouts online and modern!Bucky spends entirely too much time watching the channel - especially Captain America and Iron Man.

* N2 - AU: Western - possible crossover with MWAPB Next Door Neighbors – I have a decent idea for this one (semi-inspired by a recent re-read of Laura Ingalls Wilder A Long Winter) and jotted down about 225 words’ worth of notes/VERY rough draft. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to combine this with the TSB, since it doesn’t start til July 1 - unless I go multi-chapter, which I am honestly trying to avoid 😐

* O4 - Lazy Sunday Morning - have a smutty WinterIron idea for this one; need to get it jotted down - will most likely cross over with my BBB KINK: Edging square.

Poked just a bit at my One Fill, One Bingo badge fic - combining B5 - “Aliens, again?”, I5 - Lifeguard, N5 - Barbeque, G5 - River Rafting, O5 - Wakanda. Avengers + Guardians in a partying mood = a huge headache for T’Challa. It’s currently sitting at 430 words. Current Last Line: She gestured for him to follow him back inside. .

Avengers Bingo [AvB] (Runs thru 24 Dec)

Two fills posted and 0 WIPs - I decided to further challenge myself by pairing up each square with a unique combo of 2 original MCU Avengers! With the help of the STB Enthusiasts Discord folks - I’ve got all 16 squares planned out, at least in terms of who to write about, and half of them have some sort of idea or crossover square to go along with them. Feel free to toss other plot bunnies my way…

* A2 - On the Run - Natasha & Steve - crossover with MWAPB - Farmer’s Market? post CA:CW Wakanda ?

* A4 - Mutual Pining - Steve/Thor - crossover with MWAPB - Thor.

* A3 - Reunited - Clint & Natasha - Endgame Ronin scene?

* B1 - Death - possible crossover with MWAP Crying square – post Snap Bruce & Steve mourning?

* B3 - Road Trip - Bruce & Thor - Post Grandmaster, pre-Thanos space shenanigans

* C1 - Opposites Attract - Clint/Thor - there was a fun Tumblr headcanon going around about a Bumbling Foreigner whose ignorance of local customs results in him flirting with/proposing to the prince - this seems like a perfect matchup!

* C3 - Reincarnation AU - Natasha & Tony - post-Endgame

* C4 - Bodyguard AU - Thor/Tony - young!Tony - crush on Cap plays into attraction (obvious title - Thunderstruck) - holding on this til next round of TSB.

* D1 - Friends w/ Benefits - Clint/Steve - crossover with MWAPB Hawkeye/Clint Barton.

D2 - Romeo & Juliet AU - basic idea: Steve (jock) & Tony (geek) trying out for title roles in R&J - despite their respective friend groups thinking it’s a terrible idea. Both cliques end up becoming friends.

* D3 - Bed Sharing - Bruce/Natasha - AoU compliant.

Man With a Plan (Steve Rogers) Bingo [MWAPB] (Runs thru 31 Dec)

Four fills, 1 WIPs and several Vague Ideas/potential cross fills with other bingos. Prompts cheerfully accepted!

* B2 - Next Door Neighbors - see STBB AU: Western above

* B3 - Farmer’s Market - see AvB On the Run above

* B4 - Powerless AU - if Sunqueen and I decide to continue Wrong Number, Right Call , this would be a good fit.

* B5 - “I don’t really want to wake up just yet.” - this would probably be a good fit with Chapter 5 of Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’)

* I1 - Steve is here for TFAtWS - this might go well with my BBB “Oh, hell no" square - Steve trolling Bucky & Sam by sending the old man in with his shield? (moodboard & ficlet?)

* I2 - Found Family - see STBB One Fill, One Bingo above.

* I3 - Thor - see AvB Mutual Pining above

* I5 - Dogsitting - possible crossover with BBB “Run” square - Steve & Bucky dogsitting for Lucky? (moodboard + ficlet)

* N1 - School AU/Teacher AU - if I decide to continue on with Technicalities (see Stucky Bingo College AU above) - I could fill this square :: ponders::

* N3 - Online shopping - this might be fun as a crossover with BBB Thighs …? (even tho lingerie is a “nah” for me) Steve and Tony buying a new wardrobe for Bucky that show off his ass-ets?

* G4 - Canon Divergence post CA:TWS - possible crossover with BBB Kill List Bucky wreaking havoc on Hydra bases and Steve & Sam catch up with him

* O1 - Crying - see AvB Death square above

* O2 - Sex Pollen - Teenage Groot pollen = aphrodisiac hi-jinks. Quill & Gamora warn the couple (stucky)/throuple (Stuckony) ahead of time, so no dub-con.

* O3 - Hawkeye/Clint Barton - see AvB - Friends w/ Benefits above.

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round 4 [BBB_R4] (Runs thru 7 Jan 2023)

Seven fills and three WIPs - looks like I’m already in good shape to start with a Row 4 and/or Column K bingo!

* B3 - Sam Wilson|Falcon - this would be a good candidate for a continuation of After One Or Two False Starts

* U2 - AU: Roommate - see WHB Huddling for Warmth above

* U3 - Steve Rogers - slating for Chapter 5 of Never More to Go Astray (Stuckony Star Wars AU) Looks like this will be at least 6 chapters to get through two rounds of POVs. Huge thanks to RudeArrow, who is doing an AMAZING job of brainstorming and beta’ing with me!! Chapter 5 (Bucky POV) is in first draft form sitting at 1066 words. Current Last Line: “Shards,” Djems cursed under his breath.

* U4 - AU: Arranged Marriage - will probably pick Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion back up for this one.

* U5 - Kill List - see MWAP - G4 - Canon Divergence. Post CA:TWS above

* C2 - “Oh, hell no” - possible crossover with MWAP I1 - Steve is here for TFaWS

* C4 - KINK: Aftercare - probably holding onto this until the TSB bingo 😁

* K1 - Thighs - possible crossover with MWAP: N3 - Online Shopping.

* K2 - Comics - sew the Stuffed Marvel Classic Comics Bucky Barnes I drew up last month.

* K3 - KINK: Edging - see STB Lazy Sunday Morning above.

* Y1 - “Do you trust me?” - Using this for Chapter 5 of Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’) - Mission Four: Pour Some Sugar: Part 2. Chapter 5 picks up mid-sexytimes with Steve and Bucky and is currently sitting at 705 words. Current Last Line: “Breathe for me, sweetheart.”

* Y2 - Never the fall that kills you - this might be the title for the remix I want to do of Seeds of Love (by the super-talented @hddnone) Holding off on this til I get my TSB card, as I wanted to carry over my Secret Admirer square for this as well.

* Y3 - “Run” - see MWAP I5 - Dogsitting above.

* ADOPTED1 - Peggy Carter - possible crossover with with MWAP - G3 - USO Tour (Peggy regaling Bucky with stories of Steve’s exploits while touring the US) or N4 - Soulmates (WW3some shenanigans!)

Steve Rogers Bingo - Round 2 (SGRB_R2) - Ends 31 Jan

Got my card on the first and already have one fill! Still looking at crossover possibilities and I did request 3 square swaps, so not a whole lot sketched out yet.

* B5 - 2012!Steve - Combined this with last week’s Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF155 Out of Containment] for Not the Right Date - a Steve POV retelling of the last scene of CA:TFA. It came in at 378 words and got posted to Ao3 this morning.

————

On other creative fronts: I have a Buster and Creature from the Haunted Sea, in progress with Argoman, Una/Number One and Snoopy and Woodstock in the works I currently have 2 July slots available. Am also gearing up for a classic monster/horror con in October and a superhero con in March - so need to build up stock for both.

if you’re looking for one of a kind gifts (for a friend or something for yourself!) you can plan ahead for the next holiday season and check out Stuffed With Character over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 80!). They’re mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design requests for any fandom!

#writing stuff #WIP Update #wip wednesday #shameless self promo

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abomination-catboy · 8 months

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FINAL FANTASY XIV: STORMBLOOD The Abomination Review, Part 1

Okay, so here's something entirely unnecessary; a review of an MMORPG expansion that came out six years ago. Hooray!

A little bit of background; I've been slowly making my way through the FFXIV expansions, in fact very VERY slowly because my attention is being pulled in 20 different directions at any given time and this game is so very, very long. I share a Discord server with some good friends and there's a section for all things FFXIV, and opinions on Stormblood are probably some of the most divisive I have encountered so far. One friend, who we'll refer to as J, really didn't fancy it at all, whereas another friend, S, enjoyed it and thought it would be, I quote 'exactly your kind of bullshit'.

So now that I've finished Stormblood and have started engaging in horrors such as 'cartoon chocobo drags party to Computer Hell Fightclub' and 'a raid with FREAKIN' MATH in it' everyone wants to know what I thought of Stormblood. So naturally, I did the normal person thing and created a blog to write the review up on in detail. LET'S GO~

It's been ages since I actually started Stormblood, so some of my recollections will likely be off. Hopefully this will just add humour, as I don't really mind myself and will not be making corrective edits :^)

I am not American, so neither is my spelling.

Spoilers for FFXIV ARR, HW and SB and related patch content, obviously.

Introduction: Welcome to Ala Mhigo

After briefly being reminded of the overarching plot of the whole game and following the trauma of watching Papalymo explode, we're thrown into another 40-hour long sidequest as Omega Weapon ker-chunks over the wall into Ala Mhigo and Lyse-Not-Yda-in-Fact suggests this is the perfect opportunity to help her people fight back against the Garlean Empire and end the war. Cool. Cool cool cool.

This is your Warrior of Light for the trip, Yhen'a Astolya. Both he and his sparrowhawk are a little unimpressed that 'get the Weapon' has turned into 'save entire nation from a 10+ year imperial occupation', but at this point that's just #WarriorofLightThings so he's resigned to his fate. At least he's cute. None of his outfits suit his personality because the character I re-made him from liked to show off his assets if you catch my drift and I'm yet to change many of the glams but. You'll see.

So anyway, Gyr Abania. What a shithole. NO REALLY SSHH The fist map is really kinda boring, and I get why; it's hard to make a desert map too interesting while still retaining the classification of desert. And here we have a whole nation that is in mostly desert. For what it's worth I think Square did a great job with their concept, but I can't help but wonder what Garlemald saw in taking this land over. I know, I know, they think they're doing us all a favour by bringing enlightenment to the savage heathens, blablabla, like any ol' antagonistic empire. Sure. But usually that's a leading reason with other factors, you know, and things like resources and land position are taken into account. I guess it's a great and easy way to send invasion forces through to the rest of Eorzea, but what else was there?

See, other people on google wanted to know too!

The internet didn't tell me, it just kept trying to give me timelines and essays, but I'm sure I missed the answer in a section of dialogue I skipped or something.

UPDATE: I said I wouldn't do these but to avoid Experts coming in to school me, another friend of mine we'll call A has said the Garleans went through Gyr Abania cause it was the only way to get to Eorzea. And their aerial invasion failed pre 1.0, which is not content I've played. They don't have a navy, b/c they're landlocked, but they made this amazing big 'unsinkable' airship that was supposed to be able to single-handedly conquer the whole world, then Midgardsormr (or as A refers to him, Dragon Daddy) said no, and destroyed it.

Anyway.

So Lyse leads us to Rhalgr's Reach after a pretty harrowing side-quest concerning an abandoned town that was used by the Garleans to experiment with some kind of magical plant plague, which was honestly kind of interesting. The Garleans suck, man.

Rhalgr's Reach is gorgeous, a nice breathe from the drab map between Baelsar's Wall and it, but first a note on the music so far.

I enjoy the new battle music well enough; it's a mix between cowboy movie rifts and traditional eastern music that somehow really works, and also makes me feel a bit like Indiana Jones, but I'm not a fan of the national anthem of Ala Mhigo following me everywhere in different forms on the map. It's okay if it's a quiet refrain version, but when the bombastic brass comes into it, it just turns me off the flavour of the game entirely. I don't think this was intentional, its just a very nationalistic approach, which is all well and good for a story about a resistance who are clearly very patriotic trying to fight off invaders and its absolutely being used in good faith, but any band of patriotism is always a bit much for me so I played a lot of this expansion in Ala Mhihgo areas with the music turned down.

So we're trying to form an alliance, and getting resistance from the usual suspects. We get re-introduced to Arenvald around this time too, who is one of my favourite tropes of 'strong man softboi' so I take to him instantly. There's a few little battles and skirmishes, and Lyse is feeling pretty g about our ragtag little Alliance before things, as they do, go pear-shaped.

Enter Imperial Viceroy Zenos yae Galvus, otherwise known as 'golf douche'.

I cannot take credit for this amazing and hilariously accurate nickname. That would go to J. Leading up to this moment they were all 'have you met him yet, have you met golf-douche?' which honestly gave him an air of mystery he entirely did not deserve.

(seriously, I'm a cat-dad and Zenos has maybe two facial expressions, this one being his 'head empty no thoughts (but murder)' one, but the fangirls think he has a rich inner world. Nobody who owns a cat sees this face and thinks that.)

People seem to love Zenos online, and I can only assume it's because he's both pretty and disturbed; that Discount-Sephiroth face and hair, with hips and thighs so thick he probably cracks Ala Mhigan skulls between them, plus he waxes poetical about murder. You know, all the things the straight whyte girls who write yaoi love in a top.

Anyway, he's a bit of a fuckwit, and he has a fuckwit golf-caddy that he carries his extra swords in (sword-caddy?) thus the nickname, so it was a little embarrassing getting absolutely reamed by him. I was on Dark Knight too, so like, let's be real Squeenix, I would have won on sheer endurance AND edge if it hadn't been one of your fun 'you can't win this battle but have it anyway for dramatic storytelling purposes' moments that we all k̙n̘̝̻o͖̙̺̣w̷̫̞̤ ̮̙̤̝a̡̤̠ͅn͓̲̩̱͕d̷ ̦ͅͅl̶̺̪̟͚̼̣̞o̶͖̪v̘̜͎ͅè̥̮͎̘.

Our party decides that because golf-douche almost murderised all of us in one fell swoop and Lyse is still feeling pretty sensitive about the whole Papalymo thing, the best option is to travel to an entirely different and very far away nation, and help them defeat the Garlean occupation there so that a) the Garlean's and hopefully golf-douche will be distracted fighting a war on two fronts, and b) the other nation will then feel indebted to us and obligated (or strong-armed? They never quite clarify) to come help fight the Garleans in Ala Mhigo.

I am instantly a bit uncomfortable about this. It's presented both in a way that makes it seem like we're trying to do good by two nations rather than just one, but also very coldly as if we're playing war to suite our own overarching agenda, which will then force these people who have been terrorised and occupied for over a decade, to come fight another war they have less (if no) stake in.

I suppose 'the fate of the entire world and the Crystal Mother Lady' is a pretty good excuse when it comes down to it, but there's still a vibe of 'end justifies the means, and because our quest is an honorable one we'll make these tough decisions for people' vibe that just doesn't sit too right with me. These nations being freed from Garlean rule isn't the goal here, it's just a favourable side-effect of our actual plan. This feeling does lessen a little later when it's made more obvious that the whole team is very invested in helping out Ala Mhigo and Doma and it's more that we have to prove to the Alliance that it's a worth-while investment in a colder way. But towards the start, yea, felt weird.

Oh, and we met the Angy One! She's a great character, one of my fav antagonists in the expansion actually. But you don't know that yet at this point of the game, she's just a nation-traitor everyone hates, and for good reason. Actually, nobody really likes her, not even on her team, but she keeps going on ahead anyway.

Gaslight gatekeep girlboss~

I do also feel like we're leaving Ala Mhigo way too soon, before I really had a chance to become invested in it, you don't even get to finish the first map (The Fringes) and this isn't helped by the Doman leg of the game being by far more visually interesting and narratively compelling, but we'll get to that next time, in part two.

So far, a little underwhelming. Pros:

Learning more about Lyse's character, actually quite like getting to know her.

The battle music

Rhalgr's Reach design is pretty stunning

Good location names

The Hidden truth > Drawing a Blank questline

And a bit of a longer list, Cons:

The 'national anthem-esque' music

The Fringes is a boring map in visual and mechanics design

The story is slow to move

Golf-douche archetype is two-dimensional and ugh

Are we playing games with entire nations just to get to our shiney Omega Boi

Barely in Gyr Abania before being whisked away to a far more interesting area and narrative, as if the game devs didn't believe in it either.

Where the fuck are my aether currents let me fly you asshats

Entirely not ghey enough

I'll give this first length of the game a 2½/5. Until next time folks, unless the hyperfocus whisks me off forever.

#FFXIV #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #stormblood #FF14 review #stormblood review #lol I hate doing tags #catboy #miqo'te #isn't my catboy bootiful #golf-douche

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 3 years

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Flying High, Falling Fast

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape; fingering, oral, fucking, subtle creep factor, deceptive charm, the usual fare you know

This is dark!Sam Wilson x reader and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: You meet the new Captain America at an event and impress him with your homemade project, but his interest is more than friendly.

Note: We all need some dark!Sam, right? This is a pretty long one shot, just over 7k words but it was super fun to write a character I don’t get to a lot. But I hope you love him as much as me!

Thanks to everyone for sticking around and putting up with me and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

You’d never been to a meet and greet before but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet up with Reese. The two of you met a year and a half ago on a Discord server for PC builds and eventually waded through the awkward blank cursors to real conversations. Little updates on new additions to your machines, memes about coding, and the occasional gaming session. He became a stalwart in your mostly solitary existence between work and your empty private life.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Reese but you felt safer meeting a stranger from the internet in a public setting. Plus, it was his suggestion. His roommate fell through on attending the event with him and you eagerly accepted the unclaimed ticket. Of course, Reese insisted it was his treat but you made him promise to let you pay for lunch.

Even more exciting, you were going to meet the new Captain America. THE CAPTAIN AMERICA. You wanted to squee but had to play it cool as you waited with Reese in the winding queue.

As exclusive as the meet and greet was, it was stiflingly crowded, even more strenuous as you and Reese tried to adjust your rapport to a face-to-face environment. You mostly ended up chuckling and struggling for some cogent thought.

“What’s in the bag?” Reese asked, finally cracking through the stunted small talk.

“Oh, oh my god, I almost forgot,” you carefully lifted the bag and opened the top to let him peek inside, “I made this last year during lockdown. It’s silly but it was fun.”

He poked his finger around the opening of your drawstring knapsack and his brows rose in surprise. The drone had taken you most of your spare time but you hadn’t yet had a chance to do more than hover it around your bedroom. It was an exact replica, or exact as you could get, of the former Falcon’s Redwing.

“Holy shit! You never mentioned it,” he said.

“Oh, well, I guess… I never thought to. I just spent about an hour or so whenever I could, getting it together. Most of the time was spent on programming,” you closed your bag and let hit hang from your elbow, “and that’s another checkbox on the nerd list.”

“Please, look who you're talking to,” he joked with a snort.

You smiled at him sheepishly and looked ahead of the bodies in front of you as the line shifted forward. He wasn’t exactly disappointing, if anything, he was exactly what you expected. Skinny with black-framed glasses and a bright tee with the Captain’s shield emblazoned across his chest. He wasn’t bad-looking and thankfully not an incel.

“So, uh, you gonna give it to him or something?” Reese asked.

“What-- uh, no, I was hoping he’d sign it actually,” you chewed your lip anxiously, “if I don’t spaz out and just walk away.”

“Right,” he scoffed, “the last time I went to one of these I almost passed out.”

“Oh? Who was it?” you wondered aloud.

“Tony Stark. But I was still in high school,” he explained, “everything else sells out before I get to it. These I got by luck. If David hadn’t swiped them, we’d be standing outside wishing we were in here.”

“I can’t believe he passed on the ticket,” you uttered.

“I’m happy he did,” Reese said, “it made it easier to convince you to meet.”

“Well… we didn’t have to--”

“I’m teasing. Sorry. I’m not very… experienced at this,” he fidgeted.

“It’s fine,” you shrugged as you moved with the line, “I’m just nervous about meeting Captain America, you know? You’re not as intimidating… but I like that.”

“Uh, thanks,” he laughed as you got closer to the table and fidgeted with the straps of your bag. You were almost there.

You stepped up when the people ahead of you cleared away and you couldn’t help but stare at Bucky Barnes’ metal hand as he signed Reese’s special edition Blip magazine. He cleared his throat and you looked the Winter Soldier in the face.

“Oh, sorry,” you slid the poster you got from the shop on the way in onto the table and he unrolled it and signed. You tried really hard not to focus on his hand, you were so curious as to how it all worked. “Thank you.”

He smiled through tight lips and said, “your welcome” before you sidled down to Sam Wilson as you rolled up your poster.

“Don’t worry about him,” Sam said, “he hates these things. I can’t take him anywhere.”

His laughter received a sharp look from the super soldier. Sam took Reese’s magazine and asked his name. You were too lost in thought to answer when he asked for yours. You coughed and sputtered as you tried to remember and Reese answered for you, adding that you were nervous.

“I, uh, oh,” you lifted your bag, “I was hoping, maybe, you might sign this instead,” you handed the poster to Reese and reached into your knapsack, “if you don’t mind?”

You carefully placed the drone on the table and his brows shot up in surprise. He lifted it just as you let it go and admired it as he leaned back, “you make this?”

“Yeah,” you answered shyly, “doesn’t have all the cool features like yours but it flies.”

“That’s awesome,” he put it back down and uncapped his marker, “where do you want me to sign?”

“Just on the top is fine,” you pointed, “thank you so much.”

“My pleasure,” he put his signature after spelling out your name and he grabbed the drone again, “hey, Buck, look at this? I don’t see any fancy arms that need signing.”

“Shut up,” Bucky grumbled and eyed the drone, “pretty cool, though.”

“Thanks, uh, well, we should get out of the way,” you said.

He handed you the drone and smiled. You began to shuffle away and he called you back to the table, “you code? Do a lot of programming?”

“Mostly just corporate sites,” you answered.

“Here,” he reached into his pocket, “send me a text. I think I know some people who’d like to meet you.”

“What?” you took the card rigidly.

“Sure, we’re always looking for techs,” he said, “and if we can’t find a spot for you, maybe you can see the real Redwing. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Wow, thank you, you… don’t have to do… that,” you stuttered.

“I’d be stupid not to,” he waved off your protests, “you go have fun, you two.”

You backed away and turned to walk away with Reese as you shoved your drone back in your bag with the card, numb with disbelief.

“Wow, I can’t believe…” you trailed off as you mind wandered.

“Me either,” Reese said oddly, “that’s… wild.”

You looked at him and smiled. He didn’t look mad, only serious. You tightened the neck of the knapsack and slung it over your shoulders.

“So what are we doing for lunch?” you asked.

🌠

In the two weeks since you attended the meet and greet, you and Reese kept up mostly online, many arrangements interrupted by your real life responsibilities. It wasn’t until you offered for him to come with you to the SWORD labs that he had any free time for you. After a stressful text exchange with Captain America, you were too anxious to go alone and he was more than welcoming when you asked to bring a friend.

You stood on the subway as Reese sat and played his Switch. He was jittery as you kept your own nerves hidden just beneath the surface. You found it easier to stay standing as you felt as if you might combust if you sat.

“This is so awesome,” he said as he zipped his Switch up in its case, “thanks for inviting me.”

“I figured I owed you since you got the tickets for the meet and greet,” you said, “and it’s been a while.”

“Sorry about that, work’s been nuts,” he stood as you approached your stop and held onto the pole above your hand, “I kinda skipped out on half a day for this.”

“No,” you frowned, “you didn’t have to--”

“And miss a chance to see the real Redwing? Come on,” he scoffed.

“Oh,” you hung your head, “yeah, I guess that’s worth it.”

“I didn’t mean-- I’m happy to see you too, it’s just kinda a big deal,” he said as you approached the door with the few other passengers readying to hop off.

“No, I get it,” you hooked your thumbs under the straps of your knapsack as the doors slid open and you stepped out onto the platform, “I just… I couldn’t go alone. It’s so… scary.”

“Scary? Jeez, Captain America invited you to a job interview!”

“No, that’s not--”

“Uh, yeah, that’s exactly what it is but I promise, I won’t get in the way,” he said as you head for the concrete stairs, “maybe if he needs an extra coder I might piggy back.”

“Uh huh,” you came up onto the New York sidewalk and came into view of the immense SWORD building, “well, I don’t think it’s all that.”

“So why’d you bring this?” he tapped your bag as you neared the large glass doors and men in suits with coiled wires at their ears squared their shoulders.

“He asked me to,” you said as you were approached by one of the big security guards.

“This isn’t public entry,” he said sternly, “no tours.”

“I have an appointment or… I’m expected,” you pulled out your phone and pulled up the electronic pass Sam sent you, “see?”

“Hmm,” he eyed it and took your phone without asking. Another guard came and scanned it with his phone, “checks out but we’re gonna called down Mr. Wilson and get confirmation.”

“Oh, okay,” you fidgeted as he made no move to return your phone. Reese seemed to shrink as the two men spoke into their headset and nodded at each other.

“Hey,” the glass door burst open as Sam appeared and strode towards you, “hey, sorry, these guys are such buzzkills,” he approached and patted one of the men on the shoulder, “they’re with me.” He assured and waved you after him.

“Um, my phone,” you said to the taller man with the buzzed head. He tilted his head wryly and held out your cell between two fingers. You took it and followed Sam to the doors.

“Anyway, we were just going over some basic maintenance today and I thought you might like to observe. See everything that goes into keeping me and my toys in the air,” he smiled as he held the door and nodded at Reese, “nice to see you again, man.”

“You too, Cap...tain,” Reese answered dumbly.

“Sam is fine,” he chuckled back and tailed the two of you across the lobby as he pointed you towards the elevators. He made Reese look even more like a stick bug. “You bring it?”

“Yeah, it’s in my bag,” you stopped yourself from popping your knuckles out of nervousness, “thank you so much for this. I usually work in cubicles so… uh, yeah… I don’t know what I mean.”

“Hey, don’t be nervous, you built that thing all by yourself? I’m sure you’ll fit right in,” he said.

You got off the elevator and had to hold in a gasp at the shining laboratories as the hi-tech equipment gleamed through the glass walls. Sam led you down the curved staircase onto the lab floors as techs and assistants in both lab coats and starched suits milled around the tables along the edge of the room.

“Hey, Greta,” he called out as he showed you to a metal table, “get a look at this.” A woman with twisted red hair approached as Sam tapped his fingers on the table, “show her,” he urged you.

You swung your bag around and took out the little red and silver drone. You placed it in the middle of the table and the woman, Greta, tilted her head curiously.

“You said you can make this thing fly, right?” Sam asked as Reese watched from the other side of the table.

“Um, yep,” you unlocked your phone and brought up the beta app you designed, “just…”

The drone rose slowly and steadied before you as it hovered over the metal. Greta lifted a dark brow and ran a nail along her chin thoughtfully, “cute.”

“Ah, come on, tell me that isn’t awesome? She did it all by herself,” Sam boasted, “so, what do you think? She’d be a great tech, huh?”

“Tech? I…” you blinked and giggled, that was absurd.

“Does she have a resume? A list of her credentials, at least,” Greta rebuffed.

“Greta,” Sam warned playfully, “I’m her credentials. I’m giving her a reference right now. Hire her.”

“What?” you mumbled under your breath and you saw Reese’s eye cling to Sam darkly, almost enviously.

“You know, if I hadn’t let that kid go for hi-jacking the alpha, I’d tell you to go back to breaking your toys,” she warned, “but I trust you and… I cannot say I’m not impressed,” she narrowed her sights at the floating drone, “how long did this take you?”

“A year or so,” you answered, “it was… just meant to be a hobby but--”

“Well, make it your life,” she said tersely, “Wilson, you deal with HR, Sheila likes you better.”

“Leave it all to me,” he grinned and she walked away.

“Here,” he turned back to you, “I’ll show you the operating system for the real deal.”

He ushered you and Reese over to a computer after you lowered your drone. The real Redwing sat on a module next to the screen and Sam punched the keys and took a hooked earpiece from a small stand, “put this on.”

You slipped the earpiece on as he revealed a bracelet and adjusted it on your wrist, a small ring looping up your index finger.

“Bend your finger,” he said and you did it, “lift it up, back… like that.” Redwing rose and you watched in amazement, “tilt your head…” the drone aimed in the same direction as your head, “now back,” it flew higher, “just like that. You’re getting it.”

You steered the drone in a circle and Sam helped you maneuver it back down. He let you hand the controls over to Reese who had more fun with it and nearly took out one of the workers. He apologised and Sam just chuckled, though it didn’t sound so amused.

When Redwing was back in its place, Sam took you all around the room to show you every gadget; his wings, his suit, all his little weapons, and even pulled up some Wakandan schematics of Bucky’s arm. Much of it wasn’t in English however and you could only decipher what was visually laid out.

He left you there for a moment as he excused himself to chat with a tech about his wings. Reese huffed and leaned against the wall. You were quiet, mostly stunned, though your usual reticence could also be blamed.

“I don’t think you should’ve brought me,” he said, “I told you it was a job interview.”

“I didn’t know, I thought you would enjoy it,” you felt awful as Reese had given up trying to hide his jealousy.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, “well, it is pretty cool but…”

He was interrupted as Sam returned, “sorry about that, guys, I kinda messed up one of the engines on the wings on my last mission.”

You smiled and said it was fine. You hadn’t expected so much attention and thought it would be a brief little show and tell, not an entire tour. You returned to the table where you left your drone and shut down the app. You packed up your Redwing, it felt lighter but you were sure you were just imagining things as your head spun. You looked down at the bold signature across the shell and knotted the drawstring above its nose.

“Sorry, I…” you took your bag from the table, “I hate to bother but is there a bathroom I can use.”

“Oh yeah, just head back up the stairs, left of the elevators,” Sam pointed above, “we’ll wait here, there’s one last thing I wanna show you.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” you headed for the stairs and latched onto the railing before you could trip upwards.

You bumbled up the stairs and after a brief moment of blankness, you found your way to the bathroom. You quickly slipped into the stall and spent a minute at the mirror after washing your hands to get your head straight. It felt like a dream, or worse, a joke.

You headed back out and Sam was waiting just by the elevators to your surprise. You pursed your lips and glanced around, “where’s Reese?”

“Oh, yeah, uh, he left,” he said as he shoved his hand in his pocket, “said he wasn’t feeling it.”

“Really?” you shrunk, just a little, “erm… that’s too bad.”

“Yeah, kinda weird, I don’t think I’ve ever just ditched a girlfriend in the middle of the city,” he said.

“Girlfriend? Well… it’s… it’s early,” you rubbed the back of your neck, “I hope he’s okay.”

“Damn, I hope he didn’t ruin it, I still wanted to show you the shield,” he intoned, “but if you’re not feeling up to it--”

“No, no, I’m here, that would be awesome,” you forced a smile.

Had you done something wrong? Was it rude to invite Reese and have all this rubbed in his face? You thought he’d feel worse if you didn’t invite him. Your doubts flurried in your head as you stepped onto the elevator with Sam, chewing your cheek as you tried not to show your disappointment.

You were brought back to the present as the metal doors opened and Sam nudged you as you stared right through the open space. You stepped out ahead of him and he caught up and walked beside you as he explained what was hidden in every room; mostly offices and training gyms.

He unlocked a door at the far curve of the circular hallway and jiggled until it opened. He pushed it open and the lights flicked on automatically.

“Bucky,” he grumbled, “he almost took the handle right off… so now I gotta fight it.”

“Oh,” you entered as he beckoned you inside and you looked around the spacious office.

“You know, there’s lots of paperwork when you take out a whole bridge, even if it is an accident,” he laughed, “and it gives me a place to show this off.”

He went to the wall where the shield was held on small metal hooks and slid it out easily. The vibranium sung in the air as he turned to you and held it out.

“You wanna?” he asked.

“Sure…” you murmured as he turned it around and held it so you could hook your arm through the straps. He let it go and stood back to look you over.

“It suits you,” he said, “got your own Redwing and you hold that like a real champ. Maybe it’s time I step aside.”

You laughed nervously and shook your head. You peeked down at the metal and lifted and angled around as you admired the smooth curve.

“Thanks,” you offered it back to him and he took it with one hand, “for everything.”

“You’re taking the job, right?” he prodded, “it’s perfect.”

“Mmm, well, I got a job--”

“Better than here? Better than suiting up the Cap?” he chided.

You bent your ankle under you and swayed on your feet. It was a great opportunity and way better than your desk job. It just felt like you didn’t deserve it.

“I need an answer. Greta doesn’t like indecision,” he said.

“O-okay, okay,” you surrendered, “I… if I said no, I’d feel even worse.”

“You won’t regret it, promise,” he said, “if you do, Redwing is yours. The real one.”

“No, no, I’m…” you rocked as you gripped the straps of your knapsack, “I’m sure I won’t.”

🌠

Your two weeks notice rolled by. Your boss was less than pleased by the sudden departure but you didn’t care much as you wouldn’t have to deal with him for much longer. You wrapped up your last day with your replacement and left feeling free, though the anxiety of your job loomed on the other side of the weekend.

In those weeks since your visit to the SWORD facility, you hadn’t heard much from Reese. That night when you messaged him to make sure he was okay, he didn’t say much more than ‘just tired’. After that, he was always offline when you signed onto the server and all your co-op requests were declined. You were ready to give up.

Oh well, it was an online thing anyway, you were stupid to think it could work out.

But you were not entirely isolated. To your surprise, you got several messages from Sam, you still couldn’t help but think of him as Captain America and feel like you had nothing interesting to say to a hero. When he found out you liked to game, he even joined you for a session on headset but again, you were hyper focused and quiet. You were flattered that he was trying to make you feel welcome, that he even bothered to get you a job, but it all felt so above you.

When you got home that night, you logged in and sent a request to Reese, just one last attempt. He didn’t even respond, even after fifteen minutes of waiting. You shut down your PC and grabbed your switch instead. You changed as the system updated your Animal Crossing and flopped onto your bed.

You laid across the mattress, one leg over the edge and the other bent. You ran through, planting, fishing, and selling as you tried not to think too much. You’d done enough of that lately. You zoned out as your eyes narrowed at the small screen but in your peripheral, you felt a shadow move. You shrugged it off as the sunlight playing through the curtains and rolled onto your side to ignore it.

You kept on, ready to log out as you didn’t want to spend another Nook Ticket to go to and island and get nothing but flowers. You heard a subtle whirring and glanced over at your computer. It was sleeping and it was never that loud. You noticed that light shift again and turned. There was nothing. Nothing but your dresser and the signed drone, just as you left it.

You squinted and turned off your Switch. You went out to the front room to drop it back in the dock. You stretched and grabbed your phone from your purse to put in an order for some take-out. You stopped as you noticed Sam’s unanswered messages.

‘Whatcha doin’ tonite?’ and several that assumed you must be busy.

‘Sorry, got caught up gaming,’ you replied guiltily.

Your phone shook before you could close out of the chat and you answered as Sam’s name flashed across the top.

“Hello?” you squeaked.

“Hey, hope I’m not buggin’ you but I thought-- stop, Jesus Christ, sorry, we’re on our way to dinner and we hoped you might join us.”

“We?” you echoed.

“Oh, ha, yeah me and Bucky, Greta, and some of the techs. Not too many of us but you’re more than welcome,” he said, “since you start on Monday, it will be good to get to know some people.”

“Y-yeah, for sure,” you answered. It felt more an obligation than an invite. You didn’t want to come across snobbish or lazy even if you’d rather eat fried noodles and watch some trash reality TV.

“Great! I’ll send you the address,” he growled and hissed under his breath, “sorry, again, I’m just dealing with this-- I’ll see you there. Save ya a seat.”

He hung up abruptly and you stood dumbfounded staring at your jacket. You dropped your phone back into your purse and headed back to your room. You had to find something to wear that didn’t seem like you were trying too hard or not trying enough.

As you entered, that same whirring floated through the air and suddenly stopped. You looked around confused; not a fly, not your PC acting up, nothing. You grimaced at the poster with the star emblem across it and went to your dresser to pick out an outfit. It was probably the neighbour fucking around. Apartment living was rarely peaceful.

🌠

The restaurant was bustling as you were met by the hostess at the door. You told her you were there to join the party from SWORD. She showed you to the table and Sam saw you above the din and waved to you then shoved Bucky over on the cushioned bench.

“Right here,” he pointed as he waved you over and stepped aside to let you past. You sidled along and sat, apologizing to Bucky as he rolled his eyes, “not too late.”

You gave your drink order as a waiter came by and shrugged out of your jacket, letting it bunch up around your back. Sam offered his menu and introduced the people you didn’t know at the table; alongside Bucky and Greta, were Xan and Wyatt. You said hello and opted for the fiesta salad as you set aside the menu.

“Are you excited?” Sam asked.

“For what?” Bucky huffed, “she’s gotta put up with you.”

“Hey,” Sam took the lemon off the rim of his glass and tossed it at Bucky, “he lightens up… sometimes.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bucky grumbled but you could hear the humour in his voice.

You sank into the background as the night went on. You spoke up when you were called on but felt it hard to assert yourself, especially with someone as outspoken as Sam beside you. Still, he made sure to make you feel included when you started to feel forgotten. For that you were grateful and he was right, it made you feel a little less anxious about your first day.

As you came out onto the sidewalk, your wallet painfully lighter, you bid goodbye to everyone but Sam hung around. You clutched your purse and peered down the street.

“Thanks for inviting me,” you said.

“Ah, you know what, I shoulda asked that guy, Reese? How’s it going with him? He your boyfriend yet?”

“Ha, no,” you sucked in your lip and took a deep breath, “I don’t even think we’re friends anymore.”

“Oh no, what happened?” he asked.

“I dunno,” you said wistfully, “but it is what it is.”

“He’s missin’ out. You’re a cool girl,” he said, “building drones for fun. Kinda why I had to snag you, you know? Someone with your skills, that’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” you chortled, “no.”

“Well,” he checked his phone, “how are you getting home?”

“I’ll just take the train,” you said, “my place is only about a ten minute ride from here.”

“You sure? I can give you a ride,” he said.

“Nah, really, you’ve done… more than enough.”

“Alright, well, see you Monday?”

“Monday?” you wondered.

“I’ll pop in before I head out,” he said, “got a mission so I might not be around more than that.”

“Okay, Monday,” you confirmed, “see ya.”

🌠

Monday was a whirlwind. It started on a high as Sam suited up and showed off his wings before he headed up to the jet pad. Greta muttered that she was happy he’d be out of your way before she went through the task of getting you acquainted not only with the tech but with their workplace rituals. It was a lot to take in but you did your best to absorb every word and second.

When you got home, you had a folder full of notes and spent too long going over them before you remembered the groan in your stomach. You ate a lazy super of Kraft Dinner and lazed across your bed doing nothing but watching Youtube tutorials on your tablet. You fell asleep early and woke to your alarm and a dead tablet.

You got up, got dressed, ran out, and did it all again. The first week dragged by and yet it felt like you didn’t have enough time. On Friday, you got home and fell across the couch in your work clothes. You held your phone above you and scrolled dozily through your feed.

A dot popped up and you flicked over to your notifications. The selfie you posted on your first day at the lab with Sam in his suit had lots of hearts but your first comment was less than pleasant. Beside Reese’s icon was all caps: MUST BE EASY SLEEPING YOUR WAY INTO A JOB!

Your heart pattered and you sat up. You deleted the comment but another soon appeared; several as you kept deleting and finally blocked him. ‘Slut, whore, dumb bitch…’ it was the last thing you expected from him.

You opened Discord and clicked on his chat. ‘What’s going on? Why are you doing this?’

The text flicked across the bottom that Reese was typing but he stopped and you sat there for what felt like forever before his response popped up.

‘I can’t believe you brought me all the way there to rub my face in all that shit. And for what? You should’ve just told me I had no chance and I woulda left you alone. If you wanna fuck Sam Wilson, do it, but don’t chain me along like your little bitch boy. Get fucked slut.’

You flinched as you read it and re-read it. You typed shakily as your eyes watered. ‘I’m not fucking Sam and I wouldn’t. I brought you there because I wanted to and thought you would like it. I didn’t know you felt so strongly about it. But I see what you think of me so I only wish you the best and hope you find peace.’

You sent the message but just as quickly, you were blocked from sending any more. You tossed your phone and fell back against the couch. That must have been why he took off but you couldn’t figure out how he thought you of all people were sleeping with Sam Wilson. Really? He was just another incel after all.

You phone jangled with your annoying ringtone and you grabbed it, expecting to be insulted by Reese again but it was Sam calling. You really weren’t in the mood to talk with him. You just wanted to be left alone. But you couldn’t just ignore Captain America.

“Hello?” you answered.

“Hey, I just got back in town. Whatcha doing?” you could hear the wind in the speaker.

“Just got home. I’m exhausted. Probably gonna just nap.”

“You okay?” he asked after a moment.

“Fine,” you said dully.

“Don’t sound fine,” he said, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you insisted.

“Oh, so it’s not what that boy said on your photo?”

“You saw that?”

“You tagged me, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, no, it’s…”

“Shit, don’t listen to him. He’s just a boy, he blew his chance and he’s bitter about it,” he said, “how about I come over, make sure you’re really okay?”

“No, I don’t think--”

“Ah, come on, don’t make me worry all night about you,” he chided.

“Sam, you really--” There was a knock at the window and you froze. “Sam?”

The line clicked and you heard the tapping again. You lowered your phone and went to the window. Outside, geared up in his wings and suit, Sam hovered before the glass. You blinked and he rapped again. You snapped out of your shock and unlocked the window and slid it up.

“What are you doing?” you asked, “wait? How do you know where I live?”

He grabbed onto the frame and hooked his leg through as he retracted his wings. He bent under and sat half-in and half-out of the window, “forgive me? I did a bit of snooping in HR.”

“I told you not to come. I really don’t feel up to-- It’s really weird that you’re here,” you sat as he ducked pulled his other leg through and stood, “Sam, I think you should go.”

“You shouldn’t be alone, especially after that moron sending you that shit,” he said coolly as he took off his tinted goggles.

“Well, I want to be alone, so you should--”

“I mean, I haven’t even fucked you yet and he’s jealous,” he snickered, “so I guess we should give him a real reason.”

“What are you talking about? That’s… gross. You should go--”

“Come on, girl, you think this was really about a drone,” he tossed his goggles down and set his shield on the chair as he strode around the room, “convenience. I want you close.”

“I don’t--” you looked down at your phone, “get out, Sam.”

The tone of your finger pressing ‘9’ sounded and he spun quickly to face you. He stormed over to you before you could hit ‘1’ and ripped it from your grasp.

“You’re gonna call the cops and say what? I’m Captain America,” he snarled, “but you can just call me Cap.”

He winked and threw your phone out the window smoothly. You gasped as he chuckled and lifted his wings off his back. He leaned them against the wall and stretched out his shoulders. He looked around as he twisted his tongue between his teeth.

“I like this, looks cozy,” he toed the side of the couch with his boot, “look better with you on it.”

You watched him stroll around the coffee table as he unzipped the collar of his suit. The scene was like some tainted nightmare. Maybe you’d fallen asleep. You were so tired you must have just passed out but you weren’t waking up.

You spun around and ran into the small hallway that led to your door. You were caught from behind, pulled back by the nape of your blazer as Sam tutted. His arm went around your waist and he lifted you off your feet. He turned and carried you back into the front room. You kicked and writhed as his strength enwrapped you.

“Please, please,” you begged, “I… I don’t understand. This isn’t-- this isn’t what I wanted. I didn’t--”

“Baby girl,” he cooed as he brought you close to the couch, “be good and listen to your Captain. Now stop this.”

“No, no,” you gulped at air as the panic rose in you, “I never-- please, you don’t have to do this--”

“You gotta do what I say,” he snapped and flung you onto the couch, “I don’t want to make you.”

You looked at him as you trembled in fear and disbelief. This couldn’t be. He was Sam Wilson, the Captain America; he was a nice guy.

“You have one minute to get naked,” he said and you just gaped at him, “you gonna make me repeat myself?”

Your throat tightened as his dark eyes bore into you. His hand balled to a fist and finally you found an ounce of strength. You pushed your legs over the edge of the couch and slipped out of your blazer. You stood carefully and watched him cautiously. You had to look away as your hands quivered over the buttons of your blouse.

You turned and folded your shirt over your blazer. You could hear him behind you as you unbuttoned your pants and pushed them down your legs. The question of what you were doing flitted through your head but the fear pulsed through you and took over.

“Ah,” he sighed and you peeked back as he freed himself of the top half of his stealth suit.

You turned back and hesitated. You knew there was more, you knew what he wanted, but your body locked up as your fingers curled and your insides knotted.

“Let me get that,” he came close and his fingers tickled along your shoulder blades and he unhooked your bra, “hmmm,” he let go and the cups fell off your chest, “almost there, baby.”

He stepped back and you shuddered. You dropped your bra and hooked your fingers under your panties. You wiggled them down a little at the time and heard the intake of breath as you pulled them down entirely. You stood still, unable to move, too mortified to face him.

“Come on, baby,” he said, “get comfortable.”

You inhaled and turned slowly. You went to the couch as he shed his undershirt and added it to the pile atop his shield. He looked at you and tilted his head as he licked his bottom lip. He snarled as he took in the sight of you and pointed you to the couch.

You sat and hugged yourself as he stripped off his pants along with his boxers in a single swipe. You flicked your eyes away as you glimpsed his hard dick as he stood straight and you stared at the open window. You smushed your lips together in horror and held in the tide of tears.

He came closer and you tried to tune out the room. This couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t. You felt his hands on your knees and he urged your legs apart. You resisted for a moment then let him guide your limbs. It would be over sooner if you just let it happen.

He knelt on the floor as his hands kneaded along your thighs and framed your vee as he leaned over your lap. You winced and he kept your legs from closing as he pushed his body between them. His thumb grazed your folds and he pushed between them. You let out a hushed gasp as he swirled around your clit.

“See, it’s not so bad to be good, is it, baby?” he purred, “you’re wet already.”

He slid his thumb up and down and spread the wetness along your cunt. You were shocked and humiliated by your obvious arousal. You shouldn’t be turned on by this. Your body was not listening to your mind, it was obeying his touch.

“Mmm,” he hummed as he turned his hand and poked along your entrance with one finger.

He pushed inside and you clenched around his intrusion. He pulled in and out and added another finger. Your nails clawed at the cushion and you pressed back into the couch. He kept his thumb on your clit as he worked his fingers inside of you and the tension clustered between his fingertips.

“Oh, baby, listen to you,” he bet forward and replaced his thumb with his tongue as he kept fingering you.

You turned your face up to the ceiling and squeezed your eyes shut. You bit your lip as the ripples radiated from your core and your breath hitched. His hand moved faster as he suckled at your bud and his free hand groped your chest blindly. You slapped your hand over your mouth as you came, your back arching as you pushed into him.

He teased you through your climax and pulled away only as you quaked and whined at his unyielding touch. He drew his fingers out of you and sat back to lick them clean. You peeked down at him and quickly away as his eyes blazed back at you.

“Up,” he stood and stroked himself shamelessly as he strode around the coffee table, “put your hands on there.”

You rose unsteadily, legs shaking beneath you as your entire being felt like jelly. You went to him and turned your back to him. You bent over and he grabbed your ass and squeezed with a growl. You gripped the table and hung your head as the cool air grazed your cunt.

He shoved his hand between your legs and rubbed you again. He stepped closer and bent his knees as he lined himself up with your entrance, sliding in between his fingers as he spread you wide. You choked as his tip poked inside and he eased himself inch by inch into you. He held your hip as he reached his limit and groaned.

“Baby, oh god damn,” he thrust so that your whole body jerked. It was painfully delightful. Of the few men you’d been with, he was the biggest, or at least the thickest.

He rocked slowly and a moan escaped your lips. Despite the torturous pressure of his intrusion, you could ignore the pleasure laced in the pain. His hand brushed up your as and along your back. He bent over you as his fingers curled over your shoulder and he pressed his body to yours as he fucked you.

You kept your head down as you tried to measure your breaths and the pathetic noises rising from you. He pushed his hand down your stomach and between your legs again to play with your clit. He moved his legs against yours and forced them together so your cunt hugged him even tighter. He grunted and you whimpered as his fingers added to the new pressure.

He sped up so that the table scraped against the floor but kept you up with one arm around you. He rutted into you wildly as his sultry voice filled your chest and his heat consumed you. You cried out as another orgasm swept through you and your cunt quivered around him desperately.

He pulled you up suddenly so you stood on your toes. He tilted into you as he brought his arms up around yours and tined his fingers behind your head. His flesh slapped yours loudly and you opened your eyes as you heard a familiar whirring. The drone flew before you, the signature on its shell, but a light blinking at its nose. Yours didn’t have a light.

“What--”

“Ah, yeah,” he rasped through rampant breaths, “looks like they got mixed up.”

“Huh--” you sucked in your breath as he thrust harder and deeper.

“I didn’t mind, he helped me keep an eye on you,” he said as he nuzzled you above his hands, “you look so cute in your little tee shirts.”

You groaned and leaned your head against him as another rush of fear was met with unwanted bliss. You murmured senselessly as he picked up his pace and the drone came closer. He purred as you felt his muscles tighten.

“Don’t worry,” he puffed, “I’ll make sure the boy knows he was right.”

He buried himself in you, nearly taking you off your feet, and twitched as he emptied himself into you. He rocked his hips subtly as he rode out his climax and stilled you as his voice gristled to rampant pants. His arms fell to embrace you and he kept you flush to him as he lingered inside.

“Or I can keep that little video to myself…” he brought his hand up to cradle your chin and poked his finger along your lower lip, “it’s all up to you, baby.”

#sam wilson #dark sam wilson #dark!sam wilson #one shot #sam wilson x reader #fic #dark!fic #dark fic #tfatws #falcon #captain america #mcu #marvel #bucky barnes #avengers

273 notes · View notes

shushiyuii · 3 years

Note

For the Parallel worlds au: you said Tommy was scared of being tiny, right? I bet the first meeting of him and Toms was interesting (initial accidental fearplay!). Can you write something for there meeting?

Here you go, Love! I hope you like it! Also first Parallel worlds fic yaay! Also I'm gonna fucking speedrun fics today, you guys are gonna get so spoiled today- screw the sleep schedule.

I'm planning on writing more Subject T0M lore, New Au I have planned and a one-shot- Also, if you guys want you can claim anon thingys so I can differentiate you from different anons if you plan on being a regular- Okay I think that's enough lmao

Warnings: Slight accidental dehumanization, fearplay and swearing

Words: 1.2K

To say Tommy’s Day went quite differently from usual was barely correct in his opinion. First, he had been taking care of his Spider/Son Shroud, then going on to do important things such as robbing and mining cobblestone, trying to scrape up food but instead, as he was walking out of his house something quite unexpected happened.

Rather than seeing the prime path, there looked to be some sort of black hole, like a tear in the world, he stared at it for a moment until he couldn’t feel his body and he was lifted by a strong force, dragging him within this strange hole.

Within this hole- was a whole other place, he could see darkness, but saw some luminescence with strange cracks of glowing yellow and dark blue. Each one seeming to have stars of some sort, if he squinted enough, he could see what seemed to be different places. (This is what we call the Rift’s Realm, if I need to go into more detail about it, I will. Got a ton of ideas for this world :3)

Then, he was falling, dragged? Flying? It was difficult to tell but one thing is for sure as he felt distorted and ‘fell’ within one of these ‘stars. And he blacked out.

He woke up in shock, holding his head as he felt a pounding headache. He sat up in a daze, slowly fluttering his eyes open. It took a minute to register his surroundings. Instead of seeing his house or being outside, everything seemed like a completely different environment. He sat on what seemed to be a giant piece of wood, with strange-looking giant squares and objects. Everything seemed so much bigger compared to him.

It startled him, to say the least, he wasn’t to say a big fan of this. Everything was so different, so different, a much bigger world. Sure, he had claustrophobia, he’d much prefer to be in a smaller environment, in this big of an environment was just as big as the L’manhole, which brought up many unwanted memories. He hated this, to say the least.

He scrambled backwards without much attention to where he was walking, which almost caused him to fall from the edge, it didn’t help his fear. In his panic state, he couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening, one moment home and safe, next in the open and lost. Which wasn’t safe.

Where was Tubbo? And Ranboo? Maybe even Da-Philza and Techno? Heck, even Wilbur? Were they around? Had the same thing happened to them?

The answer came when he heard what sounded like a door closing, instead a lot more echoey, much louder… It didn’t help his headache. He looked for a place to hide but everything seemed so open and big, with whatever was coming his way was much faster than him, no way he’d make it but there was no way he wasn’t going to try…

He ran behind what seemed to be a somewhat round object, he heard what sounded like loud slams but were most likely giant footsteps…

To say the least, Tom’s Day had been relatively normal, just doing his chores, checking up on his friends, working on video ideas and such. He had just finished his chores and just came to his room and made his way to his desk to finally start to work on videos when, as he went to grab his mouth, he saw something quite odd.

It looked to him, but so much different, smaller. It looked to be like 6 inches tall. Heck, it stared at him in horror as he stared back. It was, wait- no It wasn’t right, it was like a person, he was a person just- small? It even looked like him…

His mind filled with panic as the giant had found him, of course, he did, he hid in one of the most obvious spots- the giant moved his finger towards Tommy, to poke at him to which he let out a scream of fear. When the giant heard the scream, he looked to be shocked himself, confused even as to what was going on?

Then a familiar voice hit his eardrums, “Hello?”, it was his voice- at first, he thought it was a voice in his head, but it wasn’t, it was the giants. now that he thought about it, the giant seemed almost like him. The same handsome face as his, the striking blonde hair, even the same baby blue eyes and dazzling t-shirt.

I-it was him, just giant?

His fear calmed somewhat but that didn’t quite help or conclude the situation, he was still in an unknown place with what seemed to be another version of him. “The fuck?”. He muttered out of his train of thoughts.

Then suddenly, the giant himself screamed, finally seeming to understand the reality of the situation. The volume of the scream was enough to send shivers down his spine.

After that none of them moved, instead of staring at each other, both of them seeming too scared to ask about what the fuck was going on. There was a moment of silence when the giant coughed to break the tension between the two.

“Sorry- I- Who are you? And what are you doing in my room? Heck your size and-“. “HEY! Do not question my size Asshole! I’m just as confused as you are! I just woke up here- I have no fucking idea what the fuck’s going on!?!”. As he rambled, he began to pace back and forth.

“I- You sound just like me… What’s your name?”, “Tommy Danger Kraken Innit, is my name. The biggest man in the world”, “The biggest? Right now Small man you look as if you’re one of the smallest people in the world-“, “Hey!”. “Wait- You said your name was fucking Tommy?”.

“Yeah?”. He answered confused as the giant just realised his name. “THAT’S MY FUCKING NAME!” the giant yelled. “WHAT?!”. After the freak out both seemed to realise the similarities between them despite his- well epic scars.

The similarities between the two were uncanny. Then the giant’s hand moved to pick up his smaller self, wanting to get a closer look at well him. “Hey! Put me down you prick!” The tiny yelled but the giant seemed deep in thought as he concluded that it was in fact a smaller him.

“I- You’re literally a smaller me. Just like my Minecraft character?”. “What?”. “The Dream SMP, L’manburg” He began to list off, “YOU KNOW ABOUT L’MANBURG?!”. “OF COURSE, I FUCKING DO! IT WAS ME AND WILBUR’S THING IN THE SERVER”. “I-“

“Are we the same fucking person or something?”. “I- I think so?”. “How did you even get here?”. “Some weird hole or some shit dragged me in, and I woke up here”. “We’re going to need help about this…”. “Agreed”.

The giant carefully placed his tiny self on his desk, moving to turn on his computer and open discord, when he did there was already a message in a group chat. From Wilbur. “Could somebody explain to me why I have a tiny fucking Ghostbur and Me?”.

Well… Seems they weren’t the only ones in this situation…

#mcytg/t #mcyt g/t #dsmp g/t #giant!tommy #tiny!tommy #Parallel worlds au #Shushi's writings

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gaysimpsstuff · 3 years

Text

Fatgum As a Dad

This was inspired by a conversation I had on a discord server, we all have daddy issues and want Fatgum to adopt us so here’s all the shit we collected.

There are some serious themes in here, mostly regarding the biological parents of the kid, but it’s vague as possible. If anyone wants me to add a trigger warning please let me know.

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

It all started when he was a kid, when he learned what an orphanage was. One of the kids in his class mentioned being from one, so when he got home he asked his parents about it.

“Mom, what’s an orphanage?”

“Well, Taishiro, it’s where children that don’t have parents go. Then people can come and adopt the children. Why do you ask.”

“A kid at school said he’s from one, when d’you think he’s gonna get adopted?”

“He might, not all children get adopted. Some of them stay in the orphanage until they’re adults.”

“BUT THAT’S NOT FAIR!” he shouted. “EVERYONE DESERVES A HAPPY CHILDHOOD!”

“Well, honey, life’s not fair. And not everyone gets a happy life. It’s how most villains are made, actually. They were hurt more than everyone else and couldn’t handle it anymore. Not all villains are like that but many are. I think you should stay away from that kid, Taishiro. He might turn out a villain.”

But he didn’t stay away. And he made it his mission to become a pro hero so he could make a ton of money and help as many people as he could. He’d help even villains, keep them from doing something dangerous and inspire hope in them.

Then, he’d adopt any kid who needed a father. All the orphanages and foster programs would be empty. Homeless children off the street and in his house, being fed and clothed. He’d care for each and every one of them, not wanting a single person to feel like they didn’t belong.

He finds most of his kids at pride parades. He walks around with a shirt that says ‘FREE DAD HUGS’ and a box full of candy. He remembered one of the kids walking up to him slowly.

“Um.. are you Fatgum?”

“Yes I am!”

“Can I have a hug?”

“Yes you can, Kiddo!” he got down, and the kid put his arms on his stomach (Fatgum’s too big for anyone to fully hug, the dude’s taller than Allmight!) he wrapped his arms around the kid before he heard sniffles. He looked down and saw that the kid was crying.

“M-my parents never hug me like this!” they exclaimed. “They haven’t since I came out. They want to kick me out when I turn thirteen!”

“Can I have their number? I’m going to... talk to them.”

He ended up taking the kid’s family to court, and since the parents were going to just kick the kid out anyways, they let Fatgum adopt them, but they kept nagging him about how he was ‘going to be raising a little demon.’

“Then call me Lucifer.” he spat right back. Now, that kid’s grown up, has pride flags all around their walls, and doesn’t ever doubt that they’re loved.

Fatgum probably bakes with his kids. Helping them up onto the counter to mix ingredients and play with the dough. If they mess something up or break a glass, it’s fine. He doesn’t yell at them or sigh and shake his head, he just kissed the kid on the forehead and helps them clean up the mess.

The food always turns out amazing, and Fatgum always tells the kids that. All of his kids are now Gordon Ramsay level chefs and have probably met Gordon Ramsay.

No matter what their body type is, Fatgum tells his kids their handsome/beautiful and are model worthy. If anyone comments of one of his kid’s body, whether it be negative or... ‘positive’ in a creepy way, you can expect that they’re getting slammed into the ground. No questions asked.

One of Fatgum’s kids is really good at make-up. Like, really good. So Fatgum did the only thing a rational father would do.

Ask for a make-up job.

It didn’t end all that well...

“Hold still.. I gotta get the eyeliner on.”

“Gosh, Kiddo it’s making my eyes water.”

“I know, just hold still... aaaand...... done! Now don’t touch it or it’ll smear!”

“Wow, that looks great! You’re really good at this!”

“Thanks, dad- you smeared it already didn’t you?”

“....Nope.”

Fatgum: I'm not gonna do it, it just seemed like a good option.

Fatgum not even two seconds later after seeing a trans kid crying: now carrying said child on his shoulders while his spouse is chuckling in a corner after signing adoption papers I did it.

This man would get his kids almost anything they wanted. Especially kids with ADD/ADHD/Autism/Tourettes/Anxiety who need stim toys.

Kid: chewing on their nails.

Fatgum: here take this stim toy, and this one, you chew this one so that might help-

Kid ends up with more stim toys than they can count.

Fatgum: just doing his job

The Daddy Issues Gang: Hi dad- oh shit wait- Hi- I- fuck- trauma ensues. crying

Fatgum: grabs the daddy issues gang we're going to the nearest courtroom say hello to your new father its me im the father ok lets go.

Kid: um, dad can I talk to you?

Fatgum, turning around quickly: yes?

Me: ‘he moved so quick, he's mad at me, I'm gonna get yelled at’ Sorry, sorry!

Fatgum: uh, no. I'm getting you ice cream and a new stuffed animal no questions asked

He'd just know when something's wrong, and he’d be great at comforting.

His usual style of comfort is to let the kid sit on his stomach and tell him what’s wrong. His body is one giant pillow for his kids to lay on, he can fit at least eight of them if they cuddle in closely.

Once filmed a commercial dressed as the Cool-Aid man, and all of his kids were in the commercial.

Fatgum: Busts down wall “OH YEAH!”

Director: “And CUT! Okay, try a little more aggressive-”

Fatgum, in tears: “I don’t wanna scare my kids.”

As stated before, if anyone makes his kids feel bad he’s punching them to the ground, but sometimes he’s not in a position where he can do that. Like if a Karen mom ever comes over.

"Linda stop bringing lemon squares if you're going to talk about my son that way because they're just as sour as your attitude."

Fatgum but he slaps the toxic members of your family and tells them to do better or he's taking you.

Then takes you anyway because you prefer him.

Fatgum with a sweater that says ‘mr dad guy on it’

Fatgum definitely watches ATLA, and quotes Uncle Iroh daily. When his kids are minding their own business they suddenly hear

“Leaves from the vine... falling so slow...”

INAUDIBLE CHAOS AND PANIC

Fatgum agency cosplayed ATLA characters on Halloween.

Fatgum was Iroh.

Kirishima was Sokka.

Tamaki was either Momo or Appa.

Maybe get a couple others in on it too, Mirio could be Aang and if Kirishima convinces Todoroki to join for a while he’d totally be Zuko.

Fatgum lets his kids squish his face.

Fatgum used to work with a hero who was hard of hearing, so he learned sign language to help them, and he’s got the skill saved in case one of his kids might be deaf.

So one day, Kirishima invites Bakugou on patrol with him, and we all love that headcanon of Bakugou going deaf, so when he gets pissed at something, he starts insulting everyone around him in SL.

Fatgum notices and starts signing back to him.

YOU’RE ALL MOTHERFUCKERS AND I HATE YOU ALL!

Hey, now, let’s calm down and not call everyone motherfuckers.

FUCK YOU TOO

Bakugou...

Everyone thinks that they’re doing magic, because they’re making all these shapes with their hands and keep looking offended at each other.

Now, Fatgum tries his gosh darn hardest to keep up with the memes, so when his kids come home with good grades, he says “That’s so pog, Kiddo!”

All of his kids are embarrassed.

In the middle of a battle, he throws Kirishima at a villain and they both scream “YEET!” the villain afterwords forever lives in fear of the word ‘yeet’ because he thinks it’ll result in a human rock being thrown at his face.

Fatgum can’t text very well, because his fingers are just too damn big-

sonhsisntextsblooklikehthis'

Translation: so his texts look like this

you learn to understand his texts

Someone better get him a large tablet instead of a phone

If he gets married after he adopts the kids, there’s going to be a huge competition over who does the rings and who does the flowers etc.

If any of his kid’s ever bring home a romantic partner, you can bet your ass he’ll be all over them.

“What’s your average grade?”

“E-eighty percent sir!”

“And do you take sports?”

“No sir, I wish to be a biologist.”

“I see, I see...”

“DAD, YOU AREN”T INTERVIEWING MY PARTNER, ARE YOU? YOU SCARED OFF THE LAST THREE I DON’T WANNA DEAL WITH THAT AGAIN!”

“SORRY, KIDDO! I’LL LET THEM GO NOW! I’ve got my fucking eyes on you. Don’t screw this up.”

Hope y’all enjoy this, if y’all want I can write some headcanons for if Fatgum’s kid becomes a villain-

#fatgum #taishiro toyomitsu #fatgum bnha #fatgum mha #mha fatgum #bnha fatgum #dadgum #fatgum as a dad #fatgum is a dad #daddy issues gang

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zosonils-art · 3 years

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Do you have a robot master OC (of the eight plus Drum) that you’d say is your favorite? If you haven’t done an infodump for them yet then you should do that one next

i couldn't choose a favourite if i tried, i love them all, but since you mentioned drum i thought i'd give her some new art and a proper dedicated post too! infodrump [ayyy] under the cut

drum, serial number SWN-002, is my take on the popular [????? i'm still a bit of a mega man fandom newbie i don't know hjdfn] 'wily equivalent to roll' oc template! she keeps things running at the various castles and fortresses and hideouts and whatever else her dad holes up in, whether that's by doing housework, planning schemes, or dodging taxes. whenever wily is trying to take over the world, drum acts as his second-in-command, ensuring that everything goes according to plan and ordering around the latest group of robot masters

she's every bit the edgy mid-00s teenager she looks: sarcastic, apathetic, and always talking back to her dad. she's more obedient than bass is, but she doesn't care for her job at all and will resort to any flimsy excuse or act of malicious compliance she can come up with to slack off. due to her purpose as an organiser and commander, she's a bossy control freak who's quick to anger when things don't go exactly her way, although when she's off work the worst of these traits recede in favour of more conventional teenage apathy. she sees herself as above the time and effort it takes to go out of her way to be mean to people like wily and bass tend to do, but she's equally uninterested in being nice on purpose and her default attitude is squarely on the nastier side

when she doesn't have work to focus on - and sometimes when she does anyway - drum is the lead vocalist and guitarist in a garage band, of which she is [currently - a friend's ocs get involved later, but that's a whole different post] the only member. i'm not good with music terms but she's into whatever genre stuff like wake me up inside and crawling in my skin is [i know those aren't the names hdfjf it's just the words i know people will recognise]. the sort with the crunchy guitar and the very loud lyrics about being sad and/or angry. playing or blasting music helps her to calm down when she's in a bad mood, which is pretty much all the time. the first warning sign of a new wily plot is a spike in search popularity for my chemical romance

i haven't gotten around to designing it, but drum has a non-armoured form like most of the other more explicitly kid-like robots, which she mostly uses for loitering around malls when she has an excuse to not be at home. she rarely buys anything, just hangs out and radiates an aura that makes suburban white women hurry their three kids into the next shop. drum often ends up hanging out with like-minded teens in the same vague area of the goth/punk/emo venn diagram she occupies, and makes a bit of a game out of seeing how honest she can be about her life without revealing that she's one of the world's most wanted robots. she tells herself that it's just something she does out of boredom and curiosity towards humans, but it mostly stems from loneliness and the desire to have literally any friends that aren't her brother's dog

as a sort of contrast to the healthy and positive relationship between their lightbot counterparts, drum and bass absolutely DESPISE each other and make no secret of it. each of them thinks of the other as an insufferable prick and they'll get into petty arguments over just about anything, from whose turn it is on the xbox to who treble loves more. [for the record, it's drum. she lets him hang out in the kitchen while she's cooking and sneaks him food scraps when bass isn't looking. he's the only family member she has an even remotely positive relationship with.] pretty much the only thing that can get them to stop fighting is mutual hatred of a bigger prick, and so far the only person to consistently get them to put their differences aside like this is wily himself - as much as the wily kids hate each other, they hate their dad just a little more, and have a history of teaming up just to mess with him. sometimes mega man can spark that spiteful cooperation, but drum's total apathy towards the light-wily family rivalry means she usually sees him as not worth her time and just finds bass' obsession with beating him even more annoying

drum wasn't made for combat, and as such she doesn't have a signature weapon or any fancy tricks like the copy chip. usually she just orders other robots to do the fighting for her. however, she is equipped with a standard arm-mounted buster, and can hold her own in battle with a 'fight smarter, not harder' approach if she has to. she's also outfitted with the same treble adapter that bass has, so if she's backed into a corner she can call on him for a power boost. treble is capable of supporting both adapters simultaneously, so as an absolute last resort they can all combine into treble-boosted drum & bass, who theoretically has all the combat power of bass plus the strategic thinking from drum and the boost in power from treble. in practice, though, drum and bass are so at odds with each other that they can barely hold together in the same body without either fighting for control or outright splitting apart to argue harder. again, it takes a lot of spite to get them to work together, but if something draws their combined ire and convinces them to cooperate they're an utterly terrifying force to be reckoned with

the game idea i vaguely have in my mind would feature drum as the final-not-final boss before wily reveals he was the mastermind behind it all and surprises absolutely nobody. she was put in charge of the latest world domination attempt, probably as the result of a 'why don't YOU take over the world if you're so smart' conversation, and in true drum fashion she follows a standard wily plot outline to the letter - including the blatant flaws, like all eight of her chosen robot masters forming a rock-paper-scissors wheel just begging to be exploited by the copy chip, and making a clear path from just outside the death fortress to her base of operations. after she's defeated in combat, she sarcasically wonders aloud how mega man could have possibly bested her plan and then helpfully points rock directly to wily's castle. she didn't wanna do the stupid scheme in the first place

again, i love all my ocs too much to possibly choose a favourite, but i'd say drum was the most fun to come up with if only because i had the help of some mates in a discord server. someone was like 'hey if there's bass is there a roll equivalent called drum or something lol' and i SPRINTED to microsoft paint to rough out a character design and the next entire day was just a constant stream of all of us bouncing ideas off each other and creating the meanest girl in the universe. her design changed a little bit from the initial sketch, most notably she used to have the half-shaved hairstyle that every gay person tries at some point before that changed to a midpoint between phoenix wright and sonic the hedgehog, but overall everything about her as a character flowed really well from the start. while she's fallen mostly into my hands since the initial brainstorm, she absolutely wouldn't exist without those friends' input and i feel that that's important to mention!

i'm very tired and i've been working on this on and off for the past day so i'm gonna call the infodrump finished here - thanks for giving me the excuse to talk about her! unfiltered and transparent versions of the art below as always

#i already talked about drum in my first post about her long long ago but i think she deserves a new infodump #zos draws #mega man #mega man oc #robot master oc #drum wily #zos talks #zos answers #aprofessionallurker #man there's so much art i gotta do of her. gotta draw her civilian form and her treble boost AND treble-boosted d&b eventually

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flash-exchange · 2 years

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However sunny the day, the night still shuns away all natural light. When it comes to nights, there is a certain peculiar one, its shadows carrying the scent of smoke. It’s voracious, wildly greedy of any sparks and flickers it could consume. Light the lantern, like your ancestors. Perhaps it will keep you safe? Or, perhaps… You too will venture out to survey the darkness? Let’s meet at the Fair. You will find the way.

Ikemen Flash Exchange returns – spookier than ever!

Hello there, dear friends!

The time has come! Please, allow us to invite you to join us for the 4th round of the Ikemen Flash Exchange. This time, we intend to take you out on a stroll through a certain peculiar fair. We hope to have plenty fun together!

What is IFE?

IFE is a small fandom project during which we get together to exchange works. Our point is for the making to be just as fun as receiving and gifting.

We welcome new creators, even those of you who have never made anything but wish to try their hand at it, as well as seasoned fandom veterans! :) We’re sure each of you will be able to find something to enjoy in our Exchange.

Who can join?

Age: 13+ Fandom: IkeSen / IkeVamp / IkePri* Must have a discord account.

That’s right! Starting this edition, we’ve decided to add Ikemen Prince to the roster! You must be a member of at least one of the above fandoms to join. However, we don’t exclude the possibility of other otome fandoms appearing.

* – we can only accommodate for characters who have been present in the ENG versions of the games, be it through placement in an event, having a story sale, or having a route

Why do I need a discord account?

You need a discord account to join our server and find your giftee. We do not assign giftees to each person separately.

Instead, participants are separated into groups. All groups receive a list of “victims”. Each of your group members has to select one person they will be gifting something to. (After you’ve completed the work for your original “victim” of choice, you can select another person).

Groups also open up the possibility for brainstorming ideas, reaching out for help, or getting feedback on your work.

What are work requirements & deadline?

writers: 450-650 (+/- 50 words)

artists: anything that would count as lower effort than your usual work; colour is okay

visual creators: 3 x square format moodboards / simple wallpapers that rely on square format = one entry 2 x moodboards with overlapping elements/collage-like works = one entry

must be SFW

IFE is inspired by flash fiction. We don’t aim for long, drawn-out projects. However! We do want for Halloween magic to thrive :) As such, just for this edition, we have decided to remove the maximum amount of works one can submit!

The deadline is one month. We will set off sometime during the first week of October, all the details will be available in our discord server :)

How to join?

Ask for an invite link to our server. :) You must be off anon. Then, follow the steps written specified in #announcements channel.

We’ll be waiting for you! >:3

Got any further questions? Make sure to check out our handy FAQ! If your answer isn’t there, don’t hesitate to shoot us an ask!

Boosting would be appreciated! 🙏

#ikesen #ikemen sengoku #ikevamp #ikevam #ikemen vampire #ikepri #ikemen prince #ikemen series

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stuckybingo · 6 months

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Winter is Here (in the Northern Hemisphere)!

December has arrived, and with it comes a new set of Adoptable Prompts and a new Monthly Challenge. If you haven’t signed up to participate in Stucky Bingo Round 5, then it is not too late! Fill out this form to get your own shiny card.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Monthly Challenges, here are the rules:

At the beginning of each month during the round, we will put out three (3) prompts. You can use one, two, or all three prompts along with a square from your bingo card, and you will earn a badge created for the theme!

December prompts are:

Turquoise

Airports/Traveling

Decorations

Once you have completed the challenge, fill out the submission form as you usually would for a bingo fill, and be sure to check at the bottom to say that it's part of the monthly challenge. Just a reminder, these prompts are to be used in conjunction with a square on your bingo card, not in place of one.

Ten (10) SFW adoptable prompts are available below. Anyone who has already signed up for a bingo card can adopt one (no need to tell us you are claiming it until you fill out the submission form) and use it as they see fit to replace another prompt on their card.

But before you go crazy, there are two rules:

1) You can only adopt one (1) prompt per month. This includes anything from the ⁠NSFW adoptables, which are only available to view on our Discord server to those who are 18+

2) The prompt must be completed and submitted before the end of the month. Any Adopted prompts submitted after the month they are issued will be ignored. If you are having issues with submitting an adopted prompt before the end of the month, please let us know by ⁠Discord or email.

December Adoptables are:

“Baby, it’s cold outside.”

Midterms

Holiday Parties

Yule

Hanukkah

Midnight Mass

Kate Bishop

Washington DC

AU: Ice skater

AU: Elf

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us here on Tumblr, email us at [email protected], or ask us on the discord server.

#stucky bingo #stucky bingo round 5 #mod announcement #monthly challenge #monthly adoptables #bingo challenges

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eveningstar1516 · 3 years

Text

Rise of the Demon King ~ Chapter 11

Rise of the Demon King

Fic: Multi Chapter Paring: MC x Everyone (Mostly Lucifer) Type: Angst with a Happy Ending Total Word Count: 26,758 TW: Major Character Death, Reader gets stabbed with a sword through their chest so..., Abusive Parents, Past Child Abuse, Demon Hunters, Loss of Control Summary: You’ve done it. You’ve finally done it. You’ve managed to anger the demon king. Now you hold your head high as he hands down your sentence. AO3 Portal: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065362 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A/N: I gotta Discord server guys! It's primarily Obey Me but other fandoms are welcome as well. It's kinda baby and dead so me and the other members are looking to revive it and we'd love for you to come join us. A roleplay area is included :) https://discord.gg/F3YEmDZCPS Please remember to read and accept the rules once you join for access to all the channels. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously:

After that day, Beel would take responsibility for waking the youngest whenever he slept for too long and Belphie took responsibility for making sure Beel ate whenever he was awake. From that day forward, you’d never find one twin without the other close by. Their relationship strengthened, one relying on the other. Always being there when needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHAPTER 11 - 2 Realms, 2 Families (2003 words)

Making my way up the palace steps, I took notice of the lack of angels tending the gardens or palace. Oh well, I thought to myself. It is still too early for any of them to get to work. Michael led me through the castle towards the throne room. It was the same route we took on my first day here, only this time, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was about to be my last. Stopping in front of the door, Michael announced our presence and waited for the angels inside to open the doors for us. I’ve been in the throne room a small handful of times since my first day. Today, however, the atmosphere felt a little off. Normally, one would feel a sense of dread walking into this room, as it usually meant punishment. All ceremonies took place in the garden, the throne room being deemed as an unofficial courtroom. Today the atmosphere felt almost, denser than usual. Michael and I made our way towards the throne and kneeled before Father.

“Rise”

Both of us responded with a “Thank you Father” as we stood. God turned to face me.

“I apologize for calling for you this late. I do hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Not to worry Father, I was actually up finishing this week's work when Michael came to get me. If I may ask, why did you want to see me?”

“I called you to make an offer. I have observed how you ran the council this past millennium. I’ve seen your leadership and your dedication to your job. I’d like to offer you a permanent spot on the council.”

“Father, I’m sure-”

“I’m well aware of our initial deal. Bear in mind that this will not impede on your ability to see the Sins again. As head of the council, it will be your job to oversee business in the Devildom as Michael had been while you were here. You will be able to travel between the realms for business and visit the brothers while you’re there.”

“But I’d have to return and continue serving you, won’t I?”

“That is correct. You are a unique individual Y/N. You are a human with the blood of a fallen, you accepted the demons and was still elevated to the Celestial realm. As such, you have experience from all three realms. This is a powerful tool to have.”

“For you. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I am not interested in staying, nor am I interested in allowing you access to this “tool” as you so crudely labelled my experience. I made it abundantly clear that I serve you under the condition that I return once Lord Diavolo has been crowned. As the Father of the Celestials, I expect that your promises would be kept. Unless that is your telling me I’d have more luck trusting a demon if I wanted promises kept?”

“Y/N! While you’re here, you still serve Father. You cannot speak to him like that!”

“I’m not wrong though am I? If that is all, I’d like to get some rest before reporting in. Good evening, or should I say morning?” I didn’t wait for a response as I bowed to Father and walked out of the throne room without so much of a glance back.

“I apologize Father. I will see that they don’t speak that way to you again.”

“That’s quite alright Michael.”

“Father?”

“I find it to be one of their more enduring qualities. They don’t take anything from anyone, regardless of their position. It’s a valuable trait to have, if used correctly.”

“Father, you weren’t really going to cement their position as the leader of the council, were you?”

“No, I knew they wouldn’t have agreed anyway. I wanted to test them. By offering the position permanently, they would have gained an abundance of power and authority.”

“Instead they turned it down to be with Samael and his brothers. I still don’t understand what they see in them.”

“It would be wise to re-think your opinion on Lucifer and his family. Contrary to what you think, they haven’t changed much. If you looked at it from an outsider's perspective, perhaps you’ll find that they’re still very much angelic.”

“Are you seriously telling me that with a straight face? I appreciate your suggestion Father, however, I highly doubt my opinion on them could change.”

“I am not telling you to change your thoughts about them overnight.” Standing up God stepped down and put a firm hand on Michael’s shoulder.

“I’m just reminding you that Pride is a sin.” God exited the throne room towards his personal chambers leaving a perplexed Michael standing in the throne room.

“I’m not prideful.” Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was wrong.

~3 Months Later~

“That is all for today. Does anyone else have anything that needs to be brought to attention before we leave?” I looked around the council table and took note of Azrael's continued absence. The angel of death was called for a quick meeting with God before the start of this meeting and had yet to return.

“Alright then. This meeting is adjourned. If anyone has anything they’d like to drop off, I’ll be working by the fountain." The council of 7 stood and started chatting amongst themselves as I packed up and left. A few weeks into leading the council, I found that much like the Devildom, I couldn’t find much peace anywhere indoors. As such, I turned to the gardens, in particular, the stone fountain. It reminded me of the one in my old village square back on earth and found a sense of peace here. I’m guessing the other angels got the hint of me needing some peace and quiet to complete my work as I’ve never been disturbed while I worked here. Anywhere else though, and it’s anyone’s game.

About halfway through my work, I decided it was a good time to take a break and get something to eat. Making my way to the makeshift kitchen area in the council building, I passed by Azrael and Michael conversing with each other. We exchanged some polite hello’s when something Azrael said caught my attention.

“I apologize for not making the meeting. There was an issue with a soul’s candle that was fluctuating that I had to deal with.”

“Fluctuating? I was under the impression that a soul’s candle can only slowly burn until the soul’s time runs out and the candle burns out or someone snuffs them out. How can a candle fluctuate?”

“It’s more like the candle was shifting, evolving. The flame itself is fine but the stick itself was changing. You see, the flame is just that, a flame that will never burn out until its designated time, or if as you put it, someone snuffs it out. It’s the stick that holds most of the magic. The type of wax used identifies the soul, its nature, and where it’s destined. Only angels of death, or reapers, can tamper with the stick and alter it, however, it seems this stick is changing itself without outside interference from myself or another reaper.”

“The stick is evolving on its own and this is a cause for concern because this type of thing shouldn’t be possible and has never happened before?”

“Essentially.”

“What did you do about it?”

“For now, nothing. We’ve tried manually altering it ourselves but it keeps rejecting the change. I have a junior reaper watching it now. He’ll update me if anything changes. That is all I can tell you for now.”

“That understandable, thank you for sharing anyway. Good luck with the candle.” At that, my stomach rumbled.

“Go enjoy your lunch” Azrael replied, walking away with Michael.

“Why did you tell them all of that?” Michael demanded of Azrael.

“They have a right to know. Besides nothing would be gained by hiding it from them. It’s best they are aware of the situation.”

“That’s not your call to make Az.” Michael responded angrily as he stopped. Azrael turned to face him, a calm mask slipped on.

“Yes, it is Michael. It’s my call as the leader of the reapers and the overseer of their candle. What isn’t right is how you keep insisting that they be left in the dark, blissfully ignorant. Despite what you may think, they are a bright soul and have brought much light with them, even to the brothers. I understand why you feel about them the way you do, but times have changed. They have changed, and so have the rest of us. Everyone but you. It’s time you change too before you do something you’ll regret.” With that, Azrael left, leaving Michael standing there thinking about what the reaper had said and thought back to what their Father had said 3 months ago. Threading his fingers in his hair, he made his way to his office, hoping to distract himself from these thoughts with some extra work.

~7 Years later~

“Y/N'' I woke up realizing that I fell asleep at my desk again. Looking up, I saw Uriel looking down at me. His hand on my right shoulder shaking me awake.

“Father would like to see you. Go get dressed please. I’ll be waiting outside.” Uriel left, closing the door behind him. I leaned back thinking about why God would want to see me, especially this early in the morning.

Not wanting to Uriel waiting for too long, I tidied up the papers at my desk, and sleepily made my way to the bathroom to take a quick shower and get ready. Once I finished, Uriel and I set out except this time, instead of heading to the palace, we headed for the gates.

When we arrived, I found that the rest of the council including Azreal and Simeon were already there and waiting for us. We landed and bowed our respects towards Father. Uriel joined the council in a semi-circle behind God.

“Y/N, as I’m sure you realized, the time has come for you to return to the Devildom. I offer you one last chance to stay here. You should know that once an angel falls, they’re not allowed back. Y/N, if you through with this, you will be cast out from the Celestial realm. Are you ready to make that sacrifice?” Looking to the council standing behind God. I recalled the past millennia I spent with them. While I tried to keep a professional relationship with them, they ended up growing on me and we became a little family of our own. I realized that I was going to end up missing them. None of that matters though, not anymore. I’m finally going home, to my real family. To the brothers. Ignoring God, I addressed the angels gathered behind him.

“Thank you, all of you. Despite our differences, you all still accepted me and let me into this little family of yours. I’ll be sure to remember all you’ve done for me and I hope we could meet again someday. Oh and Mike.” Michael looked at me, surprised that I singled him out. “You don’t belong down there. Don’t forget that.” I turned back to God giving him my answer.

“Yes, I am willing.” Giving me a nod of affirmation, God addressed me for the last time.

“Y/N, Virtue of Loyalty and former leader of the virtues. I hereby strip you of your angelic status and cast you out into the Devildom for the sin of misplaced loyalty.” I faced the edge, ready to jump when I realized I had forgotten something. Turning around, I looked God straight in the eyes and threw the strongest right hook I had ever thrown in my life before jumping backwards, tucking in my wings and closing my eyes. A content sigh leaving my lips as I let the darkness engulf me whole.

I’m coming guys. Wait up for me

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classysassy9791 · 2 years

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Dropping this crack!fic, “Digging Up the Past”, inspired by the chaos of the FeudalConnection discord server.

Want to create crack!fic content with us? Or any content for that matter? Join the ridiculousness.

Summary: Kikyou had a habit of digging up her past, but this time she does it quite literally. Words: 730 Genre: Crack, Humor/Parody

Kagome frowned, eyeing the piece of equipment her grandfather held up with both hands. “Grandpa, I really don’t think-”

“Respect your grandfather!” he eagerly retorted, pushing the shovel into her hands. “I know it is not much protection, but it’s better than nothing.”

She grimaced, but did as her grandfather asked. Perhaps he was starting to get senile in his old age. Even though Kagome had only been trapezing through the feudal era for a short while, it was hard to get some concepts through her grandfather’s stubborn head.

Like the fact that carrying a shovel around was not exactly easy or beneficial for their mission on tracking down Naraku. Nevertheless, she humored the old man and packed it into her backpack, the wooden handle sticking out of the top.

When Kagome traveled through the well and arrived by Inuyasha’s side, he gave her an incredulous expression. “What the hell is that?”

She sighed. “Don’t ask.”

He thankfully dropped the subject as the pair walked back to Kaede’s hut to meet up with their other comrades.

Kikyou couldn’t quite pinpoint when exactly she had made her way to the western lands. She mostly spent her time wandering aimlessly, so she figured losing track of time and her sense of direction was bound to happen. Even more so, she had somehow managed to stumble upon Inuyasha and his friends. Peering at them through the trees, she wasn’t exactly sure what they were doing, but continued to watch anyway. Perhaps they knew something regarding Naraku’s whereabouts that she had failed to pick up.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome yelled out, hands balled into fists at her sides. “That’s not the point!”

The undead priestess furrowed her brows. It seemed that Kagome became frustrated with Inuyasha rather easily. If she was not following after him like a lost puppy, she was yelling obscenities at him. Even so, Kikyou had to give the girl some credit. The time period Kagome was born in obviously gave no care for how their woman acted toward men.

The demon slayer and monk were standing back watching, their murmured words unable to be heard over the commotion. If Kikyou had to guess, they were probably attempting to quell the dispute. After all, it must have been quite the argument. Kagome’s yellow satchel that she usually carried had been emptied out upon the ground, along with what appeared to be a feast of some sorts. Such an odd thing to see in the middle of the forest.

“Inuyasha, SIT!”

On command, the half-demon was pulled violently to the ground, creating a half-demon-sized hole. Kikyou felt her lips tug upward. The beads she had created for the sole reason of protecting the jewel from the half-demon had turned into a collar of sorts.

“I’m going home,” Kagome shouted, leaving her bag abandoned, and storming off in a random direction. The monk and slayer quickly followed after her.

Seeing the coast was clear, Kikyou stepped out from her hiding spot and surveyed the mess the group had left behind. Square scrolls were haphazardly sprawled everywhere, surrounded by strange items Kikyou couldn’t name, what appeared to be a shovel, and at the center of it all lay Inuyasha two feet deep in a crater.

“Hn,” Kikyou murmured, reaching down and picking up the shovel. Without a word, she began digging a hole parallel to Inuyasha, and dumping the newly dug-up dirt into the hole he unconsciously occupied. After a few minutes, and once Inuyasha had been thoroughly buried, Kikyou banged the back of the shovel against the dirt for good measure.

Being made of clay, it wasn’t like she could bang anything else these days.

A soul collector rested on her shoulder, a warning of someone coming back to seek out Inuyasha. “I suppose it is cruel to leave him buried like this.”

Grumbling from beneath the dirt pile apparently agreed with her statement. And just as quickly as Kikyou had buried her past, she found herself digging it back up again. Nothing new for her, but much more rigorous when it involved a physical shovel and dirt.

Inuyasha now unburied, her work was complete. Kikyou tightened her grip on the shovel, noting it may come in handy in the future, and meandered back into the forest.

“Inuyasha, look, I’m sorry,” Kagome’s voice shouted as the group returned to Inuyasha’s temporary gravesite. “Wait, where’s my grandpa’s shovel?”

#inuyasha #kikyou #kagome #kikyo #crack fic #sassy stays classy #my fanfiction #digging up the past

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sdvvillagers · 3 years

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Fic - Marnie and Gil

Received a writing prompt in a Discord server I’m in that assigned me two random SDV characters to build a story around. How screwed did I feel when I got Marnie and Gil? 😂I ended up remembering that awhile back I’d answered an ask for Marnie and Marlon which can be found HERE and it inspired me to write a follow-up. The first part isn’t really required reading, but I figured I’d include it in case anyone wanted to check out the first part as well. I hope you enjoy some very unexpected Marnie and Gil interaction! It was very challenging but very fun to think outside the box for this one!

It was a long walk across town square and up the mountain to the lake but time somehow flew by in Marnie’s excitement. The day before had been the spring Flower Dance and for the first time in over a decade, Marnie actually enjoyed herself. Hopes of enjoying the Flower Dance had been dashed very early on by Mayor Lewis and when it seemed as though another lonely, miserable Flower Dance would pass, she was rescued by the most unexpected savior; Marlon. Marlon showed her kindness and empathy while Lewis had only shown her callousness and disdain. Though Marnie had always wanted a partner to dance with at the Flower Dance, it was actually okay to spend an afternoon with Marlon in a secluded corner of the forest clearing.

Time spent talking and laughing with Marlon seemed to fly by and before she knew it, the event was over. Marnie was actually quite disappointed when the festival had ended, Marlon wasn’t someone she often saw day to day in town. In fact, she only ever saw him at town festivals. As Marlon was leaving the forest to return to his secluded home in the mountains, Marnie made a bold move and asked if she could see him again sometime. Though he was very caught off guard by her request, it brought a warm smile to his heavily scarred face and the eye that was visible had crinkles in the corner from his happiness. Marlon invited her to visit him in the mountains the very next day and Marnie was eager to see him once more after they had spent such a lovely afternoon together. She had been hurt too many times to allow herself to feel too hopeful, but even she couldn’t subdue the small glimmer of hope she felt deep down that Marlon could be someone in her life that would treat her right and appreciate her. It was sad that these were how low her standards had fallen over the years.

Marnie stopped outside of the cabin when she arrived, taking a moment to lean against a tree to catch her breath. It was a trek across town that took over an hour and Marnie certainly didn’t want to appear winded and short of breath when she entered. It was no wonder Marlon very rarely came into town, the walk up and down the mountain was difficult enough one time let alone multiple times a week. By the time Marnie finally caught her breath, she took an extra few seconds to flatten her hair and straighten her dress before knocking on the door to the cabin. From the other side of the door she heard a gruff response of “come in” that didn’t quite sound like Marlon, but the door was so thick that his voice was coming across distorted.

When Marnie stepped into the doorway of the small cabin, her eyes scanned the room. It hadn’t occurred to her until now that she’d never been inside of the mysterious Adventurer’s Guild in the mountains. It was never often she found herself in the mountains anyway and the few times she made the trek there, she only went as far as Robin’s cabin. Inside was a small, rustic room that matched well with the exterior of the building. Marnie’s eyes traveled to the counter at the back of the room with a lopsided frown. It was difficult to remember that Marlon was a business owner himself, his services weren’t exactly anything Marnie required. In fact, the more she thought about it, she couldn’t really think of anyone in town that would require Marlon’s services and she wondered how he was able to keep such a niche business running. Before she could think on it any longer, she heard a low rumble to her right of someone clearing their throat loudly for the purpose of catching her attention. They certainly had it.

“You just gonna stand in the doorway and let the bugs in?” a gruff voice called out to her right. Marnie jumped in surprise, she hadn’t seen the figure in the rocking chair until he spoke. “Close the damn door!”

“Oh, I-uh, I’m so sorry,” Marnie sputtered, rushing further into the room to close the door behind her.

The rocking chair to the right of the room stopped moving and the figure whose face had been hidden under the brim of his gambler hat tilted his head upward to reveal not much more of a face than was visible before. The majority of this man’s face was covered by a bushy grey beard. However, now his intense blue eyes, flanked by wrinkles and creases, were visible as he stared at Marnie. Marnie had known that Marlon lived with someone else in his secluded cabin, but there were many that thought this other person couldn’t possibly exist. He had never been seen anywhere in town in decades despite Marlon mentioning him every so often at town festivals. Marlon alone was barely seen in town but this other man almost seemed like a ghost story.

“You must be Marnie,” the man remarked. He made no effort to rise from his rocking chair, though he nodded in Marnie’s direction as a small show of welcome. At least Marnie hoped it was welcoming.

“Y-yes I am,” Marnie stammered, still very put off by this man’s intense gaze. “I apologize, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Gil,” the man spat in reply.

“Well it’s a, uh… it’s a pleasure to meet you, Gil,” Marnie replied kindly. She crossed the room to shake Gil’s hand but pulled back when she noticed him subtly recoil. Perhaps he wasn’t fond of strangers, especially considering he’d supposedly lived in the valley for decades but never made it a point to visit town. She glossed over her almost handshake by looking around the room in search of Marlon. “Is Marlon home right now?”

“In the mines,” Gil answered shortly. This short answer seemed a decent enough explanation for Gil, though it only raised further questions for Marnie. Marnie didn’t dare ask any, though. Gil seemed bothered enough already by her presence.

A silence passed between them as Marnie stood between the empty counter and Gil, unsure of where she should linger while she waited for Marlon. Though Marnie was incredibly uncomfortable by the silence, Gil didn’t seem to mind it at all. He sat back in his rocking chair and tilted his head down once more to cover his eyes, resuming the gentle back and forth rocking of his chair. With each motion, a high pitched creak came from the seat of the old wooden chair. Weathered strips were worn onto the hardwood floor beneath the rockers as though this were a very regular activity of his. To pass the time Marnie glanced along the walls of the small room, but there wasn’t much to see. A few weapons were displayed along the wall but for the most part, the room was very minimalistic. Marlon and Gil seemed to live a modest life in their home. After what felt like an eternity, Marnie finally couldn’t take the awkward tension in the room and had to break the silence.

“How long have you and Marlon been living together?” Marnie asked casually.

The rocking of Gil’s chair stopped and he tilted his head up once more to look at Marnie with his same harsh gaze. It really was difficult to tell if this was just his usual expression or if he was legitimately annoyed by the disruption. Gil was a difficult man to get a read on. His brow furrowed as his face screwed up in thought and he silently mulled the answer over for nearly 30 seconds before speaking to her.

“‘Bout 50 years,” Gil finally answered plainly. He answered as though there was nothing at all astonishing about five decades spent living with the same person.

“Oh!” Marnie called out in surprise. She knew that the two of them had lived in Pelican Town together for quite some time, but somehow hearing out loud just how long the two had lived together put it into greater perspective. It hadn’t occurred to Marnie until she really thought about it that maybe their relationship was more than anyone had ever considered before. “So… are you two…”

Though Gil was never social with anyone in town, he certainly wasn’t ignorant to social nuance and could tell right away what Marnie was attempting to ask. Marnie was surprised to hear a gruff bark of laughter from Gil and see him smile for the first time since she’d met him. It seemed he was incredibly amused by her question.

“I always wondered what everyone in town must think,” Gil mused.

“No, I wasn’t trying to- I didn’t mean to-” Marnie sputtered, but Gil barked in amusement once more.

“Frankly I don’t give a damn,” Gil went on plainly. “What we have has worked for this long, don’t really matter what we call it. I ain’t much for caring what other people think.”

“As well you shouldn’t,” Marnie answered casually, though on the inside she was starting to feel very confused.

Gil hadn’t exactly answered her question but at this point, she wasn’t about to ask for clarification. Already she was thinking back to the day she and Marlon had spent together the day before trying to make sense of it all. Silence passed as Marnie tried to interpret every conversation they’d had, every compliment he gave, every good feeling she’d felt. This time it was Gil who broke the silence, clearly noticing the distress that Marnie was feeling.

“Marlon’s quite fond of you, Miss Marnie,” Gil finally spoke up. “Thinks you’re a real nice friend.”

The word ‘friend’ put all of Marnie’s thoughts into harsh perspective and she could feel her small glimmer of hope extinguish. Without meaning to, Marnie audibly sighed and hunched her shoulders forward, her head hanging low in disappointment. She was unlucky in love yet again.

“S’matter, you all filled up on friends?” Gil asked bluntly. Marnie immediately straightened her shoulders and lifted her head high. She felt rude for reacting the way she did.

“N-no, that’s not it, I-” Marnie answered, but Gil clearly hadn’t finished speaking yet and barreled on without even acknowledging Marnie’s answer. It was certainly clear that he was out of practice socially speaking.

“Personally, I ain’t got a need for friends,” Gil went on, a subtle look of disgust on his face at the word ‘friends’. “Not Marlon, though. Marlon’s always wanted to be a little more social than I am. ‘Specially now in his old age. Talks about you a lot, Miss Marnie. He thinks highly of you.”

“I think highly of him,” Marnie answered honestly. At the very least it was flattering to hear the kind words that Gil spoke to her. She couldn’t exactly imagine him being the type to make something up just to cheer her up so she had to assume his words were genuine.

“You probably didn’t come here today hopin’ for a friend but I can promise you won’t find a greater friend out there than Marlon,” Gil said sincerely. “But if that’s not what you’re interested in, well, you know where the door is.”

Gil was blunt and most certainly hadn’t developed the social grace necessary to sugar coat anything, but in this instance Marnie appreciated his honesty. He was correct, she hadn’t shown up today looking for a friend, but it was nice to know from the very start that this was all she was going to get. It was better than whatever she had going on with Lewis which she still couldn’t make sense of even after all this time. Marnie couldn’t blame Marlon for giving her an incorrect impression, if anything the blame fell on her for being too eager. But having a kind man like Marlon in her life, even as just a friend, sounded wonderful.

“I think I’d like to stay,” Marnie answered with a nod.

“He should be back any minute now,” Gil remarked, leaning back against his chair to resume rocking. “‘Til then, try not to make too much noise. You’re already interrupting quality time with my best friend.” Gil patted the arm of his rocking chair and laughed to himself at his little joke before tilting his head low once more to resume dozing off.

Marnie smiled at Gil as he rocked back and forth in his chair, already tuning her very presence out. He was such an odd man yet she found him to be incredibly fascinating. It was made very clear that he would never be in a position to want or need anyone in his life beyond Marlon, but the thought that she would likely see much more of him as her friendship with Marlon blossomed made her oddly excited. Today was proving to be a day full of pleasant surprises.

#sdv #stardew valley #sdv marnie #sdv gil #marnie #gil #my fic #sdv villagers

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