#screenshots i need hanging above the mantle

[columboscreens]

#columbo #season 5 #now you see him #lighting. shadows. comp. profile. mwah #screenshots i need hanging above the mantle

[moonstruckbucky]

Wanted

Pairing: Cop!Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: A little sexual tension but other than than, none!

Notes: This is for @delicatelyherdreams 1K writing challenge!! I chose the Cop!AU. I had such a blast writing this and it’s probably the fastest piece I’ve ever written, and it might just be one of my favorites. Feedback is always appreciated.

Bucky basks in the praise as he, once again, proves he’s the best detective the NYPD has seen since...well, probably Olivia Benson and Elliott Stabler. He knows they’re fictional, which is the whole point—the NYPD hasn’t seen a detective like him, ever. He’s whip-smart, able to pick apart cases seam by seam, unraveling the mystery until it’s presented to the chief on a platter. He’s won awards for his bravery and his ability to always nail the bad guy, and they hang in his apartment, on proud display.

Two of the uniforms lead the would-be carjacking rapist back into a holding cell until arraignment. Bucky’s broken away to drop his jacket on his chair, listening to the others around him congratulate him on a case well-handled. He prepares to sit, but the chief popping out of his office makes him pause.

“Barnes, need you in here,” he says before his head ducks back inside. Everett Ross is the youngest chief in NYPD history, having taken up the mantle when his father retired. He’s a smarmy shit who Bucky can’t stand a lot of the time, but he deals with him with the help of a beer after every shift.

“Yes, Chief?” he asks as he loiters in the doorway.

Ross drops a file on the desk, open and filled with paperclipped printed sheets. “Think your burglar is at it again.”

Suppressing a grin, Bucky kicks off the door frame and picks up the file. Time-stamped video surveillance screenshots show a hooded figure exiting a gated property, back hunched as it tries to avoid the camera. No such luck. The photo is dark, but he knows it’s her. He has her form pretty much memorized, and he knows where he’s going to find her.

The bar is nearly empty, not unusual for a Wednesday night, but he finds her in the same place he always does. Back corner, facing the door with her back to the wall. Her hood’s been lowered, allowing her hair to drape freely around her face. She’s unsurprised to see him when he saunters closer. In fact, she already has a drink set in front of the chair across from her, her own tumbler in her nimble, sticky fingers.

“How’d you get me this time?” she asks, voice as smooth as the bourbon she’s nursing. Bucky drops into the empty chair, his knees propped open. He picks up the glass.

“Surveillance camera. You should know those neighborhoods have those. What did you lift this time?”

With a smirk, she pulls a gold wristwatch and a pearl necklace from an inside pocket in her jacket. Bucky sighs, shakes his head as if in disapproval. She looks affronted.

“They didn’t need them,” she reasons, tone defensive. He merely raises an eyebrow. She deflates. “I’m pawning them. Saw a mother and son begging on the street. Everyone just walked on by. These’ll at least get them a room inside for a little while.”

His relationship with her is unconventional, to say the least. She’s a thief, a criminal, sneaking in and out of rich people’s houses to lift their belongings and pawn them off later.

But she never keeps any of it.

It always goes to a family more in need or a women’s shelter or an animal rescue. So even when he figured out who she was a year ago, he doesn’t turn her in. He can’t. His morality won’t let him. She’s a modern day Robin Hood, and though Ross will have his ass if he ever finds out, Bucky can’t bring himself to bring her in. So he chases her, lets Ross think he’s closing in, only to fall behind again.

Her eyes glitter in the dim lighting and she leans forward, smirking. Her perfume assaults his senses. “Does it bother you? Letting me give you the runaround?”

He chuckles deeply, and he doesn’t miss her shiver. “Honey, if it was a runaround, you wouldn’t keep showing up here, waiting for me. You love to gloat about your spoils.”

She nods, mouth twitching, and she leans away, taking her marvelous scent with her. “Fair enough. Maybe I like the chase. Maybe I like you chasing me.”

He shakes his head, pupils dilating. “You’re a tease, doll.”

They make eyes at one another over their drinks until Bucky’s face turns serious. She knows what’s coming, and it settles sourly in her stomach.

“They’re going to catch you,” he murmurs. He’s afraid to speak any louder in case she picks up on the worry in his voice. For her. Damn his job. He can find another one. But her? This life is what she knows, and he’s scared for her future if she’s ever caught. She’s evaded punishment so far, but luck runs out.

She takes a while to respond. Her bottom lip is between her teeth when he looks up at her. He somehow dreads what she’s thinking.

“I’m leaving.”

It hurts worse than he cares to admit, and he inhales sharply. She frowns. He knows this was inevitable, knows nothing could really happen between the two of them. But he knows she needs to lay low, away from New York, for a while. So he nods, resigned, and drains his glass. It clatters loudly on the table when he lets it go a couple inches above the wood, slight anger masking the unexpected hurt he feels in his chest. She watches him, a combination of wariness and worry swimming her eyes, and he can’t take it. He looks at his lap.

“I know.”

He’s glad this admission has the same effect on her. Her shoulders drop and a deep sadness settles behind her eyes. He’s glad he’s not the only one heartbroken. He doesn’t say anything else, and it’s like her tongue is rushing to fill the now awkward silence.

“This couldn’t work, Bucky,” she implores. She knows he knows, and yet, she’s trying to convince herself as much as him that this is the right choice. “You’re a cop, and I’m….”

“A criminal.” His wall has gone up, and he misses her flinch.

“Yeah. A criminal.”

They’re at an impasse, both afraid of what’s to come, neither willing to admit that this has become so much more than a game to them. She sighs, tips back the rest of her drink, and makes to stand. Bucky remains seated, his eyes watching her shirt because he’s too scared to meet her eyes. She tosses on her jacket, twirls her hair and shoves it up under her baseball cap.

She rounds the table and pauses next to him. Her hand is warm through his leather jacket, and he swallows. It’s the first time they’ve ever touched, and he really hates that it’ll be the last.

“Good luck, Bucky,” are her final parting words, and then she’s gone.

Her perfume still hovers around him as he stays there, lost in his own head. The aroma threatens to make him drunk, both off of it and off the daydream he’s playing in his head. A daydream of their shared life together, of happiness, laughter, and love. But it’s a farce, and he shakes himself from it. The walk back to his lonely apartment is cold, and he feels like there’s now a hole where his heart is supposed to be.

She took it with her in her exit.

                                              ➳ 8 Months Later ➳

Bucky pokes his head out of the bathroom, thinking he’s mistaken when he hears a knock at his door. He waits, and it comes again. Furrowing his eyebrows, he tosses the wet towel he dried his hair with into a hamper and pads to the front door. He’s dressed for bed, having showered after a long afternoon of paperwork, and he isn’t expecting any guests.

When he opens his door, she’s the last person he’s expecting, and his surprise must register on his face because her smile turns sheepish. She’s changed her hair, dyed it and cut it short, but it’s her. Bucky knows because no one else’s eyes have turned him to complete putty in a matter of seconds.

“Hey stranger.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes/you #bucky barnes/reader #bucky barnes angst #cop!au #detective!bucky barnes #cop!bucky barnes #marvel fanfiction #elles1kwritingchallenge

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

starhearth: episode six

Second Month of Spring, Day 7-Third Month of Spring

After fortifying himself with some berries and a cup of water—I’m sure he’d prefer something stronger but that’s what we got—McCoy successfully harvests the bees. Which is not really a sentence I anticipated typing back when I first started this blog.

[ID: A screenshot of McCoy standing over a bee’s nest next to a tree stump, with single-pixel bees swarming around McCoy and the stump. The information box at the bottom of the screen says that McCoy is “harvesting Bee Nest.”]

With the bees no longer hanging around threatening to sting the workers, the tree-felling can continue once more. While that’s going on, there are some promotions to carry out.

So far, the camp hasn’t been attacked by anything bigger than some tiny mobile tree stumps and rocks, which Kirk has been able to protect everybody from all on his own. But that won’t last forever. As time passes and the settlement gets bigger, more serious foes will start showing up. Kirk’s going to need backup before too long.

McCoy sets to work making a Cleric’s Tome, an item that will allow him to promote from Herbalist to Cleric. Herbalists are a strictly civilian crafting class who can craft healing items, but Clerics are warriors who can cast healing spells which are much more powerful. In other words, McCoy can finally achieve his greatest desire: being able to heal people just by gesturing furiously at them.

[ID: 1. A screenshot of McCoy standing among some items in the stockpile, hands raised and eyes closed with a blue and gold book floating above his head. 2. A screenshot of McCoy standing in the stockpile, now dressed in a white tunic and gold robe and with gold sparkles floating from him, with a message box on the side of the screen reading, “Leonard McCoy has been Promoted!--Leonard McCoy is now a Level 1 Cleric!--Healer Training: A cleric can use Sheep tamed by a Shepherd to practice their magical gestures and earn experience up to Job Level 3. Healing Aura: The cleric’s presence heals everyone around them periodically.”]

Leslie and Chekov also get promotions, both becoming Footmen. As I’ve mentioned before, I intend to make Chekov an Archer eventually, but a Hearthling can only become an Archer after taking a few levels of Footman first.

[ID: Leslie and Chekov standing in the stockpile, Leslie, now wearing a blue and silver tunic, jumping into the air with gold sparkles around him while Chekov crouches on the ground next to him. A message box on the right reads, “Ed Leslie has been Promoted!--Ed Leslie is now a Level 1 Footman!--Combat Training: A footman can use Training Dummies to train their combat techniques and earn experience up to Job Level 3. Damage Up 20%: The footman knows that all combats may have mortal consequences, and attacks with renewed determination.”]

McCoy, Leslie, and Chekov now join Kirk on a patrol around the tavern, vigilantly guarding against the terrors of the night. Not that any have shown up just yet.

[ID: A screenshot of the field behind the tavern at night, with rain falling, as Chapel runs in one direction and Kirk, Chekov, Leslie and McCoy walk in the opposite direction, tightly clustered together.]

We’re not quite done with the job-changing yet. We’ll need another Herbalist to replace McCoy, so Chapel takes up the mantle.

[ID: Chapel standing next to the crates inside the storage room in the tavern, glowing gold as she promotes to Herbalist. A message box on the right reads, “Christine Chapel has been Promoted—Christine Chapel is now a Level 1 Herbalist!--Junior Practitioner: The Herbalist can attend to 2 hurt hearthlings at a time. Natural Regeneration: The Herbalist channels the spirits of the forest and gains natural regeneration. Willpower and Diligence increased.”]

It’s also finally time to get some farming and cooking started. Everyone’s been surviving on jerky, berries, and water, but that’s not much of a life. They’ll be a lot happier with some proper meals. So Sulu and Rand promote into Farmers. The job comes with a nice hat, apparently.

[ID: Sulu standing in the tavern storage area, now wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat and labeled in the information box as Hikaru Sulu—Level 1 Farmer. The message box on the right reads, “Hikaru Sulu has been Promoted!--Hikaru Sulu is now a Level 1 Farmer!--Speed Up: Running fresh food from field to table has increased the farmer’s footspeed.”]

I only intend to keep Sulu as a Farmer permanently. Rand’s going to become a Chef. But like with Archers, Hearthlings can’t promote into Chefs directly; they have to promote from a level two Farmer.

Rand and Sulu start plowing a couple of fields by the lake to plant carrots and turnips in. As Farmers level up they gain access to a wider variety of things to plant, but for now, carrots and turnips are all we got.

[ID: Sulu and Rand, who is wearing a straw bonnet to match Sulu’s straw hat, digging rows of upturned soil in two square fields next to the lake.]

Early the next morning, a farmer stops by with some goods to sell. One of those goods is a basket of cherries, which has potential—cherry bushes don’t spawn in this biome naturally, but a Herbalist could use that basket to make seeds and plant bushes from those, giving us an additional food source. (Yes, I know cherries grow on trees. But in this game, they grow on bushes. Don’t ask me why.) We still don’t have much money, but selling all our healing potions (we don’t need them, now that McCoy can heal everyone directly) gets us just enough to buy the cherries.

Only problem is, since Chapel only just became a Herbalist, she’s still level one. She needs to be level two to be able to craft cherry seeds. One wouldn’t think that getting the pits out of cherries would take advanced skill, but apparently it does. Since the basket of cherries counts as a consumable food item, it’s a race against time to get Chapel up to level two before someone decides to eat all the cherries. Exciting, huh?

Meanwhile, we’ve qualified for another villager.

At this point, I was seriously starting to run into a quandary. The inherent problem with trying to play a colony-building sim game with all your villagers named after TOS characters is that there’s just not that dang many recurring characters in TOS. By ten villagers in, we’ve pretty much tapped out the main cast. In desperation to find some more significant TOS characters, I wound up looking outside the actual crew of the Enterprise.

And that’s how Sarek joined the colony.

[ID: Sarek, a Hearthling with pale skin, brown eyes, brown hair, and thick rectangular eyebrows that are floating next to his head, as he runs past some trees towards the village.]

Sarek has 6 Mind, 2 Body, and 6 Spirit, and the Opinionated trait, which means he likes to tell other Hearthlings in no uncertain terms what he thinks about everything...so that’s accurate. You may also notice that his eyebrows are floating next to his head as well. Must be hereditary.

Everyone gets on with their work for a while. Chapel is making potions. Sulu and Rand are harvesting vegetables. Scotty is upgrading the beds to be slightly nicer beds. Uhura has now started a second trapping area, this one for catching bugs. Yes, bugs. There are some remarkably big ones around here, and they can be caught for food. Because the current rations weren’t unappealing enough for everyone as it was.

At some point, while looking around the map, I was very startled to realize that a giant zombie guarding a treasure chest had spawned not that far away.

[ID: A zoomed-out shot from above and behind the tavern, showing a wide field stretching into the distance with tree-covered cliffs on the left and the lake on the right. A very large figure is standing on the other side of a large patch of open dirt from the tavern and is selected in the information box, which reads, “Giant Zombie—Blaarhgh...don’t touch Master’s treasure!!”]

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE

As deeply unnerving as that revelation was, for the moment the zombie seems content to leave us alone. Unfortunately, not everyone shares that outlook.

[ID: A pair of small green figures with beady eyes and pointed ears approaching the camp from across the field. The one in front is wearing a helmet and carrying a serrated sword, while the one behind is bare-chested and carrying a hammer. The goblin in front is selected, and the information box reads, “Nag The Bonesm...(the rest is too large to fit into the text box and is cut off)--Covetous and armed!”]

A pair of goblin thieves try to sneak into camp and steal from our stockpile. Seems a small goblin camp has appeared not too far from our budding little village, and its denizens are keen to try to take our goods for themselves. The warrior crew is able to dispatch them without much trouble, but they’re only the first. More will follow.

Meanwhile, Spock has already gotten into an argument with Sarek.

[ID: Spock’s character info page, which shows that his mood is Glum, and that one of the negative modifiers for his mood is “Had an unpleasant talk -3. I can’t believe Sarek said that!”]

Why am I not surprised.

#starhearth #starhearth episode 6