#and I am not even talking about fans who prompt these ai fics | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sagemoderocklee · 4 years

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Hello! For the meta asks, would you do 1, 5, 8, and 17?

you did not come to play, lilac! thanks for all these questions! <3

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

oh lord. that’s a... question. i have. so many current projects, i don’t even know where to start. this is gonna be long so please bear with me lol i’ll probably give more detail for some fics over others, and i’ll only go over fics I’ve got documents for because otherwise we’d be here forever.

The Art of Love: so this one is obvious because it’s been in progress for the last 2ish years? no i think it’s three now. I won’t go into detail with this because the fic is roughly halfway through, so there’s plenty of content for that up! I’d say the progress with that fic is actually going really well, though. Unlike Alliance, which took 8 years--five years of writing, three of editing--TAoL has been up for way less time, and is already about to hit the halfway mark! I really need to get back to it, tbh because it’s been way too long since my last update.

Honor Bound (sequel to Alliance): so this is.... kind of on pause. I’ve got the first three chapters written, but my focus has been more on TAoL when it comes to my more complicated, long running stories, so HB has taken a backseat. I think I won’t get back to working on the Allied Nations Saga until after TAoL is done, in all honesty.

Find Me: this is my HS AU, which has been on the back burner forever and I feel terrible because I think it may honestly be my most popular fic. Unfortunately, AUs/slice of life stuff is difficult for me because I’m more interested in politics, so I lost momentum on this fic. It is about halfway done. I have a good chunk of chapter six written, but not enough that I could say I’m close to finishing it.

It Eats Your Heart: obviously I just started this one, and it’s a horror fic. I’ve really gotta sit down and do some major plotting on it because I only have some very vague ideas currently.

Pearl-Filled Lungs: this is one of like three ningyo AUs I have--the other are pirate/ningyo AUs (and ones actually a selkie not a ningyo). I started it last year for the GaaLee fest, and it’s been sitting unfinished for far too long. I finally sat down recently and plotted the whole thing out, so I’m hoping to get back to working on it soon! It’s only 5 chapters in total, so I don’t think it’ll take me super long to get through once I sit down and do it.

Who Dares to Love Forever: This is a working title, and I may change it. This is a fic idea I’ve had for a couple years, inspired by the song Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen. This particular fic is a vehicle for my sage mode!rock lee headcanon, and explores just how effective Chiyo giving Gaara her life would have been given she was an old biddy. So the idea for this fic is that Gaara’s running out of time because Chiyo only had so much to offer.

Absolution: this is another fic that I’ve had on the back burner for years. it was initially inspired by art by @brianadoesotherjunk but quickly spiraled into something much bigger because of course it did. This particular fic is one I’m extremely excited about. I need to go back over the first part, because I feel like it’s not quite right, but I do technically have the first part done. This fic follows Gaara struggling with bouts of narcolepsy that trigger nightmares induced by trauma and guilt from his childhood. These nightmares are incredibly dangerous for obvious reasons, but even more so because Temari’s baby is on the way. Temari and Shikamaru are married, living in the Kazekage estate, and with their baby coming and both needing/wanting to get back to work, they also need a nanny. Unbeknownst to Gaara, the year prior to the events of the fic, Maito Gai died, succumbing to the 8th Gate finally, and Lee has since been spiraling. His depression has become so self-destructive that he’s been taken off active duty. Shikamaru, along with the rest of the Konoha 12 (minus Neji and Sasuke), get together and discuss what to do. Tenten believes that Lee being a nanny would be the perfect thing. And so Rock Lee is sent to Suna, hired by Shikamaru and Temari as their live-in nanny...

We Need Not Be Yellow Tulips in a Garden of Gardenia’s, Yet We Go the Way of the Red Camellia: true to form, I decided that a hanahaki fic was something I had to do, and I was not going to pass up the chance at being as Extra As Possible with the flowery language, ergo the ridiculous title. I’ve gotten part way through the first chapter of this fic, but the whole thing is roughly plotted out and each chapter title is just as extra as the whole fic’s title.

Thirteen Strokes: so this is a fic I have--once again--had on my mind for ages, and--once again, because I am nothing if not a caricature of myself--inspired by a Florence+the Machine song, All This and Heaven Too. I started writing this the other night, as I wanna use it for GaaLee bingo. It’ll be 13 chapters, as per the 13 strokes that it takes to make the character for love, ai, in Japanese. The fic is from Gaara’s PoV, and follows his journey with and his relationship to love, with lots of worldbuilding and politics because it wouldn’t be an Eeri Original without those things.

Scarification: this is another idea for bingo based around the prompt shinshoubyou, which is a fictional disease where your emotions cause physical marks on you

Fill in the [ ]: another bingo idea, based around the prompt bouaishoukoigun, the fictional disease where you forget the person you love if it’s unrequited.

The Eagle’s Augury: an idea that allows me to play around with more worldbuilding and focus on Karura. In this fic, the curse (mentioned briefly on the Naruto wikia) that has led to every single Kazekage being assassinated, is coming for Gaara, and Karura is trying to warn him from beyond the grave. At the same time, Temari and Shikamaru’s marriage is approaching, and their ceremony is being held in Suna, with all the fan fair a marriage for someone from the Kazekage line should see. Again, another fic inspired by Miss Florence+the Machine, the song is Mother

Pomegranate Sun: this is a fic that I am... so excited about. Another fic that was originally inspired by a Queen song, Under Pressure, and has of course taken on a life of its own. This fic, I am actually going to be writing with @ghoste-catte! It’s an arranged marriage trope, and I’m super pumped for it! We’ve only got a little bit started, and it has obviously not taken priority for either of us since we both have a lot of fics on our plates.

The Ballad of the Dragon and the Phoenix: this is a fic I’m really excited but is going to take a LOT of research to get off the ground. I had this idea sometime last year, I wanna say? This fic is another self-indulgent headcanon about Lee’s origins, his family, etc. This fic starts when Gaara shows up on Lee’s doorstep, asking him to accompany him to another country for reasons Lee cannot understand. Gaara has been in talks with Phoenix Kingdom, hoping to forge a new relationship only to find that the Emperor wants to use shinobi for militaristic purposes. Lee doesn’t understand what help he could possibly offer the Kazekage, but he can’t very well turn him down.

okay, i’m gonna stop there. these are the ones I have titles and documents for, and honestly that’s probably way more than you wanted to know about lol

5. What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

Despite the fact that most of my fics end up from Gaara’s PoV, I actually identify with Lee the most!

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

Yes! Which is hard to find, tbh, because I am a sucker for political dramas with slow burn romances, but I don’t see a lot of that in the GaaLee fandom. I’m not as into like slice of life or short stories where the characters get together quick, I’m really not into established relationship fics unless it’s a sequel, so I tend to avoid those. I like AUs but it really depends on the AU, because I ultimately prefer the canon and I love seeing the way people write the shinobi world and all its rules and cultures and things. I’m just a big fan of worldbuilding, politics, and slow slow burns. Not this 25k SLOW BURN! crap because that is NOT a slow burn. I wanna see a fic that’s 200k words in and they still haven’t even figured out they’re in love! I like stories I can really sink my teeth into, ya know?

17. Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?

Oh gosh. I generally don’t think too much about it except like hoping people don’t think I’m like a stuck up asshole because of how I talk about my writing, writing in general, my hcs, etc. I mean, obviously I don’t expect everyone in this fandom to like me--and there are ppl I’ve gone out of my way to be vocally against because they do nasty shit--but largely I feel like I come across as too intense, so even the general population of GaaLee fans that I do want to interact with I’m always a lil nervous that people secretly don’t like me and basically are like “oh god this bitch again” when they see me in the tags. But I just get really excited and invested in my ideas, and honestly for the longest time this fandom was SO small and there weren’t a lot of people putting out content regularly so it was like a handful of us so I think it made me more emphatic about GaaLee lol I think I always like assume people aren’t as excited about my writing as I am or that people are like “too much politic, i need more romance”.

I’m always surprised when people really love my AUs, like Kado or Find Me have had such fantastic reception, and it’s like people just eat that shit up so much. And then I look at like Alliance or Art of Love and get kind of confused because I think by comparison those are more interesting and more developed than my AUs. I put a shit ton of work into everything I write, especially anything that requires research, so it’s not to say that I do less work per say, just that I feel like TAoL and things like it are more interesting and more developed, and the relationship feels.... somehow more to me there than in an AU.

a lot of my motivation really just comes from the lack of content this fandom had for so many years, and the fact that Naruto could have been a much more interesting series and I love worldbuilding so much. I think my motivation for each fic is different though. Like Alliance was started because I wanted to write something different from what was mainly in the fandom at the time because mind you I started that in 2010. But my motivation for TAoL is more wanting to tell a beautiful story with a complex narrative that looks at the failings of the shinobi world. Whereas like any slice of life fic is really just meant to be a fun break. And sometimes I write something literally just because I wanted to fulfill that trope for the GaaLee fandom--again, a lot of my ideas have been sitting for years and years and years (TAoL was an idea I had literally right after starting Alliance, but I didn’t get to it until 2017), so a lot of ideas that are old are because at the time that trope hadn’t been fulfilled yet in the fandom though that’s changing a lot with the recent GaaLee Renaissance of the last couple years.

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deadmandairyland · 6 years

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Chihiro Fujisaki for the ask~

Thanks for the ask! I probably put way too many words in this. I hope you like reading!

002 | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character:

Chihiro is probably my favorite character in Danganronpa. I think there was a time where I would have said he definitely was my favorite, but I have to give credit where credit is due because most of the characters in this series are amazing and uniquely and creatively designed. But Chihiro will always be near the top of my favorites if he somehow isn’t in first place. He is an unsung hero of the series. Without him the survivors of DR1 would have never escaped the school. He is at least in part responsible for the creation of the Neo World Program, which is a key part of the Hope’s Peak Academy arc’s lore. Supplementary materials often show Chihiro being at least somewhat involved in the backstory of the series. As I mentioned back when Absolute Despair Girls came out, Chihiro was basically the Adventure Time snail of the series for a time, showing up in or being mentioned in about as many installments and spin-offs of the series as Junko Enoshima. I’m pretty sure Chihiro has made more appearances in one way, shape, or form than friggin’ Komaeda, and everyone loves Komaeda. (Though screentime, on the other hand, is another story. I think it’s safe to say Junko and Komaeda won out on that end)

All in all, I feel that this is a character who deserves better–not just because he died such a tragic death, but in a meta sense as well. I feel like the series, after building up Chihiro in flavor text for so many installments, decided to backpedal a bit and make him more of a footnote than anyone important. This is especially disappointing considering that when most people talk about Chihiro, most of the time it’s in reference to the gender controversy, rather than his accomplishments in the series. Granted, this is a very important aspect of Chihiro’s character as well, and I’m not going to go out of my way to be a dick to people who say they saw something different in Chihiro than what I saw, but whenever I go through the tags it does seem like Chihiro seems to be one-note to a lot of people, and I feel it is a shame because there is a lot going on there. Themes of inner strength and resurrection and how destructive enforced gender roles and bullying in Japanese high schools can get when taken to the logical extreme. A lot of this seems to be ignored. I mean we all joke about how Chihiro’s birthday is Pi Day, but how many people also realize it’s White Day, the day when boys are expected to give gifts back to girls in response to being given chocolates on Valentine’s Day? Thinking about it that way, it makes you wonder what Chihiro’s birthdays were actually like. With all the talk surrounding Chihiro’s gender, I’m surprised that I’ve never seen anyone speculate on this. Might make for an interesting fanfiction prompt too, regardless of how you view Chihiro’s gender identity.

This got awfully wordy and more political than I expected it to get and I apologize. Though, to be fair, Danganronpa is a very political series… usually. Still, this is just a fun little meme, and I don’t intend to dive head first off a cliff into the sea and jagged rocks of fandom discourse, so let me end this segment by briefly saying another thing I like about Chihiro that will hopefully lift all of our spirits before we move on:

Chihiro is a sweet and adorable cinnamon roll that we do not deserve.

Just look at his smiling face!

No matter how sad I am, that smile will always make me feel a little better, if not outright happy.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Well, I could look over the charts I’ve made and find probably a million Chihiro ships (okay that’s a bit of an exaggeration; it’s probably more like twenty, which is still about fifteen too many), so I’m just going to stick with the big ones.

Naegi, Asahina, Sakura, and Ishimaru.

…Maybe Mondo. Maybe Leon. Maybe Mukuro. Maybe real world Chiaki. Maybe Kuzuryu. Maybe that Yukimaru guy who we sadly never get to see. Maybe Miaya… who we sadly never get to see. Maybe a crap ton of others…

But mostly the first four I listed.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

All of the “maybes” in the previous section.

Am I cheating at this? Yes.

…

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Don’t worry. I won’t be going for the obvious joke. (I mean I better not, especially after that first segment. It would defeat the purpose of that giant wall of text I made you sit through)

Instead I’m just going to remind anyone who thinks Chihiro is overrated and wasn’t an important character that Chihiro vicariously saved Naegi’s life and therefore the other survivors’ lives as well and y’all can suck it.

Also there’s that thing I made a thing in my DR3 fic that I still haven’t finished yet or even updated since November (oh my god it’s May already) where Chihiro is a fan of professional wrestling and that’s now a headcanon of mine that I’m sure very few people have or would agree with.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

This might seem like a cop-out, since this is Danganronpa and all, but I wish Chihiro survived.

To be fair it wouldn’t make sense from a narrative standpoint. Alter Ego is essentially a replacement/doppelganger for Chihiro, so having them co-exist in the story would be jarring. Also Chihiro plays the part of sacrificial lamb perfectly, and the foreshadowing leading to Chihiro’s death is written remarkably well. (Even as far back as the very beginning of chapter two, which occurs immediately after Leon’s execution, Chihiro is distraught over having sent Leon to his death, and Chihiro even says that he would rather die than do that again)

But that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, damn it.

#LetChihiroLive2018

my OTP:

Naegi x Chihiro. Two adorable cinnamon rolls with heartwarming and occasionally sad Free Time Events that actually tie into the plot in such a way that they actually feel 100% canon. There is also that punch to the gut that happens at the end of Chihiro’s FTEs if you manage to get them all. Naegi’s reactions to Chihiro being gone are also heartbreaking, especially in the anime adaptation which includes this response to Alter Ego being crushed into a ball that I admit there is a possibility I could be taking out of context here but it’s worth mentioning.

“We lost him again.”

And of course, as I mentioned before, Alter Ego saves Naegi’s life later, which means Chihiro saves Naegi’s life, which means Chihiro effectively saves all of the DR1 survivors. Important character is important.

Oh, and also Naegi can give Chihiro a thong for a present, which is still hilarious to me. I mean I know Chihiro isn’t the only character who likes the thong, but even Togami liking the gift isn’t as funny to me as Chihiro liking it. And Togami alone liking it is straight-up absurd. It’s a thong. That you can give as a gift to other people. During a game where people are forced to kill each other in order to escape what is essentially a prison. A thong. The only thing that would make it funnier is if it changed the outcome of School Mode. “Hey, remember this thong you gifted me? I’d like to return it, because it just occurred to me that this is a really weird gift. Why, Naegi? Why did you give me a thong for a gift? You could have given me perfume, or a Kirlian camera, or a portable video game console, or a punk rock T-shirt, but no. You gave me a thong. Why?”

But for the most part, it’s their interactions. FTEs included, I love all of the interactions between these two, both one-and-one and with the group. It always seems like they have each other’s backs and care about each other’s well-being. Chihiro even foreshadows the memory wipe very early on in the game in a way that makes me wonder how close they might have been before the memory wipe.

Also, they’re just sweet to each other and it’s adorable and heartwarming and, y’know, goals. But if you prefer your ships to be more interesting, these two do have that potential what with their baggage and all–Chihiro for obvious reasons and Naegi being just some guy in a relationship with someone who is far smarter, nicer, and more talented than him. So if conflict (though it’d likely be more along the lines of inner conflict, or conflict dealing with others outside the relationship) is what you’re looking for, there is potential for that too, even if we don’t see it very often.

(Honestly I think that’s why there isn’t a whole lot of content of this ship, at least nowadays. It seems like a lot of people ship it, but no one really writes for it much or draws much of it beyond fluff. The ship itself, I think, is seen as too fluffy for engaging storytelling… if you’re not thinking outside the box, anyway)

my cross over ship:

Pick a programmer, a hacker, or an intentionally gender-ambiguous or “otokonoko” type character who is roughly within Chihiro’s not-fully-established age range from any work that I’ve personally seen or played and I’ve probably considered shipping Chihiro with them at least once. Honorable mention goes to Pidge and Saika Totsuka, whom I’m pretty sure I’ve at least talked about and compared Chihiro to on this blog.

a headcanon fact

Remember when I said that the series seems to be backpedaling a bit after making Chihiro have an ungodly amount of behind-the-scenes importance? Well screw that. I mentioned it here a couple years back (and I have since mellowed out on the whole “If Chihiro isn’t important in DR3 we riot” thing so don’t worry about that), but I’ll mention it again. IF said that Chihiro recognized Monokoma’s programming as something he worked on. His FTEs say that he was working on an AI project for some company. And Usami looks way too much like Monokuma to be a coincidence.

So screw any potential retcons that may come out of Monaca Towa being the mass producer of Monokuma units, because I believe that the company Chihiro was making the AI for was Towa, and Monaca modified the AI to fit Junko’s needs, which would tie everything together into a neat little bow.

But sadly, this is still only a headcanon. But it’s one that I feel has a lot of weight to it, and that the series has yet to make impossible. So I’m clinging onto it like a friggin’ koala.

Holy crap, this was long! And yet I feel like I haven’t said much of anything. It’s tough to bring my thoughts into words sometimes. But I think it’s plain to see (damn it, Tsumugi, get out of here, we’re not paying your VA double for this post) that I love Chihiro, and he’s definitely one of my favorite DR characters if not my top favorite.

Thanks again for the ask!

#dangan ronpa #chihiro fujisaki #makoto naegi #naehiro #chi-the-hero

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celestialarcadia · 4 years

Text

Dear Chocolatier

This ended up kind of long. I really hope this doesn’t come across as too picky! While I’ve included prompts and general rambling, I can’t predict everything that I’d be interested in--so as long as your idea doesn’t fall under my DNWs, I’ll be happy to read whatever you come up with! This is mostly geared towards fic, since I’m not very good at talking about art, but I’d also be ecstatic about art fills. Full letter under the cut. (Note that I missed nominations, so I was limited to whatever was in the tagset; not all of my favorite relationships in these works are represented.)

What you need to know about me is that most, if not all, of my favorite pairings include some element of opposites attract. I’m not sure that’s the right phrase to use, since it’s often not literal opposites that attract me to a pairing. What I love is when characters have some sort of large difference(s) between them that is impossible to ignore, requires there to be communication between the members of the pairing, and (this is the big one!!) all the members of the relationship love each other in part because of the differences between them as well as recognizing the similarities they have. It’s a bit hard to explain in words, but I hope that helps. To use examples from the pairings I’ve requested: human/elf, human/alien, alien/different alien, human/robot AI, mage/warrior, warrior/diplomat, witch/fairy, angel/demon...I let out a dreamy sigh just typing those out, which should explain how much I love this trope lmao.

I want happy endings. There’s a place for tragedies, but I need to be in a very specific mood to gain satisfaction from them, and right now in my life I can’t really appreciate them much. I generally prefer a “happily ever after”, but “happy for now” is also acceptable (and is more appropriate for several of the pairings on this list). While I enjoy fluff, I’d also be happy with something more dramatic as long as it ultimately has a HEA/HFN. I’ve enjoyed hurt/comfort, but I usually prefer them to be heavy on the comfort.

Regarding smut: I’m fine with or without it. I’m asexual and porn does nothing for me sexually, but I can enjoy erotica, even PWPs, as an exploration of intimacy between characters. (Not necessarily even romantic intimacy--I’ve enjoyed smut about friends with benefits.) Stuff I enjoy in smut: blindfolds; body worship; bondage; cunnilingus; edging; facesitting; femdom/malesub; gentle domination; intercrural; mirror sex; multiple orgasms; mutual masturbation; pegging; praise kink; service topping; vibrators; wax play. And if the scene goes into BDSM territory, aftercare!

However! I am also a very, very big fan of non-sexual intimacy. Kissing, hugging, cuddling, spooning, literal sleeping together, massages, holding hands, words of affirmation...I could go on and on. Love it all. If you headcanon a character in a requested pairing as asexual, go for it!

Special shoutout to characters bathing together (preferably in a very large bathtub or similar body of water). It can easily lead to sex, and I don’t mind if it does, but I almost prefer if it doesn’t cross that line.

General DNW: 24/7 D/s, A/B/O, abuse between characters in requested pairings, ageplay, amnesia, ass to mouth, BDSM society AU, bestiality, bloodplay in settings without magical healing, breathplay, cancer, canon bi character portrayed as straight or gay, canon gay character portrayed as straight or bi, cheating/infidelity by character in a requested pairing, crossovers, daddy/mommy kink, death of a character's parent(s) as a major plot element (references to canon parent death OK but try not to linger too long on it), describing genitals of any kind as "weeping", dub-con, eating disorders, enemas, explicit underage, fake relationship, feederism, fisting, guro, hatesex, humiliation kink, incest, inflation, kidfic (canon kids OK but I'd rather not have a fic centering around them), lactation kink, love triangles, maledom/femsub, necrophilia, nipple clamps, permanent death of a character in a requested pairing, petplay, plots centered around prejudice or -isms, pregnancy, rape/non-con, rape roleplay/consensual non-consent, reader insert, rimming, scat, school-related AU, self-harm, sex in public places, soulmates AU, sounding, spanking, vore, watersports/omorashi, zombies

Some of these fandoms/pairings have more written about them than others. Please don’t take that as an indication that I’ll be disappointed if you pick a pairing or fandom I’ve written less about here--I really will be happy with any of these pairings!

Cinderella Phenomenon

(Psst...this is a free game...consider playing it?)

Delora/Parfait: I didn’t consider this pairing until I saw it in the tagset and now I 100% ship it. Love me a goth witch and pastel fairy couple. I’d like to see them negotiating around the drastically different perceptions of witches and fairies in Angielle. Or maybe something a bit fluffy, like sharing a stolen moment away from the Marchen, or just taking a break from the trials of everyday life.

Pairing-specific DNW: Work set during/after Rumpel’s, Waltz’s, or Fritz’s routes

Lucette Riella Britton/Karma: While I enjoyed the game as a whole, I think Karma’s route was my favorite. For all his eccentricities, Karma recognizes Lucette’s terrible upbringing and how it affected her before the other characters do, and the fact that he’s a prince means that you can get up to some really nice royal intrigue and politics with this pairing. (Also, I wonder--does Karma continue to wear dresses after his curse is broken, just for the fun of it?)

Pairing-specific DNW: Explicit smut (fade-to-black is fine)

Dragon Age

Fandom-specific DNW: Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor sides with templars, rivalmances for DA2 LIs, Cullen as major character

Alistair/Male Surana: Oh, Alistair, my first DA love. Even though he never actually became a templar, he was still trained as one, and I think that could cause some issues in a relationship with a mage. And being an elf mage? Whew. Even though I don’t want something where Alistair becomes king, I’m fine with something where they discuss the possibility of Alistair becoming king, as long as they ultimately decide not to put him on the throne. You could also do something set after DAO/Awakening, where both are active Wardens--maybe they’ve been separated for a few months for Warden-y reasons and they’ve just reunited?

Pairing-specific DNW: Alistair as king, Loghain recruited into Wardens

Fenris/Hawke: Any gender Hawke is fine (I just have m!Fenhawke tagged because it was in the tagset). My Hawke is female, but feel free to write male or nb Hawke; my Hawke is also a mage, because I like the idea of them falling in love despite the tension that causes between them--but if you’d rather write a warrior/rogue Hawke, that’s also good. (If you want to include specific details about my Hawke: she’s named Samantha, specializes in healing, and is mostly purple/joking with a blue/diplomatic streak. I headcanon her as asexual even if it can’t really be replicated in the game. But I’ll be fine with whatever Hawke you choose to write.)

Zevran Arainai/Warden: Like with Fenris, I’m not picky about which genre or origin you pick and only put in the tags in the set for matching purposes. My Zev-romancing Warden is a f!Brosca, but if you prefer another gender/origin, do whatever you want. These two are my favorite enemies-to-lovers pairing, in part because Zevran never had any hard feelings for the Warden in the first place. (And the Warden telling Nathaniel “Some of my best friends have attempted to kill me” during Awakening gains a whole new level of hilarity with romanced Zev.) Zev comes across as a devil-may-care flirt, but he turns out to be a respectful lover if you actually put the effort to get to know him beyond surface level. (Also, that cool-ass Crow armor from the World of Thedas artbook. A+)

Female Lavellan/Josephine Montilyet: Josie! (｡♥‿♥｡) And I romance her with a f!Lavellan, so it’s a nice coincidence that this was in the tagset lol. I’ll be good with just about anything you come up with for this pairing. Josephine is one of the few non-Dalish characters who at least tries to be respectful of Lavellan’s Dalish heritage, even if she is a bit clumsy about it sometimes. My Lavellan is a lesbian mage named Ilena if you’re interested in including those details, but I’ll be happy with any f!Lavellan.

Josephine Montilyet/Cassandra Pentaghast: Fun fact--I ship this because of a bondage fic I read lmao. They have a very interesting dynamic--a warrior who kills on a regular basis (even if for a good cause); a diplomat who has renounced violence. I won’t be picky about anything for this pairing, either.

Good Omens

Fandom-specific DNW: Reverse AU (I don’t mind these but I’m not interested in receiving one), Aziraphale falling, smut involving Crowley’s snake form, work set before Crowley’s fall, strict top/bottom dynamics

Note: I’ve read the book and watched the series. I’m fine with stuff set in either canon (hence why I requested both). If you want to combine elements from both, that’s cool too.

Aziraphale/Crowley: My most recent love. I have lots and lots of feelings (at least a billion) about these two. Enough that I have a goddamn LIST.

I’m fine with any combination of genders/presentations/efforts/pronouns for these two. I headcanon Aziraphale as being agender with he/him pronouns and Crowley as genderfluid, but again, anything works. Lately I’ve adored fics and art of butch female-presenting Aziraphale, too.

Chubby Aziraphale!! I love!! So much!! Dovetails very well with my interest in body worship (sexual or otherwise). Crowley loves his soft angel!! So much!! And! So much cuddling potential!! (More serious note: I’m not a huge fan of stuff where Aziraphale is extremely self-conscious about his body. Surely he’d miracle himself a different shape if he hated it so much? And he’s been around for millennia, so he’s witnessed beauty standards change drastically over time. It makes more sense in human AUs, but it’s still something I tolerate more than enjoy.)

I’m a big fan of “Aziraphale and Crowley through history” stuff. Pick a time period you like and go wild. Personally, I have a huge soft spot for the 1920s--Crowley would look amazing in a flapper dress. (Realistic or Hollywood-style, take your pick.) (I know that according to the TV script they didn’t see each other between the fight at St James and the church scene, but...bah. Flapper Crowley!!) Some great opportunities for mutual pining, or if you want to write an AU where they got together before the Notpocalypse, go for it.

I have a big soft spot for stuff where Crowley is in his snake form (no smut, please--if the story turns that way I want him in his human form for sex)

I will never ever get tired of “first love confession” or “first kiss” stories for these two because I am a romantic sap who just wants them to be happy (they’ve spent so long not being able to be close to each other! they deserve it!!)

Outsider POVs: “random normal person weirded out by bizarre relationship between fussy bookseller and his goth husband” is one of my favorite fandom tropes

Praise kink! I mentioned this in my general smut likes but it bears repeating here. The major fanon is Crowley having a praise kink, which is wonderful and valid (tfw your crush calls you nice and it turns you on so much you try to play it cool by shoving him against a wall). I’ve seen some stuff recently with Aziraphale having a praise kink and now that’s an idea. (He’s spent so long just wanting to be good for Heaven! Even though Heaven’s standard for what’s good is kind of terrible and they hate him anyway so he’d never be good enough for them! But Crowley knows that Aziraphale is good and he’s more than willing to tell him every little thing he loves about him! aaaaaaaa) Regardless of who has the kink, I think they’d be a bit embarrassed at first at having it found out (Crowley: “Being turned on by compliments? C’mon, that’s not me” [it’s totally him]/Aziraphale: “It’s...a bit selfish, isn’t it?” [but since when has that stopped him]), but the other would be more than willing to indulge. (And while Aziraphale is naturally suited to provide praise, given how good he is with words, I think Crowley could grow into the role too, in his own way.)

Heart of the Woods

Tara Bryck/Morgan Fischer, Abigail Dalsing/Madison Raines: I put these two together because they’re so intertwined in the original game, but if you want to focus on one pairing over the other, that’s great! Something that really interests me would be seeing how Morgan and especially Abby would react to the...idiosyncrasies of modern-day America. Also, Abby being introduced to the internet could be hilarious. (Also also, Morgan getting to live her best butch life, and Tara being her slightly overly enthusiastic cheerleader.) On a more serious note, how does Maddie move on after leaving Taranormal?

Lake of Voices

(Psst...this is also a free game...consider playing it too?)

Kikka/Margret: I’m less interested in fluff for this pairing thanks to how dark the original material is, but I’d still rather not have something totally grim. Margret’s route isn’t truly romantic, not really, but considering the short period of time the game takes place during, that’s not surprising--so I’d like to see how their relationship progresses after the events of the game.

Mass Effect Trilogy

Fandom-specific DNW: Sabotaging the genophage cure; Control/Synthesis/Refusal endings; synthetics dying in Destroy ending (yes I know this is canon, no I don’t care; please don’t do post-ME3 if you aren’t willing to work around this); dead Wrex; no peace between geth and quarians (for ME3)

Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian: While Shakarian isn’t my favorite ME pairing, I do still love it. No Shepard without Vakarian, after all. They work so well as a battle couple and have such great chemistry. My Garrus-romancing Shepard is a Paragade Vanguard named Elliott, Earthborn/War Hero if you want those details.

Female Shepard & Mordin Solus: Death DNW doesn’t apply to this one; hit me with all the feels over Mordin’s death (I don’t like what you have to do for him to survive). Or avoid the issue by doing something set during ME2. Alien Sex Ed is always a classic trope, or something more serious regarding Mordin’s past as an STG operative or his work with the genophage.

Grunt & Female Shepard: Shepard is very proud of her strong krogan vat bby.

Kolyat Krios & Female Shepard: With or without Shep/Thane (”YOU’RE NOT MY REAL MOM”), either works. If there’s romance, how does Kolyat react to his missing dad showing up with a human girlfriend? Does Shepard try to become a part of Kolyat’s life or does she try to stay out of it? There’s less reason for Shepard to get involved if there’s no Thanemance, but I think there’s still opportunity there, since Kolyat and Thane keep in contact after the loyalty mission is completed.

Pairing-specific DNW: Thane dying

Thane Krios/Female Shepard: My favorite ME pairing! At least until BW fucked it up in ME3. (I still kind of haven’t forgiven them.) They have a very mature relationship, I think--both of them a bit weary--and they find solace in each other, at least until the inevitable. I would prefer a fic set during ME2, or in the time period between the end of ME2 and Shepard being detained before ME3. If you want to make something set during ME3, I’d like to see him receive treatment (not necessarily a cure, though I won’t complain if you go that route, but preferably something more realistic than “oh I took a pill and now I’m all better!” or similar) for Kepral’s. I also don’t like the defeatist “well, I guess I’m just gonna lay down and die now” attitude he has when you meet him at Huerta in ME3; it clashes so much with his entire ME2 arc, which has him realize that he does still have things to live for (his son, for one, and Shepard if you romance him). If you’re interested in details about my Shepard: her name is Diana; she’s a Paragon Infiltrator, Colonist/War Hero.

Pairing-specific DNW: Excessive focus on his illness (I know it’s a big part of his character, and I don’t expect people to avoid it entirely, but I don’t enjoy stuff that’s centered totally around it); Irikah bashing or trying to portray her as unimportant

Nyreen Kandros/Aria T’Loak: (STILL SCREAMING ABOUT BADASS TURIAN LADY) I want to see something from when these two were still together, or a fix-it where Nyreen doesn’t die and she and Aria enter a (possibly uneasy) truce. Less concerned about happiness for this one as long as neither of them dies; I’m fine if it ends up that their relationship just doesn’t work out.

EDI/Samantha Traynor: Geeky lesbian with a robot kink + sexy fembot = ooh la la. On a serious note, how would a human/AI relationship work? There’s a lot of possibilities here.

Stardew Valley

Fandom-specific DNW: Player siding with Joja-Mart

Abigail/Female Player, Elliott/Player, Leah/Female Player, Maru/Female Player: I’m putting these together not because I think they’re interchangeable (they’re not), but because what I want is basically the same for each of them--slice-of-life about the farmer and their partner (either dating or married...or dating then married; no kids please), with emphasis on how the partner’s personality and lifestyle meshes, or doesn’t mesh, with the player’s farm life. Maybe there’s conflicts that have to be resolved, compromises that have to be made. (But I do want them to eventually work it out and be happy together.) If you pick Elliott/Player, I’m fine with whatever gender farmer you want.

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side

Inafune Saki/Meoshi Kouta: One thing I enjoyed about Meoshi’s route is how he doesn’t have to give up games entirely in order to deserve love and improve as a person, he just develops a healthier relationship with gaming. I like the idea of Kouta participating in a fighting game tournament with Saki cheering him on...or maybe he taught her how to play and she’s a competitor too now? DUN DUN DUN. (but it’s all in good fun)

Pairing-specific DNW: Explicit smut (fade-to-black is fine)

Original Work

Dethroned and Dishonored Queen/Lone Loyal Female Knight

Lady Locked in a Tower/Lady Who Turns Into a Hawk

Female Werewolf Hunter/Her Boyfriend Who Gets Turned Into a Werewolf

Female Tall Muscular Badass/Female Short Chubby Nerd

Hiker/Sporty Girl Who Sprained Her Ankle Miles from Nowhere

Grumpy Lonely Sorceress/Female Courtesan She Hires for a Ritual

Female Witch/Female Werewolf

Female Witch/Female Demon She Accidentally Summons

Female Knight/Female Bath Attendant with a Crush

Female Gamer/Female Bookworm

Female Court Painter/Impatient Princess Sitting for a Painting

Female Armorsmith/Female Warrior Who Needs Frequent Repairs

Female Adventurer Lost in the Snow/Female Fire Spirit

Male Speakeasy Bartender/Male Speakeasy Piano Player

Librarian/Her Monster-Hunting Wife Who Keeps Dragging Her Into Wacky Supernatural Adventures

Sensible Royal Guardswoman/Arrogant but Skilled Court Sorceress

Dark Mage/Light Mage

Beleaguered Playwright/Actress Cursed to Ruin Any Show She’s In

Female Vampire/Female Vampire Hunter

Victorian Lady/Victorian Lady

GO WILD. Just don’t hit my DNWs. For the pairings that don’t specify the genders of both members, I’d prefer f/f works.

#chocolate box #exchange letter

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thisweekingundamwing · 7 years

Text

This Week In Gundam Wing! September 03-09, 2017

ThisWeek’s Gorgeous Offerings for September 3 - 9, 2017

Sorry for the wait my patient and kind and wonderful people….. Honest I worked hard on it…. And then passed out at around 4am and then woke up to work on it more…. I'm off to bed again…. 3 hours of sleep is not good…. Not even for a Duo-like person like ME! Loves to all of you wonderful people! -Mod Rhys

Fanfiction:

Mind Reader - @weiclown http://archiveofourown.org/works/11990478 Heero’s been in a long dry spell. He knows he shouldn’t trust Duo’s match-making abilities, but he finds himself saying yes to a blind date. And when he meets his date? Oh Heero is glad for once he agreed to Duo’s demands, because Quatre pushes all of his buttons in the right ways. Heero/Quatre. Alternate Universe, Cowboys, Songfic, Smut, NSFW, End of Summer Block Party

Runaway by @claraxbarton for Kangofu-CB, http://archiveofourown.org/works/12042747 Trowa Barton/Duo MaxwellDuo Maxwell Trowa Barton Summary Just back from a hellish undercover op, Duo is greeted by Trowa. Series Part 2 of Slow Show

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11970393 Ónoma Ὄνομα by Diana_Lua Duo Maxwell/SoloDuo Maxwell Solo (Gundam Wing) Zechs Merquise Naina PeacecraftAngst Yaoi Angel Sex Shounen-ai Alternate Universe Summary Sometimes it's necessary to choose a new name to live freely. [AU; Something about Duo's past with Solo; 'Where my demons hide' side story (can be read independent of it); Angst; Shounen-ai; probably yaoi/lemon at ending (Angel incest)] Series Part 1 of Where my demons hide

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12022200 Methods of Persuasion by @kangofu-cb_CB for ClaraxBarton Trowa Barton/Chang WufeiTrowa Barton Chang WufeiPlot What Plot/Porn Without Plot Shameless Smut plot so thin you can use it as a windowpane librarian!Trowa Foul Mouth Wufei Summary Wufei, losing track of time at the library, is reminded it's closing time by the librarian, who makes an interesting proposition. But he might get more than he bargained for...

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12019632 Friction by pepperminteabag Trowa Barton/Relena PeacecraftRelena Peacecraft Zechs Merquise Trowa Barton Summary Every grey cloud has a silver lining, for Relena that lining comes in the form of Trowa Barton.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12014352 Best Intentions by @downwarddnaspiral for Kangofu_CB Quatre Raberba Winner/Heero YuyQuatre Raberba Winner Heero Yuy Duo Maxwell Trowa Bartonsick!fic AU College Roommates Tumblr Prompt end of summer block party somewhat belatedly Tropes Enemies to Friends with the potential for more than friends Fluff Heero is a moody little somebody Nurse Quatre Semi-Platonic Cuddling for Warmth Hurt/Comfort Duo is an Awful Neighbor Summary Heero’s roommate was annoying enough on any average day. Then, he caught the flu.

Hi! Thanks for doing this. I forgot to submit my stuff in the previous week but it seems mod Hel had already covered that. @nekoflashficcing / @fantwirls (whichever works) Winter vacation gone wrong - http://archiveofourown.org/works/11983299 - GWblockparty trope fest. Cuddling for warmth trope. - AU - The aftermath of a bad fall in the snow featuring Quatre, a cabin stranger and a cabin. 3+4. The thing everyone seems to know - http://archiveofourown.org/works/11989251 - GWblockparty trope fest. Domestic/everyone thinks they’re dating trope. - Usually Saturdays are grocery shopping days, but friends are coming over so they need to adjust a bit. 1+2. Weird - http://archiveofourown.org/works/12004233 - GWblockparty trope fest. Roommates/Spy trope. - AU - “I think my roommate is a vampire”. Gen ft. 4+3.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11981688 Blooming For You by @remsyk-blog Trowa Barton/Heero Yuy Trowa Barton/Duo Maxwell/Heero YuyDuo Maxwell Trowa Barton Heero Yuy Quatre Raberba Winner Chang Wufei Sally PoGW Block Party Tropes Hanahaki Disease Pining Duo Established 1x3 Eventual 1x2x3 ot3 for life Angst We don't talk about feelings Accidental Voyeurism Matchmaker Quatre Sexy Times Slow Burn Summary "You made flowers grow in my lungs, and though they are beautiful, I can't fucking breathe." Duo has silently loved for them for years. He watched them find each other, yet the feelings still remained. But now the love he's carried for so long may become the thing that ends him.

Ficlets and Drabbles @kangofu-cb https://kangofu-cb.tumblr.com/post/165169273032/gundam-wing-drabble

@lifeaftermeteor https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/165167226177/nu-solutions-ltd-1-brussels-belgium-207-april

@invidiamalice http://invidiamalice.tumblr.com/post/165169137309/gundam-wing-drabble

Fanpics, awesome artwork, cosplay and other things….

@lifeaftermeteor https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/165131697796

@kangofu-cb https://kangofu-cb.tumblr.com/post/165134230017/just-dancing-claraxbarton-gundam-wing-archive

@liluggo http://liluggo.tumblr.com/post/165108529629/idc-what-anyone-says-relena-is-my-favorite

@maevemauvaise http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/165163749501/claraxbarton-okay-and-because-ive-never-done-a

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/165139351556/so-relena-in-that-famous-blue-dress-from-don

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/165150220833/gw-chinese-characters

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/165151793587/okay-so-all-three-anastasiarelenas-in-one-post

Events Past that could use a revisit because they ended this week…. Gundam Wing End of Summer Tropefest Masterlist…. https://gwblockparty.tumblr.com/post/165083867661/tropefest-2017-masterlist

Events upcoming…..

@gwoc-october OC-tober…. I don’t know the full details but I am sure it’s still happening….

@gwblockparty Unnatural November is still upcoming I believe….

And…. Gundam Wing Eve War Event Open Science Fiction Themed Event (Saturday) December 23, 2017 - (Sunday) December 24, 2017 *** event will be observing Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) ***

Submissions: Fanfiction, Meta essays, Personal Headcanon, Fan Art

Rules: All works must feature a science fiction theme. Alternate Universes, and cross-over fiction are welcome. There are no limits to characters, pairings, audience rating, time frame or universe.

To participate please check @gw-evewar for participation information.

18 notes · View notes

freudensteins-monster · 7 years

Text

Bella Notte

@cinnaatheart said: Heya! For the promt meme! Enamour me, with either Darcy x Natasha, Darcy x Bucky or Darcy x Sam :D :D up to you what you wanna do ❤️❤️❤️

I defaulted to Wintershock because I don't feel like my Natasha or my Sam are up to snuff. Hope that's okay. Also... it's definitely not a drabble per the original fic prompt post :/

** In this fic, instead of JARVIS or FRIDAY, I have used an AI called TADASHI. During Age of Ultron, when Stark is rebooting his suit's AI following the creation of Vision/loss of JARVIS, Tony is seen to have a number of AI programs on his desk. He picks FRIDAY as his new AI but there was also one called JACOSTA and one called TADASHI. And being the Big Hero 6 fan that I am I really wanted to use that one, not that he's got much of a personality in this fic. :/ Maybe next time. **

Bucky was happy to learn upon waking that the Sokovia Accords had been dissolved, pending a major overhaul, and that Steve and Stark were on speaking terms again (nothing like another alien invasion to get everyone on the same side) but he was still surprised to be invited to join the Avengers at Stark’s upstate facility. It wasn’t until the man himself called and told him ‘to get your ass over there already. Rogers won’t stop sulking,’ and ‘No, we don’t have to talk about it. You’re sorry, I’m less sorry. Let there be no further talk of feelings,’ that Bucky finally agreed to return stateside.

Per an agreement his Wakandan lawyers had made with the UN, and various military bodies around the world, Bucky would be on house arrest at the facility, unable to step outside the boundaries of the property until such time as his prolific assassination record had been sifted through and he was finally cleared of all charges (his lawyers were optimistic and very, very good). Bucky hadn’t minded as he was tired of running, and the glorified prison would be bearable if he got to properly reconnect with Steve, but when he landed the punk was nowhere in sight.

Bucky blinked in the sunlight as he walked down the quinjet ramp, his grey- blue eyes quickly scanning the large hanger for a familiar face.

“Sergeant Barnes?” a female voice called out. Bucky turned and saw a young woman with wavy brown hair and black-rimmed glasses making her way over to him. “Hi, I’m Darcy,” she smiled, offering him her hand. He took it hesitantly, his eyes still darting about to locate Steve. “I’m sorry, Captain Rogers isn’t here right now. The call came in to save the world early this morning, you know how it is,” she rambled apologetically.

“Not really,” Bucky murmured.

“Okay, well,” the girl, Darcy, sighed. “Since my time is the least valuable of anyone here I have been tasked with showing you around,” she said with a hint of bitterness, though not directed at him. “Do you want the full tour or just the CliffNotes version?”

“I don’t wanna waste your time, doll.”

Darcy’s mouth quirked at the outdated endearment as her eyes dropped to the tablet in her hands.

“You’re not,” she assured him. “Stark is. He thinks I ate all his blueberries, so this is my punishment.”

“Did you eat all his blueberries?”

“That’s between me and my legal counsel,” she replied vaguely, a smile playing on her lips. “Speaking of… I’m supposed to go over the terms of your house arrest, but I’m sure you’ve already read this,” she said, holding up the tablet to show him a screens worth of fine print.

“Basically don’t go anywhere and don’t kill anyone.”

“That does seem to be the jist of it,” she nodded, closing the document. “Come on, I’ll show you where the food is,” she said, leading him away from the hanger to the main building. Along the way she described the function of the other buildings and showed him where the Avengers trained. The residential building was definitely designed by Stark, far too sleek and minimalist to feel homey, but he had been welcomed to stay – free of charge – and it was a hell of a lot nicer than most of the places Bucky had ever laid his head, so he wasn’t about to turn his nose up at it.

“So this is the common area, communal kitchen and dining area. Help yourself to anything in the fridge, and let TADASHI know if we’re running low on anything.”

“Who’s Tadashi?”

“TADASHI is an AI that Tony set up for the facility. JARVIS was absorbed into Vision, and FRIDAY has her hands full looking after Tony, so he left TADASHI with us. But he’s just a baby program, he’s still learning and definitely isn’t at JARVIS’s level yet, not that means anything to you, because you never met JARVIS,” she added, waving a hand dismissively. “Hello TADASHI,�� she called to the ceiling and Bucky couldn’t help but follow her gaze.

“Hello Miss Lewis,” replied a stilted voice through the ceiling speakers. The voice spoke English with the slightest Japanese accent, but it was most definitely a digital creation.

“Yeah, he’s a little creepy at the moment,” Darcy whispered, seemingly reading his mind. “But don’t worry, before the year is out I’m gonna have him sounding like George Takei.” Before Bucky had a chance to confirm who that was (pop culture knowledge had not been a priority during his time under HYDRA’s thumb) Darcy had turned her attention back to ceiling. “TADASHI, this is Sergeant Barnes. Sergeant Barnes, this is TADASHI.”

“You can call me Bucky,” he advised both of them.

“Welcome Sergeant Barnes. I’m afraid I cannot update your name in my system without an administrator’s assistance.”

“Thank you, TADASHI,” Darcy said to the ceiling before turning her attention back to Bucky. “Don’t bother,” she advised. “Only Tony can update Avenger files, and if you bring his attention to it he’s going to change it to something stupid. Steve’s only just got Tony to get TADASHI to stop calling him ‘Capsicle’.” Bucky smirked. “So, unlike JARVIS and FRIDAY, TADASHI can’t really predict our needs. His main function is to monitor the security systems and the energy readings from the arc reactor that powers everything. He can relay messages across the facility, and if you let him know when we’re out of milk or if you need a new pair of shoes or something, he can place the order you.”

“Amazing,” Bucky murmured as he glanced up at the ceiling, trailing behind Darcy as she continued the tour.

“Down there is a conference room and some offices, Steve and Maria are the only ones who really use those though. And these here are the apartments,” she announced, rattling off the Avengers names, tapping on the doors, as she passed by. “And this is your room,” she said, pushing open the door. “Steve is just across the hall.”

Bucky stepped inside, surveying the generous if bland space, unconsciously noting access points, defensible positions, and decent hiding places for a go bag or weapons cache. Not that he was permitted any weapons outside the firing range, per his agreement.

“Do you live on site?” he asked conversationally, trying to take his mind off the slightly claustrophobic feeling the empty space was giving him.

“Yeah, downstairs on the south corner. Closer to the science building so I don’t have to walk too far after a science bender.”

“What exactly is it you do here?” Bucky asked, his brow creasing in confusion.

“Umm, I’m kind of like the manager of the science department,” she supplied awkwardly, averting her gaze.

“You run the science department?” Bucky asked, her answer surprising him.

“Not really… sort of…” she mumbled, hugging her tablet to her chest.

“You’re what? Twenty? And you’re running the science department of the Avengers facility? That’s pretty damn impressive,” he added sincerely. “How’d you end up here, if you don’t mind me asking?

“I’m twenty-five, first of all, and, um, I actually majored in Political Science,” she winced, expecting further questions, but Bucky just let her talk. “I was interning for Doctor Jane Foster to earn some hard science credits when Thor crash landed – you know Thor, right?”

“Not personally.”

“Yeah, well, he’s amazing, and his arrival kind of revolutionised Jane’s research. I stuck around after I graduated, because where the hell else would I go? I mean, Asgardians, aliens, portals to other worlds… that’s not the sort of thing you can just forget about, you know?”

“Sure…” Bucky nodded. He had always been a bit of a geek, and not even all the time he spent as a science experiment could dull his interest.

“So when Tony asked Jane if she wanted take up some lab space here, I tagged along. I was supposed to be Jane’s assistant but Tony found her a few lab tech’s who actually understood her work, so I focused on the caretaking aspects of the job, because Heimdall knows that Jane and scientists like her can totally forget about basic human needs when they’re in the zone. Before I knew it I was looking after half the building, making sure they all ate regularly, got some shut eye, and socialised with other humans – I couldn’t get them to talk about anything other than science, but I tried,” she smiled. “And then Pepper Potts herself came up just to talk to me about giving me an official job. So now I look after the entire science department and have a few assistants of my own to help me feed and water the scientists. I also work with TADASHI to keep all their research secure, field correspondence from outside parties, and ensure they have all the resources and equipment they need to do their work.”

“That’s… that’s amazing. It sounds like it’s a huge job… and I’m keeping you from it,” he realised, rubbing his hands against the pockets of his jeans self-consciously.

“It’s fine, really,” Darcy waved dismissively.

“No, it’s not. I’m really sorry, Darcy. Please, you can go back to work. I’ll be fine.”

By the look on Darcy’s face she didn’t believe him but she decided to take him at his word and began backing out of the room. She turned back at the doorway, her expression softening as she watched Bucky fidget nervously, unsure what to do with himself in the strange space.

“Hey, did you… Did you want to maybe come with me?”

“To the science building?”

“No, to the moon,” she teased. “Yes, to the science building. I mean, I’ll be pretty busy but you can check out some of the work going on and I can introduce you to some people.”

“Uh, yeah,” Bucky replied bashfully. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

When Steve and Sam returned to base later that night they trudged wearily to the residential building. Well, Sam trudged. Steve bounded towards it like a puppy, excited to see his friend again.

“Bucky!” he called the moment he stepped into the building. He was about to ask TADASHI to locate him but the smell wafting from the kitchen held his tongue and made his mouth water. “Bucky?”

“Hey punk, took you long enough,” Bucky smirked from his position in front of the stove, stirring something that smelled absolutely delicious.

“Buck… what are you doing?” Steve wondered aloud. “That smells like…”

“Your mom’s stew?” he smiled. “That’s what I was aiming for. I think I remembered the recipe correctly,” he mused.

“What brought this on?” Steve queried, unable to wipe the smile from his face as he pulled Bucky in for a hug.

“Well, I was helping out in the cafeteria, peeling potatoes and what not, when I remembered my mom’s cooking, and your mom’s cooking, and I thought it’d be nice,” Bucky said with a shrug.

“What smells so good?” Sam asked, appearing behind Steve.

“Bucky’s cooking,” Steve answered.

“No kidding. Barnes,” he nodded in greeting.

“Wilson,” Bucky replied, the oven timer distracting him from the urge to start bickering with the man. “That’d be the bread,” he said, pulling the tin out with his metal hand.

“You made bread too?” Sam asked in amazement.

“I had time,” Bucky shrugged again.

“Buck, what were you doing helping out in the cafeteria?” Steve pestered, still not quite getting his head around what he was seeing and smelling.

“Darcy was showing me around the science building, but she was busy so I thought I’d help out her assistants with the lunch run. And I noted that Michel, the chef, was understaffed so when I was finished in the science building I offered my services.”

“That’s… Buck, we don’t expect you to earn your keep, you know. Tony’s not going to kick you out,” Steve assured him.

“Let the man cook!” Sam chided, eying the bowls Bucky was spooning stew into hungrily.

“What was I supposed to do? Wait quietly in my room for you to come back?” Bucky asked irritably, passing a bowl to Steve. “Sit down, punk. Enjoy your meal. You too,” he added, placing a bowl into Sam’s grabby hands.

Bucky cut several slices of bread and placed most of them on the table between the two Avengers, along with a tub of butter. He took the third bowl and two slices of buttered bread and put them on a tray and made to leave the room.

“You’re not going to eat with us?” Steve asked, almost felling Bucky with his puppy dog eyes.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he promised. “Just going to take this to Darcy.”

“Darcy?” the pair asked, amused smiles playing on their lips.

“Only here a day and you’ve already found yourself a girl,” Steve laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.

“It’s not like that,” Bucky griped, ignoring their teasing. “She’s working late, and it’s my fault; she wasted her morning showing me around. I wanted to apologise… and thank her,” he said, turning to leave the room.

“I’m gonna be best man at your wedding, right?” Steve called after him.

“Make sure there’s an open bar,” Sam added before the pair burst out laughter.

Bucky dropped off the meal to a very grateful Darcy and then reluctantly returned to the dining room to endure another half hour of mockery while he ate his own dinner. Once Steve and Sam had stopped laughing they called it a night, both in need of a shower and a good night’s sleep. Bucky did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, taking his time as to delay returning to his empty room.

He sat on the end of the bed, deliberating about what to do next. He didn’t want to sleep, not that he was tired, and wasted several minutes inspecting his room from top to bottom. The wardrobe had been stocked with some basics, and when Bucky spied the pair of running shoes in his at the bottom of it he changed into some sweatpants and pulled them on.

He’d been running laps around the facility for about an hour when he slowed to a jog and made his way back to the residential wing.

“Bucky?”

“Hey, Darcy…” he puffed.

“What are you doing? It’s late.”

“I could ask you the same thing?” he deflected.

“I had work to do. Got caught up and then got a head start on tomorrow. What’s your excuse?” she asked, deliberately putting the spotlight back on him. “You don’t like your room?” she ventured cautiously as they headed into the building.

“It’s nice… but it’s just… It’s too empty, too bland,” he admitted, ducking his head. “It reminds me of every other empty room I’ve been stuck in… just waiting for orders.”

“I’m sorry,” Darcy murmured, rubbing his arm in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. “Just… try and get through tonight and tomorrow you can decorate it however you like, make it a home.”

“With what?” Bucky asked bitterly. “I ain’t got nothing to make it a home, doll.”

“You’ll think of something,” she said soothingly. “And I’ll help you out on the weekend. We can do some online shopping.”

“Don’t put yourself out on my account, doll. You don’t need to go wasting your free time on me too.”

“I want to,” she swore. “Besides, I’m an excellent interior designer,” she declared, throwing open a door that Bucky hadn’t been aware they’d stopped in front of. Darcy walked in and flicked on a light, ushering Bucky inside.

Bucky’s jaw dropped. It was a mess. The unmade bed was a mess of colour, the floor was a mess of clothes, the walls were covered in posters, and books littered every other available surface.

“Well,” Bucky swallowed. “It definitely looks lived in.”

Darcy laughed, “I know, right? Does that mean you’ll let me help?”

Bucky closed his mouth, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Sure, doll. I’d appreciate it.”

“Alrighty then. Sunday, 11am. You make brunch and I’ll bring Tony’s credit card.”

“It’s a deal,” he smiled, shaking Darcy’s outstretched hand.

He smiled all the way back to his own room, but delayed sleep just that little bit longer by taking a long shower. Eventually he ran out of excuses and lay down on the bed. Immediately he noticed that something wasn’t quite right with his mattress and after a quick search he discovered a housewarming present from Natasha, who was away on a mission in parts unknown; a Glock 26 and an anodized Gerber Mk II knife. Bucky put them back, ensuring they were still in easy reach, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Bucky kept himself busy the next day, which was easy between catching up with Steve and helping out in the cafeteria. When the end of the day drew closer Bucky got a bit anxious but then Vision and Wanda returned from their own mission and Bucky decided to make dinner again (lasagne and garlic bread). Afterwards Wanda and Vision excused themselves but Steve and Sam invited him to join them in the common room where they spent a few hours watching movies from Steve’s “things I need to see” list. Eventually they called it a night as well and Bucky reluctantly headed to his room. It was too late to go for a run without looking like a complete weirdo, not to mention worrying Steve, but there was always the gym downstairs, he mused as he reached his door.

He flicked on the light and froze. His plain white bedding had been replaced with a dark blue duvet and light grey sheets, and a silver and grey knitted blanket had been draped over the end. On the wall beside the light switch was a poster from the 1943 Stark Expo, on his bedside table was a framed photograph of him and Steve, and hanging over the bed was a huge photograph of the night sky. He wandered over in a daze, peeling off a folded piece of paper that had been taped to the corner of the frame.

Hey Bucky!

We’re still on for Sunday, I swear, it’s just this was so much more fun than doing a stocktake of lab supplies. :P I hope you like it and I really hope that I didn’t overstep. :(

P.S. Jane printed this out for me. She assures me that this is what the stars looked like the night you were born.

P.P.S. I put your weapons in the top drawer of your bedside table. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to put them back without hurting the mattress, or myself. :P

See you Sunday, if not sooner.

- Darcy

Bucky smiled, turning in a circle to admire the new additions to the room and huge difference they made.

“Uh, TADASHI?” he asked the ceiling, hoping it worked and that he wasn’t just talking to himself.

“Yes Sergeant Barnes?”

“Can you tell Darcy ‘thank you’?”

“Of course, Sergeant Barnes. … … Miss Lewis asked me to tell you, ‘You’re very welcome’.”

Over the next couple of days Bucky developed a comfortable routine, splitting his time between helping out in the cafeteria and the labs, training with the Avengers, and hanging out with Steve. Sunday came around quickly and Darcy stumbled into the common area in plaid pyjama pants and a band t-shirt, tablet in hand, just as Bucky was plating up a frittata.

“That smells amazing,” Darcy murmured as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“If you had a late night, doll, you could’ve slept in. I would have understood.”

“It wasn’t that exactly,” she mumbled, practically worshipping her coffee cup. “My assistants were having trouble getting Jane out of her lab so I went down to try and drag her out. All it took was a promise to split a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and a bottle of wine with her.”

“This is you after half a bottle of wine?” he teased, herding her towards the dining table.

“It might have been a bottle each. Or a bottle and a half, I’m not sure. Shut up,” she whined as Bucky laughed at her. “I’m not hungover. Just… blah.”

He went to sit across from her but Darcy insisted he sit next to her so they could browse websites together. The smell of the frittata drew out the rest of the residents and soon a quiet discussion on desks and armchairs turned into a very loud discussion on the merits of record players and lava lamps. Lava lamps had been Scott’s suggestion, the fledgling superhero had turned up early in morning to steal something from storage - his words - which rubbed Sam the wrong way for some reason and made him determined to win the argument. Bucky couldn’t properly remember the last time he’d had such a great time. He particularly enjoyed the moment when Darcy had almost climbed over him to steal her tablet back from Sam before he ordered a set of overpriced vintage action figures, deeming them utterly essential. Steve had noticed, of course, and broached the subject as they walked to their respective rooms that night.

“So… Darcy’s nice.”

“Shut up.”

Days turned into weeks and with a fully furnished bedroom the facility was feeling more and more like home. The only thing that made him doubt it was when the Avengers were called out, reminding Bucky that he was still on house arrest and a verdict on his many crimes was still pending.

“The mission shouldn’t take more than a week,” Steve assured him, as they walked out to the quinjet together.

“Yeah, yeah. I ain’t a kid, Steve. Just go already, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“I swear to God, Steve. I will strap you into that damn plane myself. Go.”

Steve smirked, his eyes looking over Bucky’s shoulder.

“Hey, here comes Darcy. Maybe you can ask her to keep you company while I’m gone,” he teased, hightailing it to one of the waiting quinjets before Bucky punched him in the face with his metal fist.

“…and you’ll email Eric about-”

“The readings from Hawaii. Yes, Jane.”

“And make sure that Dr Walcott calibrates-”

“The thingamabob in Lab 3. Yes, Jane.”

“Oh! And water the plant in my office.”

“Jane, honey, I replaced your dead husk of a plant with a plastic one six months ago.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Jane. When is the last time you remember watering it?”

“Uhh…”

“Exactly. Now, hurry up and get on the plane. Your pilot wanted to leave ten minutes ago and you’re going to hold him up for another fifteen while you do your pre-flight safety check to make sure all your doodads are secure.”

“But it’s important-”

“I know, Jane. Get on the plane, Jane,” Darcy begged, pushing her former boss towards the second quinjet, loaded up with her homemade equipment and two nervous assistants. “Bye Jane!” Darcy waved as the loading ramp closed behind the astrophysicist.

Bucky watched as the first quinjet took off but waited beside Darcy while the second one idled on the lawn. He watched as Darcy’s exasperated expression softened into one of longing and Bucky repressed the urge to reach for her.

“Are you okay, Darcy?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah. Just one of the drawbacks of my new position; I don’t get to go on fieldtrips anymore,” she lamented. “But I don’t miss it, not really,” she said unconvincingly. “Even when we weren’t living out of her van, we were still living on top of each other. My diet consisted of poptarts and coffee, and I threw my back out hauling Jane’s equipment around. And let’s not forget the couple of times I almost died,” she added dramatically.

“But you miss it.”

“Yeah,” Darcy sighed. “I miss the nights when we’d camp out - no beeping machines, no results to record. Just me, Jane, a couple of drinks, and an entire galaxy over our heads. I miss the stars. I mean, out here it’s pretty great, there’s not that much light pollution, but it’s nothing like being out in the desert or Tromsø. Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?”

“A couple of times.” He’d seen them numerous times in fact, travelling in and out of the HYDRA base in Siberia, but he’d never been in a state of mind where he was able to appreciate them. Not that Darcy didn’t need to know that.

“Jane and I got sent to Norway for an ‘urgent consult’ before the Battle of New York, for our own protection or some bullshit. When Thor appeared on the news Jane was angry, worried but angry. And the longer she watched the news the more angry, worried, and determined to get drunk she was. I left her to sleep it off and took a walk outside. There were just all these green lights dancing across the sky. It was so beautiful,” Darcy whispered, gazing up at the sky as if she could still see them despite the sun at her back. It made Bucky’s heart ache. “Anywho,” Darcy muttered, shaking off the daydream as the quinjet engine roared into life. “Back to it, I suppose. See you ‘round, Bucky.”

“See you…”

Bucky wandered back to his room, deep in though. He stood at the end of the bed, glancing up at the stars above it. His mouth curled into a smile as an idea occurred to him.

“TADASHI?”

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?”

“I need your help with something.”

Darcy headed back to the residential building at a respectable hour. Without Jane corrupting the other scientists with her obsessive hours shutting down the labs for the night was a lot easier. She was still plagued by nostalgia but Darcy was sure it was nothing a bubble bath and her emergency bottle of tequila couldn’t fix. Until she flicked on her bedroom light and screamed.

“Um… TADASHI?”

“Yes, Miss Lewis?”

“Who the hell has been in my room?” she demanded, glancing about the spotless space like she’d just stepped into the Twilight Zone.

“Sergeant Barnes took the liberty of cleaning your room.”

“Why?!”

“I cannot say. Though he did leave an envelope on your desk.”

Darcy crossed her room, which was so much easier now that the clothes had been cleared from her floor. A quick glance at her wardrobe showed that they had been laundered and hung up. She tore open the envelope and tipped a small remote into the palm of her hand. On the back of it, in Bucky’s precise handwriting, were written the instructions, “Turn off your light and then press me.”

Curious, and more than a little freaked out, Darcy did as she was told. She turned off the lights, pressed the button, and gasped as ribbons of green light were projected onto her ceiling. She moved to the centre of the room, staring up at the dancing lights in complete awe. When her neck began to ache, snapping her out of her reverie, she pulled the duvet off her bed and spread it out on the floor so she could comfortably lie back and enjoy the light show.

“TADASHI?”

“Yes, Miss Lewis?”

“Would you ask Sergeant Barnes to join me?” she smiled.

The Avengers arrived back at the base six days later in the predawn light. Steve paused outside his apartment, worn out from the mission, but still alert enough to notice that Bucky’s door had been left ajar.

“Buck?” Steve called, peering into the darkness, but no answer came. He flicked on the light and found the room empty and the bed unmade. Steve tamped down the instinct to worry and asked for help. “TADASHI, do you know where Bucky is?”

“Yes, Captain Rogers. He is currently located in Miss Lewis’s rooms.”

“Oh really?” he grinned, flicking off the light and moving across the hall.

“Would you like me to contact him?”

“Nope,” he replied quickly, unable to wipe the smirk off his face. “Definitely not.”

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